DeKalb County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within DeKalb County: 0.
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. Oct 24, 2001Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   On Wednesday 10/24/01 a surface low pressure system tracked rapidly northeast from the mid Mississippi Valley to northern Lake Michigan and deepened significantly. The accompanying cold front surged east from the Mississippi Valley during the afternoon to southeast Michigan and western Ohio in the evening. The deepening surface low was the result of a negatively tilted upper level trough approaching the Mississippi Valley. The air mass ahead of the cold front was quite unstable with lifted indices around -5C and surface dewpoints of 65-70F. Strong veering wind fields were over the area with 20-30kt S-SSE flow at the surface veering rapidly in the low levels to southwest at 45kts,…

2. Nov 6, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   4 houses suffered extensive damage in the city of Auburn. Numerous trees, tree limbs, power lines and poles were also blown down. A shed and other building suffered varying degrees of damage. A truck was blown over onto its side. A local resident reported a 2 by 6 stud was driven into the ground. An officer on his way to work reported a large piece of metal being wrapped around a tree on county road 427. Surveys from local emergency and NWS officials found evidence of the formation of gustnadoes where concentrated areas of damage were observed.

3. Aug 29, 2022Thunderstorm Wind$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Auburn-Garrett drive-in theatre outdoor movie screen suffered extensive damage with half of the panels being ripped off the screen and some supports bent or removed. Damage was estimated at $300,000.

4. Jun 14, 2000Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Once the previous tornado lifted up into the clouds, the thunderstorm cell moved northeast when this second tornado touched down and followed a skipping path near CR 60. The tornado reached the ground about 3 times. The tornado touched down first in a forested area and knocked down many trees. It then lifted and dropped down again in a residential area about a quarter mile away. There was much damage to houses and barns. A window was broken and a downspout torn off of a house. A satellite dish was twisted and bent while a television antenna was knocked off of a roof. Several trees were snapped and knocked onto power lines before the tornado lifted. It touched down a third time…

5. Sep 11, 2000Flood, De Kalb$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread street and basement flooding. Between 4 and 5 inches of rainfall was reported in town. Several people were rescued from stranded vehicles in flood waters.

6. May 7, 2024Hail$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hail damage in Corunna, cars, siding, and roofs damaged from 3 inch hail stones.

7. Jun 14, 2000Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down on CR 64, one half mile west of Indian Springs Camp Ground. Trees and power lines were knocked down and many were snapped and uprooted. Extensive roof damage occurred to houses in the area. A barn was damaged with much of its roof torn off and outbuildings were either damaged or destroyed. The tornado then lifted back into its parent cloud.

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

   At least 6 roads were temporarily closed, with many others posted with high water signs, as ditches overflowed and low areas filled. A senior care center was threatened by flood waters coming out of a overflown retention pond. Sandbags were placed to help, but luckily no evacuations were needed. No exact damage figure were available, but are estimated at around $150,000.

9. Jan 12, 2005Dense Fog, De Kalb$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread dense fog developed across much of Northern Indiana during the morning hours. Visibility was reported to be at or near zero in many locations. Numerous accidents were reported as a result of the fog. The fog was indirectly responsible for a total of 2 deaths and at least 11 injuries. A 32 vehicle pile-up occurred on the Indiana Toll Road, 4 miles east of State Route 9 near the Indiana/Michigan state line at approximately 11 am EST. A 27 year old male was killed when the car he was traveling in as a passenger was crushed between 2 semi's involved in the pile up. 8 other injuries were reported in this pile up. 2 ambulances were also involved in the pile up when they were…

10. Jul 16, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$75,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    State police report a semi truck driver was injured when a tree fell onto the cab of the truck.

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

102°FJun 28, 2012

All-time low

−26°FJan 31, 2019

Warmest night

80°FJun 16, 2022

Coldest day

−5°FJan 19, 1994

Wettest day

4.73 inSep 12, 2000

Snowiest day

8.7 inFeb 2, 2011

Hottest year

1998mean 53.5°F

Coldest year

2014mean 45.7°F

Wettest year

199055.99 in

Driest year

201226.23 in

Snowiest season

75.3 in2013-14

Station Garrett 1 S (USC00123207), 870 ft elevation, 5.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1989 to September 29, 2026; 98.0% 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 USC00123207.
• 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.