What the record says
On 20 March 1976, a tornado touched down near West Lafayette, Indiana. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 16.7 miles long and up to 300 yards wide, rated F4 on the Fujita (F) scale. It injured 8 people.
- F4Fujita rating
- 0deaths
- 8injuries
- 16.7 mipath length
- 300 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it was rated 4 or 5.
This page gives the official record's figures. Numbers of deaths and injuries are sometimes revised after a survey, and they cannot convey what the day was like for the people who lived through it.
Counties it crossed
The start point was at 40.47, -87.00 and the end point at 40.60, -86.72 (latitude, longitude).
How to read this path
The Storm Prediction Center records most tornadoes as a straight line from the point where they touched down to the point where they lifted. The real path usually curved and was not the same width all the way along. The width given is the widest part. Older records are less precise, and the record starts in 1950.
Source: the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database, public domain.
Other notable tornadoes in Indiana
- Elkhart, Indiana tornado11 April 1965, F4, 36 deaths, 321 injuries, 37 miles long
- Hardinsburg, Kentucky tornado3 April 1974, F5, 31 deaths, 270 injuries, 32 miles long
- Goshen, Indiana tornado11 April 1965, F4, 31 deaths, 252 injuries, 21.2 miles long
- Crawfordsville, Indiana tornado11 April 1965, F4, 28 deaths, 123 injuries, 45.7 miles long
- Kokomo, Indiana tornado11 April 1965, F4, 25 deaths, 835 injuries, 48 miles long
- Evansville, Indiana tornado6 November 2005, F3, 24 deaths, 238 injuries, 41.3 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 1976
- Sherwood, Arkansas tornado29 March 1976, F3, 5 deaths, 64 injuries, 17.2 miles long
- Flora, Mississippi tornado29 March 1976, F4, 3 deaths, 177 injuries, 22.3 miles long
- Wilmot, Arkansas tornado17 February 1976, F2, 3 deaths, 46 injuries, 29.5 miles long
- Rowland, North Carolina tornado15 May 1976, F2, 3 deaths, 4 injuries, 10.1 miles long
- Panama, Oklahoma tornado26 March 1976, F5, 2 deaths, 64 injuries, 11.9 miles long
All tornadoes of 1976 · Indiana tornado history · All notable tornadoes