The October tornadoes · 1967's single, and the outbreak of 24 October 2001

1967 and 2001

October is not tornado season in northern Indiana, which is what makes the county's two October entries the systematic record's outliers: On 24 October 1967 a lone F1 touched down in St. Joseph County at 5:40 p.m. and hurt no one. Thirty-four years later to the day, 24 October 2001 produced the most significant October tornado outbreak ever recorded in the Weather Service's northern Indiana area — ten tornadoes — and three of them crossed this county. An F2 came out of LaPorte County into St. Joseph on a skipping path of 35 miles; the day's only death occurred in LaPorte County, the first October tornado death ever reported in the forecast area. An F3 then crossed St. Joseph County and ran on into Berrien and Cass counties, Michigan — an intermittent 47 miles, three quarters of a mile wide, injuring one person — the first F3-strength tornado ever recorded in the area in October, and with its Ohio twin the strongest October tornado on record in the three states; no F4 or F5 has ever been recorded in the area in October. Two more, an F1 and an F2, ran from St. Joseph County into Elkhart, the F2 injuring two. The county's toll for the day was injuries and damage, no deaths — and its place in the systematic record is exact: the strongest tornadoes documented in St. Joseph County in the official record consulted are the F3s of 1965 and 2001, and October 2001's is the widest and longest track of the two.

Sources:

1. National Weather Service, Northern Indiana, "Historical October Tornadoes" — the 24 October 1967 F1 in St. Joseph County (5:40 p.m., no casualties); the 24 October 2001 table and analysis: the LaPorte–St. Joseph F2 (35-mile skipping path; the LaPorte County death), the St. Joseph–Berrien–Cass F3 (47 miles, 1,320 yards, one injury), the St. Joseph–Elkhart F1 and F2 (two injuries), and the F3's October records.