La Porte

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 LaPorte County, the county that contains La Porte.

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.

River crests

River gauges in LaPorte County, the county that contains La Porte.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for LaPorte County, the county that contains La Porte.

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.

Tsunamis

Tsunami records for LaPorte County.

1. Places where NOAA's Global Historical Tsunami Database records a tsunami's water arriving, with the greatest height it reached above sea level at the time. Only tsunamis NOAA rates probable or definite are counted. Heights from eyewitness accounts and tide gauges are mixed, and older events are less completely recorded.

NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Aug 23, 2006Thunderstorm Wind$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A supercell came onshore from Lake Michigan at Michigan City with winds initially above 100 mph. Wind gusts to 75 mph were reported several miles inland as the storm continued south through Westville and Wanatah. Widespread tree, power poles and lines damage was observed from the lake shore to Westville. One minor injury was reported from a cleanup worker in Westville. 2 vehicles were destroyed as a result of falling trees. A police car in Westville suffered damage from a tree falling onto it. 2 miles north of Westville a semi was blown off the Indiana Toll Road with a train suffering damage as a result of the winds. Several buildings suffered roof damage, including several…

2. Oct 24, 2001Tornado$750,000
3. Jun 23, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A survey of rather extensive damage was performed across the county. An intense microburst with a path of 2 to 3 miles and estimated 100 mph winds was surveyed from Pine Lake northeast through Rolling Prairie. The most concentrated damage occurred at the start of the event, where enumerable trees were uprooted and snapped with roof damage to numerous homes. A lack of overall structure damage, outside of falling trees, suggested that the high winds remained at tree top level, roughly 30 to 50 feet. No specific damage value was available, but given the magnitude of the damage, an estimate of $750,000 will be assigned to the event.

4. Sep 13, 2008Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Spotters and emergency management officials reported several road closures across the northern part of the county. The road closures included US 25 and 35. Rainfall amounts of eight to over 11 inches were recorded, with the highest amount in the Laporte area where 11.20 inches was noted. No injuries were reported. Exact damage figures were not available.

5. Oct 26, 2010Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A survey of damage near the town of Wanatah, plus numerous eye witness reports, confirmed a tornado rapidly touched down north of West Bailey Road and east of US 421 in an open field. A funnel cloud was tracked by emergency personnel as it approached the south side of the town before touching down. The circulation then struck several structures at the Hoosier Machinery Solutions, destroying them. The largest structure was a 50 foot by 200 foot open shelter that as destroyed and debris was carried nearly a mile northeast before being dropped in a field. A security camera recorded the destruction of the shelter. The tornado then quickly crossed US 30 east of US 421 clipping the…

6. Feb 20, 2018Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   High water forced the closures of several roads in LaPorte county, including portions of US 20 and 35 and State Routes 8 and 212. The high water was the result of ditches, creeks, streams and rivers exceeding their capacity, causing extensive flooding that slowly increased over the span of a few days. State Route 8, between US 421 and State Route 39 suffered such severe flooding as a result of flood waters on the Yellow iver that a portion of the road will require complete reconstruction of a portion, causing it to remain closed for several months. See separate entry for damage to a levee in Starke county. Damage in excess of $500,000 was reported to mainly county roads, state…

7. Aug 24, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   TREES BLOWN DOWN ON ONE HOUSE AND SEVERAL CARS.

8. Jul 28, 2009Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous reports were received of flash flooding across many parts of Michigan City. Video footage showed water flowing over many roadways, averaging at least a foot deep, causing some vehicles to stall. At one point, all lanes on US 20 between Johnson road and US 421 were closed due to flowing water over the highway. A CoCoRaHS observer southeast of Trail Creek reported a storm total of 5.64 inches of rain, with an observer on the southwest side of Michigan City reporting 4.10 inches of rain. Rainfall amounts quickly tapered south of Michigan City with locations as far south as the Kingsbury area not even seeing a quarter inch. No reports of injuries or fatalities were noted as a…

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

   Heavy rain and snow melt caused the Kankakee River to go over its banks and flood mainly agricultural areas. However...10 of 15 feet of a levee that was in place along the river southeast of Kingsbury, gave way. A few residences were near the increased flooding and were sandbaged as a precaution but did not experience any problems. Numerous roads were posted with high water signs or closed for a period of time as runoff pooled in low areas and ditches, including County Road 500 South near Walkerton where a bridge was closed as a precaution due to the high water. Damage is estimated at $150,000.

10. May 15, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Several trees and power lines down in the area, as well as a recorded 65 mph gust. Some of these trees fell onto occupied residences. Luckily no one was injured in any of these cases. However, one injury was reported when a tree split and a limb fell onto a County Deputy Coroner who was on a motorcycle. He suffered 2 broken bones in the lower part of his legs. At least $100,000 in damage is estimated from the storms.

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

104°FSep 1, 1953

All-time low

−23°F3 times, most recently Jan 19, 1994

Warmest night

82°FJul 20, 1898

Coldest day

−11°FDec 24, 1983

Wettest day

6.73 inSep 13, 2008

Snowiest day

21.9 inJan 19, 2024

Hottest year

1998mean 53.6°F

Coldest year

2014mean 46.6°F

Wettest year

195470.98 in

Driest year

189928.63 in

Snowiest season

141.4 in2017-18

Station Laporte (USC00124837), 809 ft elevation, 0.8 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1897 to October 26, 2026; 97.8% 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 LaPorte 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 USC00124837.
• 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.
• Tsunamis NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database.
• 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.