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Rush County, Indiana severe weather history spans 273 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 64.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,941 nationally and #55 in Indiana.
273
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
41
Direct injuries
$10.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Rush County, Indiana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Rush County, Indiana severe weather history averages 3.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 75 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 42 events fall before 1990 and 231 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Rush County, Indiana record is tornado, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $7.7M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Rush County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 176 | 0 | $2.4M | 87 | 1963–2026 |
| Hail | 54 | 0 | $0 | 2.5 | 1971–2025 |
| Tornado | 23 | 3 | $7.7M | F4 | 1956–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 12 | 0 | $475K | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Flood | 6 | 0 | $42K | 0 | 1998–2017 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $25K | 0 | 2008–2009 |
Decade by decade
Rush County, Indiana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
26 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980-07-09 | EF4 | 2 | 25 | 11.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-04-03 | EF4 | 0 | 17 | 18.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1961-04-25 | EF4 | 0 | 7 | 63.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2008-06-03 | EF3 | 1 | 8 | 9.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2019-06-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 14.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-11-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1969-05-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 33.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1958-06-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1955-03-11 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 34.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-05-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.6 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Rush County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 10, 1980 | Tornado | 2 | 25 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 4, 2008 | Tornado | MOSCOW | 1 | 8 | $1.0M |
| Mar 15, 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | RUSHVILLE | 0 | 3 | $500K |
| Apr 25, 1961 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 29, 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | WILLIAMSTOWN | 0 | 1 | $50K |
| Jun 2, 1980 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Thunderstorm winds caused damage over 50 locations across Rush County with trees or powerlines down and at least two dozen structures damaged. Three people were injured north of Rushville where winds blew over a security trailer.
The EF-2 rated tornado, with max wind speeds of 130 mph, began near the intersection of County Road 400 South and 550 West and tracked northeast. The worst damage was located just southwest of Rushville along County Road 300 South and Flatrock River Road. Two metal silos and a barn were destroyed at a property near the intersection and debris from these structures were twisted and carried one half to three quarters of a mile to the northeast. An extensive amount of trees were sheared and uprooted along Flatrock River Road.||Additional damage occurred to trailers parked at the Fraley and Schilling Trucking Company along State Route 3 just south of Rushville. The last area of significant damage occurred at a home along Orange Pike to the east-southeast of Rushville. Numerous trees were snapped and a detached and well anchored garage was completely destroyed.||Tree damage continued to the northeast of this point…crossing State Route 44 west of Glenwood before ending north of Glenwood near County Road 250 North.
Thunderstorm downburst winds blew down trees through the town of Rushville and along the south side of town…damaging 6 homes, including partial roof damage to a building on the southwest side of Rushville. Winds continued to down trees and powerlines to the southeast side of Rushville.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
16,739
Population (ACS)
$167K
Median home value
15
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 |
| Sep 23, 2008 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jun 8, 2008 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Sep 10, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Rush County, Indiana?
273 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths and $10.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Rush County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 176 recorded events — 64.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Rush County?
26 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 17 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Rush County?
15 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Rush County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Rush County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Rush County as very low risk, placing it in the 16 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Rush 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
- St. Joseph County 707
- Ripley County 488
- Scott County 153
- Randolph County 265
- Shelby County 357
- Putnam County 349
Cite this page
“Rush County, Indiana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/indiana/rush-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.