Evansville, IN Tornado History — 132 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has Evansville, IN had?
Evansville has had 132 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950, including 10 violent (EF3+) tornadoes.
When was the most recent tornado near Evansville?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of Evansville was an EF1 on December 28, 2025.
When is tornado season in Evansville?
April is historically the peak month for tornadoes near Evansville, with 32 on record. Spring through early summer (April–June) generally sees the highest activity across most of the central and southern United States.
At a Glance
Recent Tornado Activity Near Evansville
The last 20 years of confirmed tornadoes within 25 miles — 69 total, averaging 3.5 per year over this window.
Preliminary tornado reports near Evansville since December 29, 2025
These are 6 preliminary reports, not confirmed tornadoes. They have not yet been through an NWS damage survey, and are not counted in the confirmed totals above.
Preliminary reports are revised, merged, and sometimes withdrawn — historically about 23% are consolidated downward once surveys complete. Ratings are omitted until a survey assigns one.
Confirmed records above are complete through December 29, 2025. NOAA publishes the confirmed archive annually, so tornadoes after that date appear here first and move into the totals above once finalized.
Within 25 miles of Evansville. Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center preliminary storm reports, updated daily.
Tornadoes by Decade
Tornadoes by Enhanced Fujita Rating
F0–F5 ratings (pre-2007) are grouped with their EF equivalents. The Enhanced Fujita scale replaced the original Fujita scale in February 2007.
Tornadoes by Month
Casualties on Record Near Evansville
29 fatalities have been recorded within 25 miles of Evansville since 1950, across 5 events. 302 injuries have been reported across all events. 2005 was the deadliest year on record.
The deadliest single event was a F3 on November 6, 2005, which caused 24 fatalities along a 41.3-mile track.
Notable Tornadoes Near Evansville
About Tornadoes in Evansville
This overview was written August 10, 2026. The tornado counts and notable-event figures elsewhere on this page reflect the latest data and may differ from this summary.
The lower Ohio Valley funnels Gulf of Mexico moisture straight toward Evansville, and when strong wind shear and a sharp cold front overspread that humid air — often in March, April, or May — southwestern Indiana becomes fertile ground for rotating thunderstorms. The flat river-bottom terrain does little to disrupt an organized storm, and the Gulf keeps supplying usable moisture into late autumn and even winter, so cool-season setups matter here as much as spring ones. The NOAA Storm Prediction Center's archive for the Evansville area bears this out, with tornado entries stretching from the 1950s through the 2020s.
That long record spans generations. An F3 tornado carved a 35-mile path near the city on December 9, 1952, injuring 3 people, and another F3 killed 1 person on April 3, 1956. On April 3, 1989, an F3 injured 8 people and caused 27.5 million dollars in damage. A later generation remembers November 6, 2005, when an F3 tore along a 41.3-mile track, killing 24 people and injuring 238. The pattern continues today: an EF3 killed 1 person on March 1, 2017, another EF3 struck on July 9, 2024, and an EF2 tracked 57.49 miles across the region on March 15, 2025.