PlainHazard

Indiana drought

Every recorded drought record since 1996 · 54 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 546 drought records in Indiana from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 46 a year since 2000. The costliest was the September 1, 2002 drought ($115 million in 2025 dollars). Indiana ranks 33rd of 51 states and territories by count and 34th of 50 per square mile.

Drought in Indiana, 1996 to 2026

Drought records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $1 million
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
5461996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
46average
Deaths
00 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$119Mas filed
Busiest year
2012198 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are drought records common in Indiana?

Indiana averages about 46 drought records a year since 2000, 33rd of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2012 (198). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Indiana records 152 drought records since 1996, 34th of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Hawaii 2624
  2. 2. New Jersey 1205
  3. 3. Delaware 1062
  4. 4. Oklahoma 971
  5. 5. Georgia 900
  6. 6. Texas 711
  7. 7. New Mexico 528
  8. 8. Alabama 527
  9. 9. Tennessee 477
  10. 10. Iowa 466
  11. 34. Indiana 152

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Indiana have the most drought records?

Per square mile, Vanderburgh County leads Indiana: 22 days with a drought record since 1996, 94.3 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Brown County has the most drought records (22 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. Vanderburgh County 94.3 (22)
  2. Pike County 59.8 (20)
  3. Warrick County 57.2 (22)
  4. Posey County 53.7 (22)
  5. Tipton County 53.7 (14)
  6. Spencer County 52.9 (21)
  7. Vermillion County 50.6 (13)
  8. Howard County 44.4 (13)
  9. Gibson County 41.0 (20)
  10. Brown County 38.5 (22)
  11. Carroll County 37.6 (14)
  12. Delaware County 35.7 (14)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is drought season in Indiana?

Indiana's drought records by month. The busiest month is September (112 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 32 · Feb 18 · Mar 18 · Apr 2 · May 6 · Jun 44 · Jul 50 · Aug 72 · Sep 112 · Oct 75 · Nov 73 · Dec 44 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

The costliest drought records in Indiana

Indiana: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2002-09-01 DroughtGibson County · forecast zone Gibson 0 0 $115M
2007-09-01 DroughtPike County · forecast zone Pike One storm episode: 6 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $4.3M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are drought records becoming more frequent in Indiana?

Indiana's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Drought: Indiana and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeIndianaUnited StatesIndiana's share
1996-99305,6000.54%
2000s3018,5710.16%
2010s31031,4410.99%
2020-2617630,1470.58%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent drought records in Indiana

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-04-01 DroughtTippecanoe County · forecast zone Tippecanoe 0 0 –
2026-04-01 DroughtCarroll County · forecast zone Carroll 0 0 –
2026-03-01 DroughtRandolph County · forecast zone Randolph 0 0 –
2026-03-01 DroughtHenry County · forecast zone Henry 0 0 –
2026-03-01 DroughtDelaware County · forecast zone Delaware 0 0 –
2026-03-01 DroughtMadison County · forecast zone Madison 0 0 –
2026-03-01 DroughtHamilton County · forecast zone Hamilton 0 0 –
2026-03-01 DroughtTipton County · forecast zone Tipton 0 0 –
2026-03-01 DroughtHoward County · forecast zone Howard 0 0 –
2026-03-01 DroughtBoone County · forecast zone Boone 0 0 –
2026-03-01 DroughtClinton County · forecast zone Clinton 0 0 –
2026-03-01 DroughtCarroll County · forecast zone Carroll 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

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