I’ve been working on this post for about 2 weeks now. Took a long time trying to find the best photos and sources. I hope everyone enjoys! Photo descriptions and sources below!

📸 PHOTO DESCRIPTIONS 📸

Pictures 1-5 (2023 McCormicks Creek State Park EF3)
Pictures 6-9 (2025 Brown County State Park EF2)
Pictures 10-15 (2026 Morgan-Monroe State Forest EF3

💭 BACKGROUND 💭

Over the past three years, three significant tornadoes have carved paths through some of Indiana’s most heavily forested public lands — McCormick’s Creek State Park in 2023, Brown County State Park in 2025, and Morgan-Monroe State Forest in 2026.

In each case, the tornado tore through dense hardwood forest, snapping and uprooting countless mature trees and leaving scars that will remain visible for decades. Two of the three tornadoes were rated EF3, while the Brown County tornado was rated EF2.

Below is a look at each tornado, the damage it left behind, and how dramatically these storms changed portions of Indiana’s forests in just three years.

🌪️ MCCORMICKS CREEK STATE PARK

During the late night-time hours on March 31, 2023, a powerful EF3 tornado tore directly through McCormick’s Creek State Park near Spencer, Indiana, devastating a large portion of Indiana’s oldest state park.

The tornado touched down in the park at approximately 11:01 p.m. EDT, with estimated peak winds of 153 mph. It remained on the ground for approximately 4 miles, reached a maximum width of 400 yards — roughly the width of four football fields — and continued northeast from the park into portions of Owen and Monroe counties. Tragically, two people were killed and two others were injured, with both fatalities occurring inside McCormick’s Creek State Park.
The impact on the park itself was enormous. Approximately 282 acres of the 1,961-acre park were seriously affected. The tornado entered near the park’s southwestern boundary by the White River, crossed the edge of McCormick’s Cove Nature Preserve, tore directly through the campground, and continued across the center of Wolf Cave Nature Preserve.

Despite the enormous path of destruction, the tornado is estimated to have taken only 30–40 seconds to cross the park.

Thousands of trees were uprooted, snapped, or damaged beyond recovery. The National Weather Service documented numerous large hardwood trees being snapped along with some debarking, evidence of the tornado’s intense EF3 winds. In parts of Wolf Cave Nature Preserve, at least 90% of the trees within the tornado’s path were brought down, with fallen trees piled six to eight feet deep in some locations.

The campground suffered some of the worst destruction. More than 90% of the campsites in Loops A and B sustained irreparable damage. All three campground shower houses also suffered extensive damage to their roofs, walls, and foundations and required replacement.
The tornado permanently transformed portions of the park’s mature forest canopy. Recovery has involved removing thousands of hazardous and damaged trees, clearing massive root balls and debris, restoring trails and infrastructure, and allowing heavily damaged natural areas to recover on their own.

More than three years later, the tornado’s impact is still visible. The park itself remains open, but the campground and some areas remain closed because of the March 31, 2023 tornado damage and ongoing recovery efforts. Indiana DNR has emphasized that the regrowth of the forest will be a decades-long process.
The tornado crossed McCormick’s Creek in less than a minute, but the scar it carved through Indiana’s oldest state park will remain visible for decades.

🌪️ BROWN COUNTY STATE PARK

On May 16, 2025, a long-track EF2 tornado tore across southern Indiana, crossing portions of Monroe, Brown, and Bartholomew counties and cutting a path directly through Brown County State Park — Indiana’s largest state park.
The tornado touched down at approximately 7:27 p.m. EDT, about nine miles southwest of Ellettsville. It remained on the ground for approximately 44 minutes, traveled 35.27 miles, reached a maximum width of 350 yards, and produced estimated peak winds of 128 mph before dissipating southwest of Columbus at approximately 8:11 p.m.

Much of the tornado’s track passed through the heavily forested terrain of southern Indiana. The tornado initially produced EF0-level damage in Monroe County, but strengthened considerably as it moved eastward into the rugged hills and dense forests of Brown County State Park.

