Newton County, Indiana

What hazards hit Newton County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 104 since 1961. 51% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1961 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 Newton County had?

NOAA records 28 tornadoes in Newton County from 1954 to 2026, the strongest rated F4, with 2 deaths and 28 injuries recorded in the county. That is 30th of 91 Indiana 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 24 tornadoes whose track touched Newton County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 28: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 2 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 Newton County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the March 10, 2026 tornado (2 deaths and 10 injuries).

A destructive EF-3 tornado with estimated peak winds of 160 mph impacted portions of Newton and northwest Jasper Counties, most notably the community of Lake Village. After forming and causing EF-3 damage in Kankakee County, Illinois, this tornado crossed into Newton County between W 800 N Road and W 900 N Road near N 650 W Road. Upon entering the county, the tornado destroyed multiple outbuildings and significantly damaged multiple homes. On N 600 W Road, multiple homes were completely destroyed with debris blown clear of the foundations, consistent with EF-3 caliber winds. Nearby forested areas had almost all trees snapped or uprooted with some trees remaining standing with only stubs of a few large branches remaining, likely due to extensive lifted debris. Multiple homes were damaged, and a farm outbuilding was destroyed along N 500 W Road and along and near N 400 W Road. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1320574)

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

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

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 Newton 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?

51% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1961 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 Newton County

FEMA's register lists 19 declarations that include Newton County: 11 major disasters, 8 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (7) and snowstorm (4).

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 Newton County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 23 flood or flash flood records for Newton County from 1996 to 2020, on 20 days, with 3 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Newton County ranks 1748th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $422,000 on 42 claims filed in Newton County; the most in one year was 10 in 2003. 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 Newton County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Newton County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $5.8 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 Newton County

1. Lake County 866
2. Kankakee County, IL 698
3. Iroquois County, IL 564
4. Jasper County 370
5. Newton County 317
6. Benton County 309

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 Newton CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Newton County's FEMA declarations (CSV)19 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis