EF2 Tornado — Greene, Indiana

2025-05-16 · near White Rose, Greene, Indiana

Event narrative

The episode's first tornado was the first of three tornadoes spawned from a rotating supercell that had begun in Illinois before crossing southern central Indiana. This tornado crossed the northwestern quadrant of Greene County, in an east-northeasterly and then easterly direction, producing EF2 damage along much of its track. The vortex touched down on County Road 150 North two-tenths of a mile west of the intersection with County Road 1500 West. Immediately west of this intersection numerous hardwood and softwood trees twisted and snapped; three children were injured and an adult perished when a large tree fell on their vehicle. A barn door was blown in and a few homes ascertained roof damage. The circulation strengthened as it continued northeast crossing Indiana Route 54 just south of County Road 230 North, where numerous large trees were snapped or uprooted with structural damage to numerous homes. EF2 damage continued from near the intersection of County Roads 240 North and 1175 West to near the intersection of Country Roads 295 North and 900 West: several homes saw significant structural damage, with a brick based home seeing the entire roof removed and a wall collapsed; several other homes in this area had extensive roof damage.

Upon crossing County Road 700 West the tornado turned easterly, tracking parallel to yet south of County Road 400 North, and then along County Road 325 North, while continuing at EF2 intensity. The vortex was 100 to 200 yards wide through this final segment of the track, damaging several structures, including considerable damage to one residence with some anchoring noted to one of the walls. The circulation crossed US Highway 231, with continuous destruction to trees and roofs through ridges and valleys approaching the White River. The tornado weakened upon crossing County Road 190 West, with EF1 damage before lifting at the White River, east-southeast of the intersection of County Roads 325 North and 250 West. Peak wind gusts were 128 mph.

Wider weather episode

A persistently humid and unseasonably warm air mass provided ample instability late on the 16th. Meanwhile, mid-level forcing streamed into central Indiana from west to east, around the southeastern periphery of a strong mid-latitude cyclone positioned over the Upper Midwest. These ingredients combined to produce rotating storms with damaging winds and tornadoes across southern central Indiana through the late day.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.0455, -87.2264)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1252309. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.