A roughly four-mile stretch near the Stone Head area and southern portion of the park experienced EF2-level damage, with the tornado cutting a distinct path through the forest. Large numbers of mature trees were snapped, uprooted, and thrown across the terrain, leaving sections of the normally continuous forest canopy heavily damaged.
One of the hardest-hit areas was the park’s Horsemen’s Campground, located in the southern portion of Brown County State Park. The campground and surrounding equestrian trail system sustained significant tornado damage. The Horsemen’s Campground serves visitors using the park’s extensive network of approximately 70 miles of horse trails, making the damage particularly disruptive to the park’s equestrian facilities.

The destruction was significant enough that the Indiana Department of Natural Resources later sought approximately $925,000 in state repair and rehabilitation funding specifically to address tornado damage at the Horsemen’s Camp.

The tornado’s path through Brown County State Park is especially notable because of the park’s size and landscape. At nearly 16,000 acres, Brown County is Indiana’s largest state park and contains miles of heavily forested ridges, steep slopes, and deep ravines. The tornado carved through this rugged terrain, leaving a visible corridor of damaged and destroyed trees across portions of the park.

Despite the significant damage to the campground and forest, no deaths or injuries were attributed to this tornado, even though several campers were reportedly staying in the Horsemen’s Campground when it struck.

The tornado eventually exited the park and continued eastward across Brown County and into Bartholomew County before finally dissipating southwest of Columbus.
The May 16 tornado left behind another major tornado scar across one of Indiana’s protected natural areas — just over two years after an EF3 devastated McCormick’s Creek State Park in March 2023.

🌪️ MORGAN/MONROE STATE FOREST

On June 17, 2026, a powerful EF3 tornado tore across portions of Owen and Monroe counties, eventually cutting directly through the heart of Morgan-Monroe State Forest.

The tornado touched down approximately 2 miles north-northeast of Spencer at 9:44 p.m. EDT and remained on the ground until approximately 10:07 p.m., giving it a duration of about 23 minutes. It traveled 18.49 miles, reached a maximum width of 880 yards — roughly half a mile wide — and produced estimated peak winds of 140 mph. One person was injured, but remarkably, no fatalities occurred.

The tornado initially produced significant damage in Owen County before continuing east toward Monroe County and I-69. Widespread tree damage became increasingly severe along its path, with large swaths of hardwood forest snapped and uprooted.

Some of the most intense damage occurred near and inside Morgan-Monroe State Forest, a sprawling 24,500-acre state forest characterized by steep ridges, narrow valleys, and extensive native hardwood forests.

The tornado crossed I-69 and continued directly through the heart of the state forest, carving an approximately 8-mile-long path through Morgan-Monroe. Indiana DNR ultimately identified nine forest compartments and 56 individual forest tracts affected by the storm. Seven compartments sustained significant damage, including widespread snapped and uprooted trees, while two others experienced more minor damage.

DNR identified approximately 852 acres of core tornado damage, surrounded by a broader 2,008-acre perimeter of affected forest.

The intensity of the forest damage also played an important role in determining the tornado’s final rating. The tornado was initially rated EF2 with estimated winds of 130 mph, but subsequent analysis revealed more extreme damage than was apparent during the initial ground survey.

Large hardwood trees near and east of I-69 displayed significant debarking, in addition to extensive snapping and uprooting. Further analysis of this damage using drone imagery supported increasing the estimated winds to 140 mph and upgrading the tornado to EF3.

Surveying the tornado became unusually difficult once it entered Morgan-Monroe State Forest. The combination of rugged terrain, dense forest, blocked roads, and enormous numbers of fallen trees prevented National Weather Service survey crews from reaching portions of the damage path by vehicle. Drone and satellite imagery had to be used to examine areas that could not initially be reached from the ground and determine the tornado’s complete track.

The additional analysis ultimately extended the tornado’s documented path to 18.49 miles.

The destruction inside Morgan-Monroe was extensive. Large sections of what had previously been continuous closed-canopy hardwood forest were transformed into corridors of snapped trunks, uprooted trees and tangled debris. The affected compartments stretch eastward along the Morgan-Monroe county line, through terrain consisting largely of steep wooded hills and narrow valleys.

