The National Weather Service Indianapolis has confirmed five tornadoes crossed through Indiana early Saturday morning. There was an EF1 in Parke County, an EF1 in Daviess County, an EF1 in Jackson County and two EF0s in Lawrence County.
Beyond the five confirmed by the Indianapolis office, additional tornadoes were noted across the state by the National Weather Service's offices in Louisville, Chicago, and Paducah.
A line of strong thunderstorms moved through central Indiana early Saturday, producing gusty winds, heavy rain, and multiple tornadoes.
So far, we have 3 tornadoes in central Indiana for March 15. Information on the EF-1 in Parke County and the EF-1 in Daviess County has been sent in Public Information Statements. We also working on a preliminary EF-1 tornado in Jackson County. More info later. #inwx
— NWS Indianapolis (@NWSIndianapolis) March 16, 2025
The first tornado was in Mecca, Indiana. This Parke County tornado started at 2:14 a.m. and ended shortly thereafter at 2:16 a.m.
In the two-minute duration, the storm traversed 2.66 miles.
On the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale, EF1 tornadoes are measured by wind speeds of 86 to 110 miles per hour. Saturday morning's tornado had peak winds estimated up to about 110 miles per hour.
The storm moved through a rural area and destroyed a 150-year-old barn and a small garage. There were also several reports of damage to pole barns and trees in the path of the storm.
A second tornado occurred in Daviess County. This one was longer, lasting 13 minutes in total. It started around 4:19 a.m. near Portersville. The tornado ended around 4:32 a.m. in Loogootee, traveling over 13.6 miles.
This was also an EF1 tornado, with peak wind speeds near 110 miles per hour.
A farm in Daviess County had grain bins destroyed and metal buildings damaged. Some debris from the farm was carried over a mile away.
Along the tornado's path, there was also damage to trees, roofs, and house siding.
The National Weather Service went on to say that damage in Loogootee outside of the tornado track was caused by straight-line winds.
A third tornado happened south of Brownstown in Jackson County. It had peak winds of 105 miles per hour and traveled 2.22 miles.
According to the National Weather Service, due to the tornado, a mobile home on E County Rd 500 S had the entire roof torn off with collapsed walls.
The National Weather Service confirmed two tornadoes touched down in Lawrence County — one near Fayetteville and the other in Needmore.
The first one was at 4:58 a.m. southwest of Old Farm Road. An old shed was destroyed along with some minor barn roof damage. Winds reached 75 miles per hour.
The National Weather Service says the tornado skipped around causing sporadic damage between Old Farm Road and Tipton Pike before ending just south of Indiana Creek Camp Road.
The second tornado in Lawrence County was at 5:01 a.m. and was short-lived with winds peaking at 85 miles per hour.
The majority of the damage was on the southwest corner of Kentucky Hollow Road where a shed was completely destroyed along with significant damage to the porch of the residence, the National Weather Service reported.
There were no injuries or deaths reported as a result of any of the five tornadoes.
