EF3 Tornado — Elkhart, Indiana

2007-10-18 · near Nappanee, Elkhart, Indiana

Event narrative

The tornado continued northeast out of Kosciusko County into the southeast side of Nappanee where the most extensive damage occurred. The width of the tornado decreased to one quarter mile and intensified just south of US-6 and County Road 7 as wind speeds increased to around 165 mph, in the upper range of the EF3 rating. The tornado went through an area populated by homes, restaurants, convenience stores and 3 RV plants, all of which sustained varying degrees of damage. Local officials reported that 459 buildings were damaged. Of these, 352 were homes with 52 of those being destroyed or uninhabitable. 81 businesses were damaged and 26 destroyed. A few minor injuries were also reported, mainly from people trapped in some of the houses and a few businesses. The tornado continued into the Blackstone subdivision where numerous homes were damaged or destroyed. The tornado continued to west of New Paris near the intersection of County Roads 46 and 17 where it lifted. Numerous vehicles of all varieties sustained severe damage. Damage is estimated around $11 million.

Wider weather episode

A combination of strong dynamics, wind shear, and rapid low level moisture return all combined to produce severe weather across much of Northern Indiana. One of several supercell thunderstorms produced a long tracked tornado which reached the high end of EF3.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (41.4355, -86.0000)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 55289. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.