Columbia City

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Whitley County, the county that contains Columbia City.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

The drought index is for Whitley County, the county that contains Columbia City.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. May 9, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees down on houses and cars. A South Whitley factory had its roof blown off and the Tranter Printing building lost its roof which crashed into a vehicle destroying it. Several homes sustained damage from fallen trees with many power lines blown down across town.

2. Mar 8, 2009Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The circulation rapidly touched down on the southern outskirts of the Countryside Mobile Home Park and moved northeast through the eastern part of the park. As the circulation intensified, extensive damage occurred to 6 mobile homes which were severely damaged or destroyed. An additional 20 trailers in the immediate area suffered varying amount of damage from ripped skirting to some shifting off blocks. At least one trailer was occupied at the time of the tornado, but luckily no injuries were reported. Damage is estimated at around one half million dollars.

3. May 27, 2022Flash Flood$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Emergency management officials reported nearly 20 homes, as well as several local ditches and roads, were impacted by flash flooding as some locations in the Tri Lakes area received between three and five inches of rain over a few hour period. Some homes experienced a foot or more of water into the interior areas as well as crawlspaces and basements. Washouts of driveways, foundations and some local roads occurred. Damage is estimated at least at $300,000.

4. Sep 20, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The same storm what produced the microburst in Kosciusko County continued into Whitley County. Damage occurred from the Five Points area, southeast to State Route 205. Damage consisted of trees and intermittent structure damage in several non-continuous locations. Some crops were damage, especially near Riley Road.

5. Jul 7, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   STRONG THUNDERSTORM WINDS DESTROYED A GARAGE AND BARN JUST EAST OF SOUTH WHITLEY ALONG SR 205. ALSO, TREES WERE BLOWN DOWN, A ROOF WAS BLOWN OFF A GARAGE AND HOUSE AND A HOUSE WAS DAMAGED WHEN A TREE WAS BLOWN ON IT. A MOBILE HOME WAS OVERTURNED ON THE NORTHSIDE OF SOUTH WHITLEY. CROP DAMAGE WAS ESTIMATED AT $50,000 DUE TO THE WINDS.

6. Jan 8, 2008Flood$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous roads were closed or posted with high water signs across the county as a result of 1 to 3 inches of rain, as well as snow melt. Several residences and businesses were sandbagged as a precaution but no significant damage was reported. Damage is estimated at around $150,000.

7. Jun 11, 2010Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Torrential rain, totaling nearly five inches in an hour, fell in and around Columbia City, resulting in widespread flash flooding across the city. Numerous roadways were periodically covered with flowing water, with some closures. Portions of State Routes 9 and 205 had nearly two feet of flowing water in spots. Several homes suffered minor basement flooding. Damage is estimated at $100,000.

8. Jun 14, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Many barns and few homes damaged. Several trees and power lines down.

9. Aug 24, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   TREE FELL INTO A HOUSE CAUSING MAJOR STRUCTURAL DAMAGE. ANOTHER TREE FELL ON TOP OF A CAR FLATTENING IT.

10. May 7, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$75,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Photos on Facebook show several barns damaged in Larwill.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

103°FJun 26, 1988

All-time low

−24°F3 times, most recently Jan 19, 1994

Warmest night

77°F2 times, most recently Jul 31, 1999

Coldest day

−14°FJan 19, 1994

Wettest day

5.00 inJun 1, 2013

Snowiest day

11.0 inDec 20, 1973

Hottest year

1973mean 52.8°F

Coldest year

2014mean 45.7°F

Wettest year

199054.88 in

Driest year

201226.02 in

Snowiest season

82.0 in1981-82

Station Columbia City (USC00121739), 834 ft elevation, 1.4 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1963 to October 22, 2026; 92.6% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Whitley County.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00121739.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.