Wayne County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Wayne 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. Sep 14, 2008High Wind, Wayne$8.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong winds of 40 to 50 miles per hour were sustained for several hours. Gusts over 60 mph were common. Widespread damage occurred across the region, from trees being blown down on powerlines to significant structural damage.

2. Jun 15, 2019Tornado$225,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado first touched down along South 37th Street, just to the south of Backmeyer Road, as indicated by swirl marks in an adjacent field. Two trees were snapped along South 37th Street.||The tornado then moved north-northeast, producing damage at the Brookdale Nursing Home on South A Street. Five to ten percent of the roof was removed. One tree, four inches in diameter, was knocked down and several smaller limbs from trees were also knocked down.||The most significant damage was observed at the Richmond Mall where several air handlers on the roof were removed and one was blown northeast onto U.S. 40. The parking lot was also full of debris and a large store on the southwest…

3. Apr 9, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Six homes were damaged on the south side of Richmond. Also, a barn was reported blown over and several trees were knocked down.

4. Apr 2, 2024Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado developed near the intersection of Garr and Pleasant View Roads, where trees were broken off and uprooted on either side of Pleasant View Road. From there, the tornado caused mainly tree damage as it traveled northeast across Buttermilk Road, Weiss Road, and Interstate 70. After the tornado crossed Interstate 70, it widened briefly as it crossed Reservoir Road and Smyrna Road, where it caused tree and some structural damage on Smyrna Road. Here, several barns, outbuildings, and residential structures suffered damage and debris was thrown a considerable distance. One barn was very heavily damaged and several other barns lost some or major portions of their roofs,…

5. Dec 22, 2004Winter Storm, Wayne$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A surface and upper level low pressure center tracked northeast across the Ohio Valley on Wednesday, December 22nd and exited the region on the 23rd. A swath of heavy snow cut through southeast Indiana and into the Miami Valley of Ohio. 24 hour storm totals in this narrow band exceeded 2 feet in places, with almost all of southeast Indiana receiving over a foot of snow. Interstates were closed and motorists stranded, and the weight of the snow collapsed several roofs throughout the region.

6. Dec 23, 2015Tornado$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A storm survey was conducted in northeast Wayne County Indiana, in coordination with the Wayne County Emergency Management Agency. Damage began near a property along East Fountain City Pike east of Fountain City, in which several outbuildings were destroyed. Some of the damage followed a southwest to northeast path, although there was evidence of rotation within the debris pattern, which would coincide with a weak tornado. The damage continued in a northeast path and crossed Elliott Road and continued northeast to Bethel. Additional outbuilding damage was surveyed at 2 properties along Elliott Road, in which small outbuildings were destroyed and there was additional damage to…

7. May 17, 1999Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado was on the ground south of Centerville for a few miles. It destroyed a garage and caused minor damage to other structures but mainly moved through open fields. Elsewhere, strong thunderstorm winds toppled trees throughout the county causing some structural damage to a shopping center in Richmond.

8. Jan 6, 1996Winter Storm, Wayne$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This massive storm system developed in the Gulf Coast and moved up the East Coast. The heaviest snow fell across Southeast Indiana where up to a foot of snow occurred near the Kentucky border. Farther north, around 6 inches fell in Wayne county. Strong winds caused significant blowing and drifting snow, especially to the north where the snow was lighter and more powdery.

9. Jun 2, 2009Hail$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An expansive thunderstorm produced hail along a long swath across Wayne County, with the majority of reports coming from the more populated areas of Centerville and Richmond. Hail report sizes ranged from 0.75 inch to 1.75 inch along the swath.

10. Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$80,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    There were two reports of roofs blown of buildings in Richmond due to thunderstorm winds. A school and a house also sustained roof damage. Numerous trees, tree limbs, and power lines were downed in the area.

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°FJun 28, 2012

All-time low

−27°FJan 19, 1994

Warmest night

78°FJul 19, 2011

Coldest day

−9°FJan 20, 1985

Wettest day

6.84 inAug 12, 2026

Snowiest day

13.0 inDec 22, 2004

Hottest year

2012mean 55.3°F

Coldest year

1978mean 48.4°F

Wettest year

200655.35 in

Driest year

197630.05 in

Snowiest season

39.5 in1977-78

Station Richmond Wtr Wks (USC00127370), 1,005 ft elevation, 3.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1968 to October 26, 2026; 96.9% 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 USC00127370.
• 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.