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Hamilton County, Indiana severe weather history spans 579 recorded events between 1961 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 44.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #638 nationally and #6 in Indiana.
579
Recorded events
10
Direct deaths
51
Direct injuries
$49.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Hamilton County, Indiana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Hamilton County, Indiana severe weather history averages 8.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 193 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 90 events fall before 1990 and 489 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Hamilton County, Indiana record is tornado, responsible for 6 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $28.3M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Hamilton County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 259 | 1 | $2.1M | 80 | 1961–2026 |
| Hail | 174 | 0 | $5.1M | 2.75 | 1965–2025 |
| Lightning | 53 | 1 | $8.7M | 0 | 1996–2019 |
| Flood | 35 | 2 | $167K | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Tornado | 30 | 6 | $28.3M | F4 | 1962–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 26 | 0 | $5.5M | 0 | 2002–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2009 |
Decade by decade
Hamilton County, Indiana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
31 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 24 touched down inside it and 7 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965-04-11 | EF4 | 28 | 123 | 45.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2002-09-20 | EF3 | 0 | 127 | 112.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1992-11-22 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1965-11-26 | EF3 | 0 | 5 | 14.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-07-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-04-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-11-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-06-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-09-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-04-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.6 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Hamilton County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 12, 1965 | Tornado | 6 | 30 | $25.0M | |
| Apr 19, 2013 | Flood | ARCADIA | 2 | 0 | $25K |
| Mar 28, 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | INDIANAPOLIS METRO A | 1 | 0 | $30K |
| Apr 8, 1999 | Lightning | CARMEL | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 5, 2005 | Lightning | SHERIDAN | 0 | 6 | $0 |
| Nov 27, 1965 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $250K | |
| Jun 6, 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | SHERIDAN | 0 | 2 | $50K |
| Jul 20, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | SHERIDAN | 0 | 2 | $5K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A 64-year-old Arcadia man died when he tried to cross a flooded Mount Pleasant Road, south of 266th Street. His vehicle was swept off the road around 7:45 p.m. on the 19th and moved about 100 yards downstream in Cicero Creek. ||A 42-year-old Arcadia man and his car was swept away in the same location near Cicero Creek on the early morning of the 20th. He was found dead on the morning of the 21st. There was a report of road blocks being across the street at the time.||The flooding was due to thunderstorm heavy rainfall.
A tree was downed by thunderstorm wind gusts at the 1900 block of Westwood Drive. The tree fell on a 40 year old man who was in the backyard at the time and was not able to escape before the winds arrived. This was an isolated area of much stronger winds than the otherwise modest 50kt gusts nearby. It was noted via drone footage that in this isolated area, numerous trees were uprooted, but all fell generally along the storm motion indicating straight line winds.
Newspaper and broadcast media reported a lightning strike was the suspected cause of a fire of a shopping strip in western Carmel, Indiana. Firefighters think lightning struck the El Rodeo restaurant, located in the 12-unit Weston Shoppes, and quickly spread across the shopping center. The strip mall owner said continuing lightning strikes prevented firefighters from hosing the flames from their ladder trucks, hampering their efforts to save the building. Damage estimates, not including each store's inventory, could be between 3 and 4 million dollars. Firefighters were still on the scene 8 1/2 hours later.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
365,056
Population (ACS)
$406K
Median home value
19
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Apr 3, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Apr 22, 2014 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Jun 8, 2008 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Mar 12, 2007 | Snowstorm | SNOW | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Fishers 125
- Noblesville 120
- Carmel 112
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Hamilton County, Indiana?
579 events are on record between 1961 and 2026, causing 10 direct deaths and $49.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Hamilton County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 259 recorded events — 44.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Hamilton County?
31 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 24 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Hamilton County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Hamilton County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Hamilton County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Hamilton County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 89 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Hamilton County, Indiana severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Greene County 303
- Hancock County 315
- Grant County 350
- Harrison County 403
- Gibson County 589
- Hendricks County 562
Cite this page
“Hamilton County, Indiana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/indiana/hamilton-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.