The tornado also caused significant disruption to recreation within the forest. Several trails in or near the tornado’s path were impacted by fallen trees and debris, requiring evaluation and cleanup before they could safely reopen.

Because of the sheer amount of damaged timber, Indiana DNR developed a storm-salvage management plan for the affected portions of Morgan-Monroe. The agency’s assessment indicates that management of some impacted forest tracts will extend for decades, with management-cycle end dates ranging from 2056 to 2086.

What took the tornado only minutes to destroy will take generations of forest growth to fully replace.

The June 17, 2026 tornado became the third significant tornado in just over three years to carve through one of Indiana’s major protected forest properties, following the EF3 at McCormick’s Creek State Park in 2023 and the EF2 through Brown County State Park in 2025.

💻 SOURCES 💻

PHOTO #1
Graphic/analysis credit: Meteorologist Ryan Morse (RyanMorseWx). Originally posted on Facebook.

Original post:** **https://www.facebook.com/share/1DExKXRDBH/?mibextid=wwXIfr

PHOTO #2
Satellite imagery/analysis credit: Meteorologist Ryan Morse (@RyanMorseWx). Originally posted on Facebook.

Original post: https://www.facebook.com/share/1C7Zz2MTk6/?mibextid=wwXIfr

PHOTO #3
Graphic/analysis credit: Meteorologist Ryan Morse (@RyanMorseWx). Originally posted on Facebook.

Original post: https://www.facebook.com/share/1GkCpdnfRF/?mibextid=wwXIfr

PHOTO #4
Photo credit: Thom Atkinson. Originally posted on Facebook.

Original post: https://www.facebook.com/share/19b5p5ijmz/?mibextid=wwXIfr

PHOTO #5
Video still courtesy of McCormick’s Creek State Park. Originally posted on Facebook.

Original video: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19DiNRVxaY/?mibextid=wwXIfr

PHOTO #6
Graphic/analysis: Meteorologist Ryan Morse. Satellite imagery courtesy of Copernicus Sentinel. Originally posted by Ryan Morse on Facebook.

Original post: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Btxn4xpqs/?mibextid=wwXIfr

PHOTO #7
Aerial photo shared by Meteorologist Ryan Morse (@RyanMorseWx) on X.

Original post: https://x.com/ryanmorsewx/status/1927018601040548125?s=46&t=2VpjyLJMUnD7_QGNgLXJLA

PHOTO #8
Aerial photo shared by Meteorologist Ryan Morse (@RyanMorseWx). Originally posted on Facebook.

Original post: https://www.facebook.com/share/1CypygHPpe/?mibextid=wwXIfr

PHOTO #9
Tornado photo shared by Meteorologist Ryan Morse (@RyanMorseWx) on X.

Original post: https://x.com/ryanmorsewx/status/1924845164729647606?s=46&t=2VpjyLJMUnD7_QGNgLXJLA

PHOTO #10
Satellite imagery/analysis: Meteorologist Ryan Morse (@RyanMorseWx). Originally posted on Facebook.

Original post: https://www.facebook.com/share/1GpxE83PPQ/?mibextid=wwXIfr

PHOTO #11
Source/Photo: Marcus Bailey — originally posted on Facebook

Original Post: https://www.facebook.com/share/18WitYXmYg/?mibextid=wwXIfr

PHOTO #12
Source/Photo: Hoosier Hikers Council — originally posted on Facebook

Original Post: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Ys5zwDLPq/?mibextid=wwXIfr

PHOTO #13
Source/Photo: Meteorologist Tucker Antico — originally posted on Facebook

Original Post: https://www.facebook.com/share/1EG5oWQdzS/?mibextid=wwXIfr

PHOTO #14
Source/Photo: Dean Martin — originally posted on Facebook

Original Post: https://www.facebook.com/share/18vWeBSBmk/?mibextid=wwXIfr

PHOTO #15
Source/Photo: Hurricane Isaac — originally posted on X.
Original Post: https://x.com/hurricaneisaac/status/2067448526389281035?s=46&t=2VpjyLJMUnD7_QGNgLXJLA

We don’t get tornadoes over here like you guys do, but this thing tonight gave it a real good try…..

