Boone County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Boone County: 20.
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.

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

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.

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.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

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 county boundary (or inside the county).
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. Apr 20, 2004Tornado$1.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado associated with a low-topped supercell touched down a quarter of a mile south of the Boone/Hendricks county line in Hendricks county. The tornado continued northeast through Jamestown and into Boone county causing significant damage to a dozen homes. 2 homes had their roofs blown completely off and tossed several hundred feet into a corn field. There were 8 minor injuries including one man whose semi was blown over along Interstate 74. Estimated wind speeds were around 110 mph or on the high end of an F1 rating.

2. Jan 22, 1999Flood, Boone$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rapid snow melt and heavy rain caused flooding along Eagle Creek. Zionsville crested at 10.7 feet (flood stage is 7 feet), while Speedway crested at 11.37 feet (flood stage is 9 feet).

3. Apr 19, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Multiple cars and trucks were blown off of Interstate 65, between mile markers 147 and 152, due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts. A barn was also destroyed near this location. A larger pole barn was destroyed on County Road 400 North near 450 North.

4. Jan 5, 2005Ice Storm, Boone$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   At least three homes in Boone County were significantly damaged by fire caused by falling power lines coated with ice.

5. Feb 14, 2016Winter Weather, Boone$280,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   WXIN reported heavy snowfall in central Indiana causing slick roads and hazardous driving conditions. State police and the Lebanon Police Department responded to a crash on northbound Interstate 65 around 1:30 PM. An estimated 40 vehicles were involved in a series of crashes from the 138 to the 140 mile markers. Over 30 people were treated and transferred to local hospitals.

6. Nov 17, 2013Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   At 1536EST, this EF-2 tornado touched down 3 miles southwest of Lebanon. The tornado tracked from southwest of Lebanon through an industrial area just west of Interstate 65 and State Route 39. The tornado crossed Interstate 65 near the State Route 39 interchange, Exit 139, and heavily damaged a Starbucks on the east side of the interchange. Several homes sustained damage in the neighborhood directly east-northeast of the Starbucks. The tornado lifted one mile south of Lebanon at 1542EST.

7. May 19, 2005Lightning$175,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck a home in the Fox Hollow Subdivision of Zionsville, Indiana. Significant damage was caused by the ensuing fire.

8. Mar 31, 2023Tornado$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Continuation of the Montgomery County EF1 tornado, which ultimately entered Clinton County before reaching EF2 intensity, (a secondary, weaker EF0 tornado simultaneously crossed from Montgomery to Boone County, tracking about 1.0-1.5 miles southeast of this tornado). Damage along this Boone County segment was mainly along County Road 900 North, where panels from the northeast side of a barn roof were ripped off and carried 0.25 to 0.50 miles east and northeast. Also, a path of uprooted hardwood trees occurred just northeast of the barn, consistent with high-end EF0-intensity winds as strong as 85 mph.

9. Mar 31, 2023Tornado$120,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Continuation from Montgomery County of the secondary, EF0 tornado (that tracked just southeast of the nearby, multi-county EF2 tornado). A barn just west of the Montgomery-Boone county line was partially destroyed by 85 mph winds, with debris blown into Boone County and one-quarter mile to the northeast. The tornado also downed utility poles along the county line road before causing tree damage and shifting an older barn from its foundation.

10. Jun 14, 2006Lightning$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A house was heavily damaged by a lightning strike-induced fire.

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

112°FJul 14, 1936

All-time low

−27°FJan 19, 1994

Warmest night

80°F5 times, most recently Jun 13, 2021

Coldest day

−9°FJan 17, 1977

Wettest day

7.92 inJun 28, 1957

Snowiest day

15.0 inDec 20, 1973

Hottest year

2024mean 56.5°F

Coldest year

1904mean 47.2°F

Wettest year

195755.63 in

Driest year

202221.37 in

Snowiest season

59.0 in1977-78

Station Whitestown (USC00129557), 941 ft elevation, 1.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1901 to March 2, 2026; 94.3% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USC00129557.
• 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.