April 11, 1965 – The deadliest tornado outbreak in Indiana history. The “Palm Sunday Tornadoes” spawned 10 twisters that struck 18 counties in the north and central parts of the state. Seven of the tornadoes were killers, and between 4:45 PM to a little after 6:30 PM, the tornadoes left 137 dead and over 1200 injured. (Click here for an article with pictures via the Indianapolis National Weather Service office.)
Indiana was one of six Midwest states to be slammed. In all, 47 tornadoes killed 271 people and injured over 1,500. This was the third deadliest tornado outbreak in U.S. history.
One of the most violent Indiana tornadoes occurred at Midway Trailer Court near Goshen. A second tornado struck minutes later near Goshen at Rainbow Lake. Another tornado formed just south of South Bend and tracked to just south of Elkhart. This tornado killed 45 in the town of Dunlap and 33 of those killed were at the trailer park.
At least four tornadoes swept through Central Indiana during the evening between Indianapolis, Lafayette and Fort Wayne. One touched down just southeast of Lafayette and moved to near Moran. Another formed near Middlefork, destroyed much of Russiaville and Alto and passed across the southern part of Kokomo, through Greentown, and into southern parts of Marion before dissipating near Arcana. The tornado reformed near Roll and passed through Berne before leaving Indiana. Multiple tornadoes were seen near Kokomo, Marion and Berne. The last tornado struck just southeast of Crawfordsville moved north of Lebanon and through Sheridan before it lifted between Cicero and Arcadia.
(Pic via NOAA is of a massive double-funnel tornado near Dunlap, Indiana between Goshen and Elkhart.)
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