Kosciusko County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Kosciusko County: 1.
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. May 14, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Emergency management officials reported two livestock barns, containing chickens, suffered damage. One building suffered severe damage with roughly 200,000 chickens having to be relocated. Debris from the barns was thrown up to a half mile northeast of the location, with a barn on 900 West south of 100 North suffering some damage. Damage by the business owners is estimated in excess of five million dollars due to structural damage, costs to move the chickens to other facilities and other expenses.

2. Oct 18, 2007Tornado$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado continued tracking northeast from Marshall county into extreme northwestern Kosciusko county. 116 structures were reported to have some sort of damage. 17 homes were destroyed, 6 suffered major damage and 17 minor damage. A horse was killed in a barn that was destroyed. Damage estimated around 3 million dollars.

3. Oct 24, 2001Tornado$2.5 million
4. Jun 11, 1998Tornado$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   THIS WAS ANOTHER TORNADO SPAWNED FROM THE SAME TORNADIC SUPERCELL THAT CAUSED DAMAGE IN PULASKI COUNTY EARLIER IN THE EVENING. 30 MOBILE HOMES AT THE MIKEL MOBILE ESTATES WERE DAMAGED, MANY SEVERELY. SOME WERE SIMPLY OVERTURNED WHILE OTHERS WERE COMPLETELY FLATTENED. 4 PEOPLE SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES.

5. Jul 21, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   NUMEROUS TREES DOWN IN TOWN. ONE HOME COMPLETELY DESTROYED BY LARGE FALLEN TREE WHICH CRUSHED THE THEN UNOCCUPIED HOME. A TENTS AT THE COOK CHAPEDL CHURCH WERE BLOWN AWAY AND NEVER FOUND. SEVERAL OTHER HOMES SUFFERED MINOR TO MODERATE DAMAGE ESPECIALLY TO ROOFS FROM FALLEN TREES AND LIMBS.

6. Jul 22, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A survey of widespread damage, as well as possible tornado sightings, was performed by NWS officials. A two to three mile wide area of damage was found across the southern part of Warsaw, into much of the Village of Winona Lake. Eyewitness and video footage indicates that a funnel had formed on the leading edge of the storm just prior to the wind damage. No indications of the funnel touching down could be located. However, damage patterns and video footage indicated a downburst occurred. Winds were not fully able to reach the ground, with damage confined to numerous trees being snapped at higher levels or uprooted. Power poles and lines were also knocked down, mainly due to…

7. Sep 20, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorms produced a series of microbursts along an approximately 10 mile path, starting just south of Leesburg and ending near the Whitley county line. Numerous trees were broken or uprooted as well as many tree branches snapped. Multiple structures and power lines were impacted by the falling trees, causing pockets of damage, which centered on the Chapman Lake area. Winds were estimated in the 60 to 80 mph range, highest in the Chapman Lake area.

8. Jun 23, 2010Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A storm survey by NWS personnel indicated a weak circulation embedded in a initially stronger microburst south of US-30. Lofting of debris from a destroyed pole barn was evident in the area suggesting the tornado touched down near a residence south of Fox Farm Road, near North 200 West. The circulation continued to intensify as it tracked southeast into the Center Lake area. Numerous trees were damaged or uprooted along the track with a manufactured home being shifted off its blocks. As the tornado passed over State Route 15, it impacted the Warsaw Foundry, causing the southwest portion of the roof of a building to be torn off (DI: MBS, DOD: 3). The circulation continued across…

9. Mar 13, 2006Thunderstorm Wind$265,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A survey of damage at the Maple Leaf Farms Distribution center, southeast of Milford, concluded that straight line winds were the cause of damage to a cold storage building. As winds striking the west side of the building interacted with the pressure within the cold storage vault, causing a vacuum that resulted in numerous panels, as well as insulation, being pulled off the building. The refrigeration equipment did not suffer any damage. However, much of its contents were exposed to the outside air, resulting in some loss of the food. Roof damage was also reported at 3 smaller buildings. As the winds continued east, trees and power lines were knocked down in an around Blueberry…

10. Jul 21, 1998Lightning$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A LIGHTNING INDUCED FIRE COMPLETELY DESTROYED THE PACKERTON FOREST PRODUCTS PLANT.

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°F2 times, most recently Jul 7, 2012

All-time low

−21°FJan 16, 2009

Warmest night

78°FJul 19, 2019

Coldest day

−5°FJan 30, 2019

Wettest day

5.84 inJul 8, 1951

Snowiest day

9.4 inApr 7, 1957

Hottest year

2012mean 53.4°F

Coldest year

1997mean 47.3°F

Wettest year

195450.94 in

Driest year

201024.16 in

Station Goshen Municipal Airport (USW00014829), 824 ft elevation, 18.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1953 to October 26, 2026; 98.3% 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 USW00014829.
• 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.