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Spencer County, Indiana severe weather history spans 334 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 45.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,584 nationally and #37 in Indiana.
334
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$4.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Spencer County, Indiana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Spencer County, Indiana severe weather history averages 4.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 110 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 42 events fall before 1990 and 292 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $1.7M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Spencer County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 153 | 0 | $1.7M | 83 | 1955–2025 |
| Hail | 75 | 0 | $0 | 4.25 | 1967–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 32 | 0 | $1.3M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 30 | 0 | $585K | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 19 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2015 |
| Tornado | 18 | 0 | $401K | F1 | 1982–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2024 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 2007–2007 |
Decade by decade
Spencer County, Indiana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
22 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 16 touched down inside it and 6 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-11-06 | EF3 | 24 | 238 | 41.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2007-10-18 | EF3 | 0 | 8 | 7.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1982-05-31 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 16.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2023-03-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-10-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-12-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-11-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-04-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2015-04-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2011-06-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Spencer County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5, 1985 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 | |
| Feb 24, 2007 | Lightning | NEWTONVILLE | 0 | 1 | $5K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Three young boys were rescued unhurt when their boat capsized in Anderson River backwaters just southeast of New Boston. Several stranded motorists were rescued. At least one family was rescued from a flooded home in St. Meinrad. A home near the Anderson River was sandbagged. Schools were closed. Numerous roads were closed, including roads that don't normally flood. Major roads that were closed included portions of U.S. Highway 231, Indiana 62, and Indiana 161. Some damage occurred to county roads. Some water entered the Spencer County courthouse and other structures around the county. Residents of a house on Indiana 66 could access their house only by boat.
Moderate flooding continued along the Ohio River from late February. The flood crest in neighboring Warrick County was the highest since the March, 1997 flood. Numerous roads were closed for days at a time, including at least 50 county roads. U.S. Route 231 north of Rockport was affected by high water, along with a few other state highways. The town of Grandview in Spencer County was hardest hit, where some residents evacuated.
A damaging downburst crossed into Spencer County from southeast Warrick County. Hundreds of trees, some very large, were uprooted, snapped, or had large broken limbs. A half dozen homes or garages sustained mostly minor damage, with loss of siding, shingles, or other damage. One barn was destroyed east of Hatfield due to fallen trees. A tree fell on a mobile home. Peak winds in this downburst were estimated near 95 mph. The damage area was about eight miles long and two miles wide, and nearly all of it occurred in Spencer County.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
19,955
Population (ACS)
$185K
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 |
| May 4, 2018 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jun 23, 2011 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND | DR |
| Mar 5, 2009 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Rockport 135
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Spencer County, Indiana?
334 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $4.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Spencer County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 153 recorded events — 45.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Spencer County?
22 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 16 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Spencer County?
15 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Spencer County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Spencer County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Spencer County as very low risk, placing it in the 39 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Spencer 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
- Shelby County 357
- Starke County 217
- Scott County 153
- Steuben County 280
- St. Joseph County 707
- Sullivan County 242
Cite this page
“Spencer County, Indiana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/indiana/spencer-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.