Randolph County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Randolph County: 2.
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. Mar 14, 2024Tornado$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Selma tornado lifted in the open area and fields between|eastern Delaware county to near Farmland before redeveloping. As it|moved through Rural Randolph county it bent or snapped numerous|utility poles along State Road 32. Also, a large blade on one of|the wind turbines in the area was badly damaged.||As the tornado entered Winchester, it severely damaged many homes|and snapped and uprooted trees in a west-to-east path through|Winchester. There was clear evidence of the tornado`s rotational|circulation, with uprooted trees pointed to the east on the|immediate south side of the tornado, and to the northwest on the|immediate north side of the tornado. The damage pattern…

2. Sep 1, 2003Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Record rainfall event occurred across central Indiana starting in the evening of August 31 and continuing through the morning of September 2. The heaviest rain occurred along an axis from Vigo to Clay to Putnam to Hendricks to Marion to Hamilton to Madison, Delaware and Randolph counties. Many spots near the axis received 8 to 10 inches over the 30 hour period. This resulted in widespread flash flooding and flooding along small creeks. There were numerous evacuations from homes and rescues from vehicles. Many schools were closed. Many neighborhoods that never saw flooding before were flooded. There were also hundreds of flooded basements. The National Guard was activated to help…

3. Jan 21, 1999Flood, Randolph$375,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rapid snow melt and heavy rain on the 21st and 22nd led to flooding along the Missessinewa River. Ridgeville crested at 13. 93 feet (flood stage is 10 feet).

4. Mar 11, 2026Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm wind gusts caused a covered bridge at Harter Park to collapse.

5. Mar 11, 2026Thunderstorm Wind$120,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm wind gusts caused damage to the roof and A/C unit of Union City Jr/Sr High School.

6. Dec 22, 2004Heavy Snow, Randolph$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A grocery store roof collapsed in Union City.

7. Jun 11, 2026Tornado$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF0 tornado with max winds 70 mph tracked 0.32 miles to ESE creating a clear circulation pattern within corn field. Minor damage occurred to a vehicle and awning and propane tank.

8. Nov 27, 2019High Wind, Randolph$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Power outages due to power poles being downed by non-thunderstorm wind gusts. At least 10 poles were knocked down with more than 500 homes without power at one point.

9. Jun 9, 2008Flash Flood$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Horses and cars were trapped in flood waters near Lynn. At least two blocks of Lynn were underwater.

10. May 12, 2002Flash Flood$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Thunderstorms moved across all of central Indiana during the day of May 12 and continuing into the evening. These thunderstorms produced very heavy rain, with many areas seeing more than one round of thunderstorms. The result was extensive flash flooding. Numerous roads were closed, including state roads and U.S. highways. A couple of bridges were washed out, and some culverts were destroyed. At Ball State University in Delaware county, residence halls experienced flooding. Elsewhere in Delaware county water was up to 6 feet deep at underpasses. At Vincennes in Knox county, a trailer park was evacuated resulting in 80 families being moved to a shelter. Other smaller evacuations…

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

110°FJul 14, 1936

All-time low

−25°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

79°FAug 6, 1918

Coldest day

−12°F4 times, most recently Jan 19, 1994

Wettest day

6.33 inAug 12, 2026

Snowiest day

12.0 in2 times, most recently Dec 30, 1895

Hottest year

1921mean 55.4°F

Coldest year

1978mean 47.1°F

Wettest year

199050.53 in

Driest year

196325.10 in

Snowiest season

53.7 in1981-82

Station Farmland 5 Nnw (USC00122825), 965 ft elevation, 9.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 27, 2026; 98.2% 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 USC00122825.
• 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.