Tell Me About Tornadoes (Indianapolis, Lafayette: house, tornado, live)

[Renelou]

Hello Everyone!
I'm considering a move from Colorado Springs, CO to Indiana in about 2 years.

I like the more rural areas in the southern part, but am leaning towards the area around Crown Point in the north.

Can you tell me about the frequency of tornadoes in Indiana? We rarely have them in Denver/Co Springs, and I don't want to move to an area where I'm always worried about extreme weather.

Thanks!

[ochetura03]

following. my plan will be moving to IN around the same time but i'm coming from Hurricane state, so i'm wondering if IN has less weather activity than SFL

[ischyros]

According to the NOAA, between 1991 and 2010, 21 states had more tornadoes in an average year than Indiana, including the OP's own Colorado which averaged more than double the number of tornadoes per year than Indiana did and was one of the top 10 states for tornadoes, though yes I assume a huge majority of those were on the eastern plains of Colorado away from the mountains and cities along the front range. Do tornadoes happen here? Of course. And we are coming up on our tornado season as a vast majority in Indiana occur in May and June but they have happened in every month.

State records show that the majority of tornadoes in Indiana have occurred in the central and northern part of the state. Those records show that since 1953, the southern third of the state has averaged 1-3 tornadoes while the central and northern areas have averaged 7-9 tornadoes each for a total of about 22 tornadoes per year on average. Strangely enough, the counties with the most tornado reports since 1950 have been Marion, Hamilton, and Tippecanoe counties (Indianapolis, Indy's north suburbs, and Lafayette respectively). But the vast majority of tornadoes that occur here hit rural areas, are weak, and last for just a few minutes. I've never been in or seen a tornado. Honestly, microbursts, damaging wind, and large hail are a much more likely occurrence than a tornado and should be more of a concern due to the much larger area they cover than tornadoes.

But seriously, nobody goes around everyday worrying about whether there will be a tornado. You just can't live life like that. Same way that you don't go through every day worrying your house might catch fire or that you'll be involved in a car crash. You learn what to do in the event that it does happen and you use that to keep yourself safe. What more do you want to know?

[WestsideMac]

I'd say maybe every 5 or so years there's a major tornado that goes through the state and causes major damage, but again it's very hit or miss and most tornadoes don't cause too much alarm. Are there tornado watches and warnings, yes, but generally they are like any other watches and warnings for thunderstorms.

I remember one touching down in Indy in 2004 (not lots and lots of damage though), Henryville in Southern Indiana was hit very badly in 2012, but in my lifetime I don't remember too many others that were too destructive outside those two.

My father lives in Fountain, CO and he says that most days the way the clouds come off the mountains they get some kind of precipitation or storms. They are very brief and not generally damaging, but I would say it's probably similar with tornadoes. Any thunderstorm always has the ability if winds get swirling to create a tornado, but generally it doesn't happen. Very few times have I had to change any plans in my life due to a tornado. We definitely get less tornadoes than Florida or East Coast get Hurricanes or other kinds of tropical storms.

[popcorn247]

I grew up in Lafayette, IN. After graduating from Purdue, I moved south of Miami for my career. More than 40 years later, I've returned to the Lafayette area. I went through at least 5 hurricanes (incl. Hurricane Andrew, in Homestead). The nearly daily thunderstorms during the summer in Florida were very stressful for me. I hate lightning and thunder! Back home in Indiana, I've noticed that very few rain events have lightning. Overall, it seems more windy up here.

Tornadoes..... there are excellent meteorologists up here and warning systems. While I lived in Florida, I stressed out each hurricane season about storms. Here, in Indiana, I know how few, small and the low probability of a tornado hitting my specific area. Tornadoes are much much smaller, last only minutes and don't have the means to affect thousands of people.

[domergurl]

They happen are are totally predictable.

[censusdata]

Likelihood of an exact location - like your house - being hit by a tornado are very small. There are a couple days each decade where conditions are favorable for violent tornadoes and you should be prepared to shelter for short duration. Maybe 30 minutes.

[sheerbliss]

If there's a tornado warning, you should get an alert on your phone. Your area might also have sirens going off. Take shelter.

More commonly, you'll have to drive through torrential rainstorms.

• slow down
• don't tailgate
• if visibility is bad, turn on your flashers
• if there's water in your path and you can't see the bottom, turn around, don't drown

[rrah]

Originally Posted by domergurl

They happen are are totally predictable.

Domergurl--you're back! I've wondered where you were.

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

Originally Posted by ischyros

According to the NOAA, between 1991 and 2010, 21 states had more tornadoes in an average year than Indiana, including the OP's own Colorado which averaged more than double the number of tornadoes per year than Indiana did and was one of the top 10 states for tornadoes, though yes I assume a huge majority of those were on the eastern plains of Colorado away from the mountains and cities along the front range. Do tornadoes happen here? Of course. And we are coming up on our tornado season as a vast majority in Indiana occur in May and June but they have happened in every month.

Indiana is quite a bit smaller than most states. It makes sense they would have fewer tornadoes. One reason Texas usually has the most tornadoes is because it is the largest state of the lower 48 and covers more land.

If you combine Indiana, Oho, Illinois, Missouri and Kansas, they might be as big as Texas and have as many or more tornadoes. If you slice up Texas and find a slice about the same size as Indiana, there might be a few more tornadoes, but not by much.

I been lucky. I never experienced a tornado in Texas or Indiana.