Did a legend save Indiana town from tornadoes?

MUNCIE, Ind. — As eight tornadoes tore across Indiana Wednesday, flattening a Starbucks in Kokomo, the storms largely missed Muncie. Could it be because of a long-standing legend?

David Call, an associate professor of meteorology and geography at Ball State University, said the storms Wednesday night sort of split, part moving to Ohio after hitting Kokomo and part moving west of Muncie. Although the university sounded its sirens after a tornado warning was issued around 9:15 p.m., Call said the storm really just "clipped" the northwest corner of Delaware County.

8 tornadoes carved through Indiana, thousands without power

As the legend goes, the city of Muncie, named for the Munsee Indians, was founded on a curve in the White River to fend off storms. Back in 1994, Nick Clark, the director of the Minnetrista Cultural Center at the time, said Indians believe that a circle is a spiritual form, as is any part of a circle.

Believers who took to social media on Thursday pointed to the fact that there has never been a tornado within the city limits since it was founded in 1833. Call said, to the best of his knowledge, this is still true, although he doesn't credit the legend.

"Essentially, if you looked at a map of Delaware County, the area taken up by the city of Muncie is actually a pretty small target within Delaware County," he said. Most tornadoes are random, small and last less than five minutes, he said.

And while cities can affect the weather — for example, they are warmer at night than surrounding areas — Call said that probably wouldn't affect a tornado.

"A 50,000-foot-tall thunderstorm doesn’t care about a river," he said.

Call guessed legends like these were created by people looking to create order in a chaotic world. Especially because, years ago, there wasn't much people could do. They probably didn't know the tornado was coming ahead of time, he said.

With modern meteorology, a warning is usually issued and people are instructed to abandon their cars and go to basements, storm shelters or bath tubs. The Howard County Sheriff Steve Rogers said only 10 to 15 people suffered minor injuries after Wednesday's storms.

"You don’t need to worry about a legend," Call said. "You just need to worry about getting to your basement."

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