Retro Indy: Indiana, in path of 'Tornado Alley,' has seen many deadly twisters
The weekend storms that spawned tornadoes and left at least five people dead in Southern Indiana was the state's first multi-fatality outbreak since 2021, according to the National Weather Service.
But the federal agency's violent tornado tracker includes dozens of other twisters that have killed hundreds of people in Indiana since 1876.
Indiana is in the path of "Tornado Alley," a swath of states extending from the Southeast to the Plains. Although they can strike at any time of the year, most tornadoes form during the spring months from March to June.
Historically, the most destructive tornadoes strike in March and April. June holds the record for the most tornadoes in Indiana on any given day, 37, and for the most in a single month, 44. Both records were set in 1990, which is also the year for the most tornadoes in the state, 49.
Here is a look at some of Indiana's deadliest twisters:
1925: The Tri-State Tornado
Indiana was one of three Midwest states in the path of the deadliest tornado in American history. On March 18, 1925, the Tri-State Tornado traveled a record 219 miles on the ground from Missouri through Illinois and into Indiana, where it struck Posey, Gibson and Pike counties.
The town of Griffin, Ind., lost 150 homes, and 85 farms near Griffin and Princeton were devastated. About half of Princeton was destroyed with losses totaling nearly $2 million. The tornado finally dissipated just outside Princeton, 3½ hours after it began. Nearly 700 people died, 74 of them in Indiana. Murphysboro, Ill., lost 234 people, a record for a single community.
1965: Palm Sunday tornadoes rips through Indiana
On April 11, 1965 — Palm Sunday — 11 tornadoes struck 20 counties in Central and Northern Indiana, killing 137 people. More than 1,700 people were injured and property damage exceeded $30 million. It was Indiana's worst tornado disaster.
Twin tornadoes tore through Goshen, destroying close to 100 trailer homes. In Russiaville, 90 percent of the buildings were damaged. The tornadoes that devastated Indiana were part of a series of nearly 50 tornadoes that struck the Great Lakes region on April 11-12, causing 271 deaths and more than 3,400 injuries.
1974: 'Super Outbreak'
The most destructive tornado outbreak of the 20th century was the "Super Outbreak" of April 3-4, 1974. During a 16-hour period, 148 tornadoes hit 13 states, including Indiana. The path of destruction stretched 2,500 miles, from Windsor, Ontario as far south as Alabama. More than 300 people died and more than 5,000 were injured. The most notable tornado in this group destroyed much of Xenia, Ohio, where the force of the tornado lifted railcars from their tracks.
In Indiana, 21 tornadoes struck 39 counties, killing 47 people. Indiana communities in the path of the twisters stretched from Monticello, Rochester, Atwood to Madison and Hanover, destroying about 2,100 homes. In tiny Hamburg, in Franklin County, all but six homes were destroyed by the tornadoes. President Richard M. Nixon declared Indiana and four other states disaster areas.
1990: 37 tornadoes in a month
On June 2, 1990, the largest outbreak of tornadoes ever hit Indiana. Thirty-seven tornadoes ripped across 31 counties; eight people died and more than 200 were injured. Downtown Petersburg was severely damaged. Across the Midwest, this outbreak produced 64 tornadoes in nine states and caused nine deaths.
More Indiana tornado disasters
• April 13, 1852: New Harmony, 16 killed.
• May 14, 1886: Anderson, 43 killed.
• March 23, 1913: Terre Haute, 21 killed.
• March 11, 1917: New Castle, 21 killed.
• March 23, 1917: New Albany, 45 killed.
• March 28, 1920: Allen through Wayne counties, 39 killed by three tornadoes.
• April 17, 1922: Warren through Delaware counties, 14 killed.
• March 18, 1925: "Tri-State Tornado," Posey, Gibson and Pike counties, 74 killed.
• March 26, 1948: Coatesville destroyed, 20 killed.
• May 21, 1949: Sullivan and Clay counties, 14 killed.
• April 11, 1965: "Palm Sunday Outbreak," 11 tornadoes, 20 counties, 137 killed.
• April 3, 1974: "Super Outbreak," 21 tornadoes, 39 counties, 47 killed.
• June 2, 1990: 37 tornadoes hit 31 counties, 8 killed.
• Nov. 6, 2005: Vanderburgh and Warrick counties, 24 killed.
• March 2, 2012: Fredericksburg, New Pekin, Henryville, Holton and Marysville. Several tornadoes covered 49 miles in 49 minutes, 14 killed.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Retro Indy: Indiana's deadliest tornadoes
