1984 Oakville tornado

On April 1, 1984, the village of Oakville, Indiana was struck by a large F5 tornado. This was on the 100 year anniversary of a devastating F5 tornado which also struck Oakville on April 1, 1884.

The tornado was considered one of the worst up to that date, and many compared it to it's 1884 counterpart. It was officially left unrated until 2000, when the SPC assigned it a F5 rating.

Meteorological history
On March 31, 1984, a powerful storm system emerged over the Upper Midwest. The NSSFC (National Severe Storms Forecast Center) issued a Slight Risk of Severe Thunderstorms for April 1, concerning the possibility of several thunderstorms developing. By noon on April 1, the NSSFC had made note of strong wind shear of roughly 2,500 J/kg and denoted the second ever High Risk of Severe Thunderstorms.

By 1800, violent thunderstorms were underway across the region, and the National Weather Service in Indianapolis put out a public statement at 1809.

PUBLIC STATEMENT BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA 209 PM EDT ON APR 1 1984 ...WORST SEVERE WEATHER SINCE 1974 ANTICIPATED THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS CENTRAL INDIANA... AS VIOLENT THUNDERSTORMS ERUPT ACROSS THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON, THE WORST TORNADO OUTBREAK SINCE 1974 CAN BE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT. MULTIPLE TORNADOES, A FEW POSSIBLY STRONGER THAN F2, AND SOME REACHING F4 TO F5 INTENSITY, AS WELL AS LARGE HAIL AND VERY DESTRUCTIVE WINDS CAN BE ANTICIPATED. TAKE THIS TIME TO OVERVIEW YOUR TORNADO SAFETY PLAN, AND PREPARE FOR THE WORST IF A TORNADO APPROACHES YOUR HOME. THIS STATEMENT WILL BE UPDATED AT 800 PM EDT. THIS IS A WORK-IN PROGRESS!