Orange County

Every recorded tornado

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

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 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.

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 29, 1996Flood, Orange$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Torrential rains caused the worst flooding since 1959 across many southern Indiana locations. Between 5 and 9 inches of rain fell from the afternoon of April 28 to the morning of April 29. The most notable flooding occurred along the Blue River at Fredericksburg, Milltown and English. Around 70 homes and a few businesses received major damage in Washington, Crawford and Orange counties. Two mobile homes were destroyed in Orange county. Evacuations were made in Milltown, Henryville, English, Paoli and Fredericksburg. The Blue River crested at 27.1 feet at Fredericksburg (20.0 flood stage) at 1800 est on April 29. It crested at 28.9 feet (16.0 flood stage) at Milltown at 0500 est on April 30.

2. May 27, 2004Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   There was extensive flooding of a residential area in the northern part of Paoli. The worst flooding was on Charles Street and Autumn Drive. Two homes were swept off their foundations by flowing waters. Several residents in the area had to be evacuated by boat.

3. May 27, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An antique shop was destroyed by thunderstorm winds. Some trees were thrown on to homes. Numerous trees and power lines were downed.

4. Dec 22, 2004Heavy Snow, Orange$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A winter storm brought heavy snow to south central Indiana. Storm total amounts of 20 to 30 inches were reported over the area. High winds developed later in the day on the 23rd, creating drifts of snow up to four or five feet. Most roadways were dangerous or impassable, and sections of Interstate 64 were closed for a time due to accidents. The roofs on several business warehouses and storage buildings collapsed due to the weight of the snow in Jasper (Dubois County) and Paoli (Orange County). At least 11 turkey houses in Dubois County collapsed due to the snow. Hundreds of birds were killed or injured (this agricultural loss is reflected in the crop damage figure quoted above).…

5. May 25, 2011Tornado$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado touched down along Highway 37 south of Orleans, uprooting and snapping several trees. It expanded to its maximum width and strength one mile into its path, where it heavily damaged two brick homes and one wooden frame home, as well downing power lines and poles. In this area it also did extensive damage to several outbuildings, completely destroying one barn and overturning a tractor within. The tornado continued to the northeast, damaging another outbuilding a mile to the northeast and uprooting and snapping numerous trees before finally lifting in an open field 3/4 mile southwest of the community of Leipsic.

6. Nov 14, 2011Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado first touched down on the north side of the Paoli school complex three quarters of a mile west of the downtown square. It destroyed a 100 year old barn and heavily damaged the roofs of two other outbuildings. It then removed a large section of roofing from the Paoli police department on West Main Street before snapping several trees along Lick Creek. Based on a damage survey, this tornado was classified as an EF-1 with peak winds from 95 to 100 mph between its initial touchdown and the Paoli town square. While moving across the town square, this tornado ripped the metal roofs off of two businesses. Three chimneys on the Orange County Courthouse collapsed. Moving east of…

7. Apr 2, 2006Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several homes sustained major roof damage. A new modular home was blown off its foundation. Trees and power lines were downed in the area. A storm spotter estimated a 100 MPH wind gust.

8. Mar 1, 2017Thunderstorm Wind$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A NWS Storm Survey team found that thunderstorm winds destroyed an outbuilding approximately 1/2 mile northwest of Leipsic. The damaging winds continued into the community, scattering debris from the outbuilding and damaging several homes in town. The winds winds tore part of the roof off one home, fanning debris to the east. The estimated time of the event was 1 minute.

9. Mar 1, 2017Tornado$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This is an extension of the Lawrence County EF-2 tornado that briefly crossed into Orange County before lifting. The tornado produced EF-1 level damage in Orange County, destroying two mobile homes. One mobile home rolled over onto a new vehicle where three occupants were unhurt. The car ended up inside the living room of the mobile home. The other mobile home took a direct hit, taking the roof off and blowing the walls out of half of the home. An occupant of the home was blown into the field with home debris, while leaving living room furniture in place. The resident received only minor injuries.

10. Aug 18, 2001Lightning$75,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A house was destroyed in a fire caused by lightning.

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

109°FJul 8, 2012

All-time low

−25°FJan 19, 1994

Warmest night

80°FJul 13, 1966

Coldest day

−7°FJan 17, 1977

Wettest day

5.67 inJul 23, 2017

Snowiest day

13.0 inDec 23, 2004

Hottest year

1998mean 57.3°F

Coldest year

1976mean 51.7°F

Wettest year

201971.49 in

Driest year

199228.23 in

Snowiest season

33.0 in1995-96

Station Dubois Srn In Forage Farm (USC00122309), 690 ft elevation, 13.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1955 to August 31, 2026; 94.2% 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 USC00122309.
• 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.