National Weather Service tracks path of tornadoes in Indiana

It all started Saturday morning, when clear skies turned dark in northern Indiana. A powerful cold front brought Indiana it's first taste of tornadoes this past weekend.

There were numerous tornado warnings that went on from Saturday evening into the wee hours of Sunday morning. The same storm that produced a tornado in Peoria and Kankakee, Illinois, dropped twisters in White, Carroll, Cass, and Miami Counties in Indiana.

The first tornado hit Indiana soil just south of Cedar Point and northwest of Yeoman, Indiana. After a brief touchdown, the twister lifted, and about four miles to the east, it dropped again in Rockford located in the heart of Carroll County.

It then crossed into western Cass County, lifted back into the clouds, and then dropped again in eastern Cass County before hitting Miami County as a strong EF3 tornado.


"As you work your way up to EF2's and EF3's like what took place in Miami county that's when you get into more substantial damage...where a large part of a home had been damaged," said meteorologist Dave Tucek with the National Weather Service in Indianapolis.

The Carroll County twisters were categorized as Ef1's, but by the time it moved into Miami County, it reached EF3 status with winds up to 165 miles per hour.

"I was watching it that night thinking to myself I might be surveying the damage in Carroll County and sure enough it happened," said Tucek.

When National Weather Service investigators go to survey a storm, they look at radar data to confirm where they need to go. Once they're there, what you're looking for is basically straight line wind vs tornado damage, over a broad area vs damage over a narrow area path, which is what a tornado is.

Sunday night, there was also a confirmed tornado in Delaware County near the Muncie area. That adds up to a total of 6 tornadoes in one weekend. Well, sort of. The confirmed "tornado" in Muncie appears to have been a cold air funnel. It was a funnel that originated from a simple shower, no lightning, no thunder, and no hail. They are very rare.