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Lake County, Indiana severe weather history spans 659 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 53.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #457 nationally and #4 in Indiana.
659
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
38
Direct injuries
$65.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Lake County, Indiana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Lake County, Indiana severe weather history averages 8.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 213 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 52 events fall before 1990 and 607 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Lake County, Indiana record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $33.1M in reported property damage. In total, 10 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Lake County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 353 | 2 | $4.6M | 96 | 1957–2026 |
| Hail | 144 | 0 | $61K | 2.75 | 1961–2026 |
| Flood | 49 | 0 | $22.1M | 0 | 2006–2025 |
| Tornado | 48 | 0 | $5.7M | F3 | 1951–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 37 | 0 | $33.1M | 0 | 1996–2026 |
| Lightning | 13 | 1 | $180K | 0 | 1996–2016 |
| Heavy Rain | 11 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2020–2023 |
| Dust Devil | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2012–2012 |
| Rip Current | 1 | 1 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2001 |
Decade by decade
Lake County, Indiana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
48 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 39 touched down inside it and 9 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974-06-20 | EF3 | 0 | 5 | 4.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-11-12 | EF3 | 0 | 14 | 4.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-04-23 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 51.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2014-06-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-08-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-06-30 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 6.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-03-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-07-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-07-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 14.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-07-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Lake County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 16, 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | CEDAR LAKE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 19, 2013 | Lightning | BLACK OAK | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 13, 2001 | Rip Current | GARY | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 5, 1989 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 | |
| Nov 12, 1965 | Tornado | 0 | 14 | $250K | |
| Jun 21, 1974 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $250K | |
| Jun 17, 2012 | Dust Devil | MAYNARD | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jun 25, 2002 | Lightning | CROWN PT | 0 | 2 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Numerous large tree limbs were blown down just west of Cedar Lake including a few that fell onto houses. One large tree limb, approximately 20 inches in diameter and 70 feet tall fell onto a one story house on 141st Court. The tree caused significant structural damage to the house and pinned a 44 year old woman in a bed. She died a short time later. Two other people in the house at the time were not injured.
Record flooding occurred along the Little Calumet River and its tributaries in northwest Indiana. A record crest of 17.32 feet was set at Munster on the 14th. Record flooding also occurred along Hart Ditch. Nearly 190 patients were evacuated from the Munster Med-Inn. Major flooding was reported in Munster with over a thousand homes evacuated as a levee along the Little Calumet River failed. Interstate 80/94 was closed in northwest Indiana when levees were topped by flood waters.
Heavy rain fell across parts of far northwest Lake County causing significant flooding and flash flooding. In Hammond, numerous streets were flooded with cars stranded in the flood waters. At least 500 houses experienced some amount of flooding including basement flooding. The hardest hit area was roughly 3 square miles bounded by the Illinois/Indiana State line on the west, Detroit Street on the south, White Oak Avenue on the east and 137th Street on the north. Rainfall amounts included 4.79 inches in Hammond; 4.53 inches two miles west of East Chicago and 4.36 inches one mile north of Hammond.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
500,379
Population (ACS)
$231K
Median home value
22
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Apr 15, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Apr 3, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| May 4, 2018 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 22, 2014 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Lake County, Indiana?
659 events are on record between 1951 and 2026, causing 4 direct deaths and $65.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Lake County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 353 recorded events — 53.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Lake County?
48 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 39 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Lake County?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Lake County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Lake County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Lake County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 96 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Lake 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
- LaGrange County 203
- LaPorte County 423
- Kosciusko County 519
- Lawrence County 332
- Knox County 554
- Madison County 530
Cite this page
“Lake County, Indiana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/indiana/lake-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.