Severe Weather

Hancock County is vulnerable to a variety of severe weather. Heavy rain, flooding, thunderstorms, tornadoes and winter storms are all examples of severe weather conditions that may occur in Hancock County.

The fastest, most accurate and reliable means of receiving severe weather information is through a NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Weather Radio with a "tone alert" feature and battery backup. Weather radios may be purchased at local electronics stores.

NOAA Weather Radio is operated directly from the National Weather Service office in Indianapolis, Indiana which provides coverage for Hancock County. The weather radio "tone alert" is activated when weather watches and warnings are issued. Newer models are capable of warning you only if severe weather is expected to reach Hancock County. This feature is called Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME). Ask your local electronics retailer for help programming your weather radio before you leave the store.

Tornadoes are natures most violent storms and can leave an area devastated in minutes. A tornado appears as a rotating, funnel-shaped cloud, striking the ground with winds of up to 300 miles per hour. Many persons have described the sound of an approaching tornado as resembling a train. Tornadoes can strike at any time of the day and during any season of the year. In Indiana, tornadoes occur most frequently in March, April, May and June.