States › Indiana › Howard County

Howard County, Indiana

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 18067 · 83,687 residents (2021) · 293 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 77Tornado · 27Flood · 32Wind · 195Winter · 41

Howard County within Indiana. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Howard County, Indiana, has 399 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 136.1 events per 100 square miles, in line with the Indiana figure of 120.7, and 47.7 per 10,000 residents against 63.5 statewide.

18 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 18 deaths and 615 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $330M and crop damage at $3.0M.

FEMA has designated the county in 15 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Winter Storm (emergency, 24 Jan 2026).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 489 claims since 1978, of which 411 were paid, totalling $9.8M (about $24K per paid claim). FEMA counts 142 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Low" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively Low" ($23M a year across 18 hazards).

5 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 0 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

18events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

399events since 195018 deaths, 615 injuries recorded

15disaster declarationslast 24 Jan 2026

489NFIP flood claims$9.8M paid

Compared with Indiana and the United States

Measure	Howard County	Indiana	US
Recorded events since 1950	399	43,229	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	136.1	120.7	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	47.7	63.5	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	18	1,597	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	18	550	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$330M	$4.5B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	5.8	2.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$24K	$20K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	14.1	17.3	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Tornado: 2Wind: 4

Hail: 1Tornado: 3Wind: 5

Hail: 3Tornado: 4Wind: 5

Hail: 3Tornado: 1Wind: 21

Hail: 6Tornado: 2Flood: 10Wind: 27Winter: 8Heat: 1Cold: 1Fog: 1

Hail: 42Tornado: 3Flood: 12Wind: 43Winter: 15Lightning: 3Other: 1

Hail: 14Tornado: 9Flood: 9Wind: 47Winter: 10Drought: 3

Hail: 8Tornado: 3Flood: 1Wind: 43Winter: 8Heat: 2Cold: 5Drought: 10

61950s91960s121970s251980s561990s1192000s922010s802020s

Recorded events in Howard County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterHeatColdDroughtLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 212 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 136 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Wind195

Hail77

Winter41

Flood32

Tornado27

Drought13

Cold6

Heat3

Lightning3

Fog1

Other1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	195	—	1.1%	detail
■ Hail	77	—	1.0%	detail
■ Winter	41	—	0.7%	detail
■ Flood	32	—	0.5%	detail
■ Tornado	27	18	1.3%	detail
■ Drought	13	—	2.4%
■ Cold	6	—	0.6%
■ Heat	3	—	0.5%
■ Lightning	3	—	0.8%
■ Fog	1	—	0.2%
■ Other	1	—	0.3%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
11 Apr 1965	Tornado	Tornado	F4	$250M	—	17	560	County
6 Mar 1961	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$250K	—	1	3	County
24 Aug 2016	Tornado	Tornado	EF3	$10M	—	—	20	County
11 Jun 1998	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$5.0M	—	—	8	County
17 Jul 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	—	$60K	—	—	6	County
1 Jun 1989	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	6	County
17 Nov 2013	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$75K	—	—	5	County
28 May 1955	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$2.5M	—	—	3	County
5 Jul 2003	Flood	Flood	—	$18M	$3.0M	—	—	Forecast zone
5 Jul 2003	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$18M	—	—	—	County
22 Jan 1999	Flood	Flood	—	$14M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
20 Apr 2004	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$3.0M	—	—	1	County
31 Mar 2023	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$900K	—	—	1	County
15 Jun 1976	Tornado	Tornado	F0	$250K	—	—	1	County
10 Jul 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	49 mph	$15K	—	—	1	County
3 Apr 1974	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$2.5M	—	—	—	County
24 Jun 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	81 mph	$2.0M	—	—	—	County
20 Apr 2004	Tornado	Tornado	F0	$500K	—	—	—	County
11 Jun 2026	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	96 mph	$400K	—	—	—	County
17 Nov 2013	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$300K	—	—	—	County

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
24 Jan 2026	EM-3641	Emergency	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
15 Apr 2023	DR-4704	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes	Individual assistance
3 Apr 2020	DR-4515	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3456	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
12 Mar 2007	EM-3274	Emergency	Snowstorm	Snow	Public assistance
10 Sep 2005	EM-3238	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
21 Jan 2005	DR-1573	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
3 Jun 2004	DR-1520	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance
11 Jul 2003	DR-1476	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
24 Jan 2001	EM-3162	Emergency	Snowstorm	Snow	Public assistance
15 Jan 1999	EM-3135	Emergency	Snowstorm	In-Winter Storm 12/23/98	Public assistance
22 Jul 1998	DR-1234	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
29 Mar 1991	DR-899	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Ice Storm	Public assistance
5 Jan 1991	DR-891	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
14 Apr 1965	DR-189	Major disaster	Tornado	Tornadoes & Severe Storms	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Howard County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978489

Paid claims411

Total paid$9.8M

Average paid claim$24K

Repetitive-loss properties746 severe

Residential policies in force1420.4% of 34,693 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	1	1	$17,391	$17,391
2025	10	6	$655,619	$109,270
2018	2	1	$732	$732
2017	7	7	$81,188	$11,598
2013	115	108	$5,474,916	$50,694
2011	1	1	$4,221	$4,221
2009	1	1	$2,504	$2,504
2008	4	3	$60,355	$20,118
2007	3	0	$0	—
2006	2	0	$0	—
2005	34	28	$124,774	$4,456
2004	2	1	$1,817	$1,817
2003	104	93	$1,763,135	$18,958
1999	55	49	$644,191	$13,147
1998	57	43	$470,758	$10,948
1997	6	4	$14,909	$3,727
1996	1	0	$0	—
1995	1	0	$0	—
1992	20	14	$53,817	$3,844
1990	24	21	$332,519	$15,834
1989	1	0	$0	—
1987	1	0	$0	—
1985	15	11	$32,506	$2,955
1983	5	2	$3,892	$1,946
1982	6	6	$2,178	$363

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Lowscore 63.7 of 100

Expected annual loss$23MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Moderate

Community resilienceVery High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$10,551,131
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$4,834,802
Cold wave	Relatively Moderate	$2,537,327
Strong wind	Relatively High	$1,614,968
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$1,305,763
Hail	Relatively Moderate	$886,579
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$874,907
Drought	Relatively Low	$276,106
Lightning	Relatively Low	$248,784
Winter weather	Relatively Moderate	$180,102
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$105,168
Hurricane	Very Low	$17,751
Wildfire	Very Low	$4,909
Landslide	Very Low	$462

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles5

Tracks within 50 miles1

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Ike	2008	59 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	78 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1923	71 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	68 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1902	38 mi	40 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

ZIP codes with flood claims

46901 426
46902 46
46936 11

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Howard County, IN?

NCEI records 77 hail events in Howard County since 1950, in 31 different years; that is about 1.0 recorded events a year. 6 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Howard County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 27 tornadoes in Howard County since 1950, 10 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 18.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Howard County?

24 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 15 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Howard County, and how much was paid?

489 NFIP claims since 1978, 411 of them paid, for $9.8M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Howard County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively Low" for overall risk, "Relatively Low" for expected annual loss, "Relatively Moderate" for social vulnerability and "Very High" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Howard County compare with the rest of Indiana?

136.1 recorded events per 100 square miles against 120.7 statewide, and 5.8 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 2.9. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.