Lake County, Indiana

What hazards hit Lake County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 365 since 1957. 52% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1957 fell in June and July. The rank column places the county among Indiana's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Lake County had?

NOAA records 53 tornadoes in Lake County from 1951 to 2026, the strongest rated EF3, with 0 deaths and 25 injuries recorded in the county. That is 7th of 91 Indiana counties and 211th of 3,080 U.S. counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 48 tornadoes whose track touched Lake County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 53: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Indiana.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Lake County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 11, 2026 tornado (1 injury).

A tornado with estimated peak winds of 120 mph touched down just west of Hendricks Street and move through central Merrillville. The tornado quickly widened with numerous homes sustaining significant damage along W 64rd Avenue, 61st Place, 61st Avenue, and Grand Place, including removal of walls and roofing structures. Extensive tree damage also occurred. The tornado continued moving east along W 61st Avenue damaging houses with some garages destroyed. The tornado was likely at peak intensity as it moved near the Harrison Middle School, where the gymnasium roof was damaged. Numerous houses were damaged near Andrean High School, which suffered significant roof damage. Significant tree damage continued as the tornado crossed Interstate 65. A semi-truck was overturned just west of the interstate and the driver suffered minor injuries. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1342318)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Lake County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

52% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1957 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Lake County

FEMA's register lists 24 declarations that include Lake County: 16 major disasters, 8 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (11) and flood (5).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Lake County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 106 flood or flash flood records for Lake County from 1996 to 2026, on 79 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Lake County ranks 140th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $49.5 million on 3,013 claims filed in Lake County; the most in one year was 920 in 2008. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Lake County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Lake County Relatively High overall, with an expected annual loss of $191 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Lake County

1. Cook County, IL 3,347
2. Will County, IL 1,579
3. Lake County 866
4. Kankakee County, IL 698
5. Porter County 633
6. Jasper County 370
7. Newton County 317

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in IndianaEvery Indiana tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Severe thunderstorm wind in IndianaThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, by county, year and month
• The Indiana recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Lake CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Lake County's FEMA declarations (CSV)24 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis