Porter County, Indiana

What hazards hit Porter County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 247 since 1960. 42% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1960 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 Porter County had?

NOAA records 29 tornadoes in Porter County from 1958 to 2026, the strongest rated EF3, with 1 death and 5 injuries recorded in the county. That is 25th 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 27 tornadoes whose track touched Porter County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 29: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 1 person.

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 Porter County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 11, 2026 thunderstorm wind (2 deaths and 6 injuries).

Numerous trees were blown down or uprooted north and northwest of Portage. Tree limbs and power lines were blown down. Some of the trees fell onto vehicles. Several mobile homes were damaged or destroyed by the fallen trees west of Marine Drive. At the Lakeshore Camp Resort, a 68 year old male and a 65 year old female died from carbon monoxide poisoning in the early morning of June 13th after placing a portable generator below a window air conditioning unit, which funneled the exhaust into their home. In a separate incident at the same location, six people were taken to a hospital after also experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1341365)

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 Porter 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?

42% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1960 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 Porter County

FEMA's register lists 16 declarations that include Porter County: 9 major disasters, 7 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (5) and flood (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 Porter County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 64 flood or flash flood records for Porter County from 1996 to 2026, on 49 days, with 4 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Porter County ranks 976th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $2.3 million on 187 claims filed in Porter County; the most in one year was 29 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 Porter County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Porter County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $58.2 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 Porter County

1. Cook County, IL 3,347
2. Lake County 866
3. Berrien County, MI 746
4. Porter County 633
5. LaPorte County 611
6. Jasper County 370
7. Starke County 325

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 Porter CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Porter County's FEMA declarations (CSV)16 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis