Ten years ago this week, deadly tornadoes tore across southern Indiana into Kentucky, leaving a trail of death and destruction. As spring brings in tornado season, here’s a look back as a reminder of staying vigilant.
Tornado season: Stay vigilant
The beginning of meteorological spring on March 1 marks when tornado season ramps up when the average activity of the prior month doubles from 41 to 83. This doubles again in April up to an average of 194, soaring again in May to 281.
The activity begins to taper off in August, although remaining higher than in winter. There is no month out of the year in the United States when tornadoes do not occur. January has the lowest average number of tornadoes at 32, with 36 in December. But as was witnessed in December 2021, devastating and deadly tornadoes can even occur in winter.
Keeping safe
The US government and the National Weather Service (NWS) have set up their websites with excellent resources and information you need to know about how to be prepared for severe weather and tornadoes.
Visit these US government websites for articles on preparedness at:
weather.gov/safety/thunderstorm-prepare
The tornado outbreak of March 2012
On March 2, 2012, an outbreak of deadly tornadoes ripped through southern Indiana. But it was one tornado, in particular, an EF-4, that hit several communities especially hard: Henryville, Marysville, New Pekin, and surrounding areas.
The category for tornado packed ferocious winds of up to 175 miles per hour.
As tornadoes ripped through Indiana and Kentucky in their wake, a total of 34 deaths occurred within both states.
Some of the most extensive damage occurred in southern Indiana, where 11 people died. One of the hardest hit was the small town of Henryville, where much of Henryville Jr./Sr. High School and Henryville Elementary were destroyed, News and Tribune reported. Homes were demolished as well, and some people lost everything.
A group of survivors sat down with WDRB and shared their powerful stories on video of living through the devastating EF-4 tornado, losing family members, and coping with the tragedy afterward.
Survivors said the tornado sounded “like a train coming through.” They said, “the sky was a greenish-yellow color.” Then everything outside became “pitch black.”
Students hunkered down in their schools, the rushing sound “got deafeningly loud, like a train.” Like “trains from all different directions” and that “it was just super loud…And you could feel the rumble all around you.” They say getting under the tables for shelter “felt like forever, but it was probably about ten minutes.”
Students said the second storm that delivered large hail sounded like “bowling balls on the roof.”
Community members took up a shelter at the local firehouse, which is home to a volunteer fire department.
The second tornado that came through didn’t touch down in Henryville, but the storm dropped large hailstones, which damaged cars throughout the area, including those belonging to the firefighters.
One witness described seeing a car flipped over in the parking lot, with a two-by-four stuck in its gas tank, and spraying gas everywhere.
A school bus crashed into the front of a restaurant, and staff led the students down the road to take them to the town’s community center for shelter.
Afterward, students say their school gym was gone, the ceiling tiles were out, and water was pouring in.
“It’s insane to hear your house being pulled apart like toothpicks,” another witness said, who had sheltered with family in the basement. “You just hear two-by-fours snapping the whole time.” The witness added that the tornado didn’t hit his house directly, having touched down a block away, but the wind tore the roof off the main level, leaving the second floor “completely wiped.”
It took the community between one to two years to rebuild everything lost.
Some of the biggest stories in the aftermath were neighbors helping neighbors. Businesses donate equipment to clear trees and brush. The tight-knit community stepped up after the disaster.