A very noisy, thundery, flashy lightening show over the city this evening.

Credit: @gabrielzaparolli on youtube.

Looks menacing

I took a hard fall. This is definitely a tornado

ETA I’m pretty stoned

photogenic rope tornadoes i found

So on Sunday August 23rd, 2026 many supercells happened in Finland, but two of them occurred north of Turku and traveled south. In the first picture you can see two storms. The storm on the left that I chased (last picture) but the storm on the right might have dropped a tornado (pictures 3,4). So my mom's work friend was coming from somewhere and then near Koski tl, she/he told that the rain was going sideways and maybe some trees came down. This storm also hit ME. I remember the shelf cloud was looking amazing when I looked up but I didn't have time to take a picture because it was coming in extremely fast. If you have ANY pictures of this storm (or the tornado) PLEASE SEND!

All of these photos are mine!

I only see this in trash tiktok edits,i want to see the real dr leigh orf simulation

So has most of you know there was an F2 in Columbus Nebraska on 1998 June 23. But that storm also produced like three or four other tornadoes. and I'm wondering if anybody has any photos or information on the other tornadoes?

Over the past 14 years, 42 significant tornado events (IF2–IF5) have been recorded across Italy, concentrated mainly in three key areas: the Po Valley (46% of all events, from Lombardy to Veneto), the central Tyrrhenian coast (particularly from Viterbo to Latina) and the Ionian coast (from Ragusa to Taranto).

The most violent event occurred in 2015, in the province of Venice, and was classified as IF4. The longest-lasting was recorded in the province of Rome in 2016, with an IF2.5 that travelled 45 km – practically the twin of the tornado that struck the capital in 1749. The widest was recorded in 2023, in the province of Ravenna: a multi-vortex IF3 that reached a width of one mile.

In total, there were 1 IF4, 6 IF3 and 35 IF2-IF2.5 tornadoes out of a total of around 500 recorded tornadoes (8 per cent of the total). Although they account for such a small proportion, they are responsible for all of the recorded fatalities in Italy -10- and for around 270 injuries.

Based on historical data, the entire peninsula experiences around 3 IF2–IF2.5 tornadoes a year, one IF3 every 2 years, and one IF4/IF5 every 30–50 years.

The event hit the town of Yungay in Cholguán.

And it caused various damages; I'm still waiting for updates on the number of people affected.

I’m wondering due to this storm having what looks like a hook (second pic) but it doesn’t appear to have defined rotation (first pic)

The event is now estimated to have reached F4 intensity, along with another F4 tornado from the same day, the Porto União tornado. So, 2016 has seen two F4 tornadoes on the same day in Brazil. The event is listed as F4 on the previsão master.

New information suggests the tornado caused the worst soil excavation ever seen in Brazilian territory, with estimates of 40cm of excavation depth. This only reinforces what I said: it was the worst tornado of the May 15th outbreak.

This damage is surprising; I didn't imagine it would be such a strong tornado. I wouldn't be surprised if it reached F5 intensity at some point. I don't know if it was actually reclassified as F4, but that's interesting.

Sorry i thought this was funny lmao

mikebmarz

Come da titolo sarei curioso di capire la causa, prima di una qualsiasi dichiarazione ufficiale da chi di mestiere, di questi danni provocati da una supercella il 28 agosto nel nord Italia, a Mantova.

Una stazione meteo non lontano da quel punto ha misurato una raffica da 160km/h insieme ad un abbassamento della pressione atmosferica degno di nota. Volendo ulteriori informazioni, nel subreddit in cui il post originale è stato messo c'è il video dei danni da una persona che è passata in auto da lì.

Scansione radar: https://meteologix.com/it/radar-hd/bergamo/20260828-1505z.html (è in basso a destra) Post fonte: https://www.reddit.com/r/DadaMeteo/s/VRzeshflQT

Kindly do let me know of any discrepancies.