White County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within White County: 10.
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

The National Weather Service sets flood stages for 1 gauge here but lists no crests for it.

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.

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. Jan 8, 2008Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Snow melt,a partially frozen ground and rainfall ranging from four to seven inches across much of White county, resulted in high water levels behind Norway Dam, forcing the release of record flows through the dam, which at its peak exceeded 26,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) between 8 and 10 am EST on January 8th. A flood emergency was declared around 8 am EST by dam and White County officials and numerous residents south of the dam, including portions of the city of Monticello, were placed under mandatory evactuation orders. Over 100 families were assisted or rescued as flood waters rapidly rose. The Norway Campground, located near the dam, had approximately 70 seasonal occupied…

2. Mar 11, 2009Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rainfall which occurred across the Tippecanoe basin resulted in the flood gates being opened at the Norway dam. Peak flows through the gates reached around 26,000 cubic feet per second (cfs), resulting in widespread flooding downstream into the eastern part of Monticello. Evacuations occurred in many areas with numerous residences and businesses suffering water damage. Damage has been estimated to be at least 1 million dollars. There were no reports of injuries or fatalities related to the flooding.

3. Jan 8, 2008Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread flooding of many creeks, streams, low areas and small towns occurred as a result of anywhere from 5 to locally as much as 7 inches of rain across much of northern White county. Several inches of snow also rapidly melted, contributing to flooding. Portions of several towns, including Monon, Wolcott, Buffalo and Reynolds were under water, in some places over a foot deep. While the significant flooding subsided during the day of January 9th, numerous areas of standing water persisted well into the 10th. Exact damage figures are not available at this time, but are estimated around $250,000.

4. Feb 20, 2018Flood$230,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The heavy rainfall in the Tippecanoe River basin forced dam flows in excess of 20,000 CFS. This caused extensive flooding downstream of the dam with some neighborhoods having to have assistance evacuating and some water rescues due to rapid rises. The Diamond Point area near Monticello was impacted by the flood waters. Damage is estimated in excess of 230,000 dollars.

5. Jun 6, 2010Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A survey of damage in eastern White county revealed indications of a weak circulation touching down just south of County Road East 450 South, on County Road South 300 East. The circulation passed over a farm where tree damage occurred as it moved east. Skylights from a shed were blown towards the east with one being found behind a house. Damage was done to roofing of a new pole barn and several items were thrown into a field towards a grove of trees. The tornado began to intensify somewhat but remained over open fields until reaching the Stone Drive area on the west side of Lake Freeman where numerous trees (DI: TS, DOD: 3) were uprooted with some structure damage. The tornado…

6. May 16, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   White County has several trees and power poles down. Reports of damage to houses and buildings. A church in Reynolds lost its steeple. A tree fell into the front room of a house. Siding was blown off a house in Reynolds. A tree fell onto a car in Monticello.

7. Sep 3, 2004Flash Flood$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Emergency management reported flooding in downtown Monon with flash flooding reported. A car dealership and a trailer park had flood damage...with flooding at the Monon Fire Dept.

8. May 15, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees, tree limbs, power lines and poles were blown down across the county. At least one gustnado was sighted by a county sheriff deputy. It touched down in an open field and then lifted without damage. Two large trees fell onto a residence on Ireland St in Monticello causing some roof damage, but luckily no injuries to those home at the time eating supper.

9. Jun 5, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$45,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wind damage was reported in several parts of White county as a result of 50 to 70 mph wind gusts. 4 semi trailers were blown off I-65 between mile markers 191 and 198. Three of them were northbound and the other southbound. One of the drivers suffered minor injuries as a result of the upset truck. A large tree fell onto a medical building in Monon as well as a ash tree being blown over in the area. Other reports of trees and tree limbs were reported in Burnettsville, Reynolds and Buffalo. A circa 1900 wooden barn in Reynolds that once held cart race horses was blown down.

10. Jun 15, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$45,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Emergency management officials surveyed the area and found one-half of a trailer home roof had been blown off. Minor damage was observed to other mobile homes as well. In addition, the crossing gate on a railroad crossing at 900 South and State Route 43 was broken off. Damage is estimated at $45,000.

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

105°F2 times, most recently Jun 25, 1988

All-time low

−23°FJan 20, 1985

Warmest night

81°FJul 14, 1995

Coldest day

−10°FDec 24, 1983

Wettest day

6.05 inAug 30, 1981

Snowiest day

13.9 inDec 19, 1973

Hottest year

2021mean 55.0°F

Coldest year

2014mean 48.3°F

Wettest year

195251.79 in

Driest year

202223.22 in

Station Lafayette Purdue University Airport (USW00014835), 596 ft elevation, 24.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1944 to October 26, 2026; 99.1% 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 USW00014835.
• 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.