1920 Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak - Indiana

Indiana

The first tornado funnel would descend to the ground in Indiana occurred in Lake County around 3:00 pm, moving 7 miles (11 km) from Leroy heading into Porter County and ending near Beatrice. Several homes would be destroyed and one person would lose his life when his house was destroyed.

At 3:15 pm a tornado formed 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Mishawaka. The twister moved northeast at 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) into Elkhart County and injured eight people.

Around 5:15 p.m. another killer tornado would touch down near the Wells County community of Ossian. Increasing rapidly in size and intensity, this tornado had a path up to 100 miles (161 km) which stretched into northwest Lucas County, Ohio. Several eyewitnesses to this storm said that it did not look like a traditional tornado, but more like a very large, low hanging mass of turbulent clouds that resembled boiling pot of oatmeal. This may have accounted for the deaths and injuries of so many farmers within its path, since many farmers were usually accustomed to taking shelter during dangerous weather situations.

This large tornado took aim on the small hamlet of Townley, in southeastern Allen County, virtually destroying the entire town by leveling every building and completely sweeping the debris away in some cases away, leaving only the foundations. Four people would die here and many others would be injured. Further south along the Ohio border counties of Jay, Randolph and Wayne, three additional killer tornadoes touched down and caused major damage.

Another large and violent tornado formed in central Jay County and devastated the town of West Liberty as it moved northeast at around 50 miles per hour (80 km/h). As the tornado moved into the northeastern part of the county, the areas to the east of Geneva and south of Ceylon several farms were swept away. From here the twister would move on into Mercer and Van Wert Counties in Ohio.

Two additional long-track killer tornadoes would claim more lives and cause well over $1 million in damages. The first touched down near Union City in Randolph County and move rapidly to the northeast ending near Lightsville, Ohio. The second and more powerful tornado touched down west of Fountain City in Wayne County. It destroyed several farms before increasing in strength while crossing into Darke County, Ohio, causing destruction all the way to just north of Greenville, which was a heavily populated area in the spring of 1920. Eight people would die and 40 people would be treated at local hospitals for serious injuries from this storm.