Campus Alert Archive
IU

'SEEK SHELTER NOW': IU Notify Pushed Two Tornado Warnings as an EF2 With 120 MPH Winds Tracked Within 3.73 Miles of Campus

INtornadoemergency notificationhigh confidence
Confirmed Threat

On the evening of Thursday, February 19, 2026, the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Monroe County at 6:39 PM EST and extended it at 7:01 PM EST. IU Notify pushed Bloomington-campus alerts for both warnings, instructing the campus community to "SEEK SHELTER NOW." An EF2 tornado with 120 mph winds tracked through Bloomington for 3.73 miles around 7 PM. The IU main campus was spared, but over 1,200 Monroe County residents lost power.

Alerts
3
Response
0 min
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Indiana University Bloomington
Public R1 · IN
IU Notify
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence · 2 verified verbatim

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Verified verbatimIndiana University Emergency Updates Facebook page186 chars
IU Bloomington Alert: A Tornado Warning has been issued for Monroe County. Go immediately to a designated shelter or to the lowest level interior room of your building. SEEK SHELTER NOW.
Pushed at 6:39 PM EST on February 19, 2026, simultaneously with the NWS Indianapolis tornado warning issuance.
The all-caps "SEEK SHELTER NOW" closing is IU Notify's standard severe-weather sign-off; the imperative form differs from advisory phrasing like "consider taking shelter".
Initial warning was set to expire at 7:15 PM EST.
UPDATESMS+22 min
Verified verbatimNWS Indianapolis February 19, 2026 severe weather summary137 chars
IU Bloomington Alert: The Tornado Warning for Monroe County has been extended until 7:30 PM EST by NWS Indianapolis IN. SEEK SHELTER NOW.
Pushed at 7:01 PM EST on February 19, 2026 to extend the tornado warning to 7:30 PM EST.
The extension came as the severe thunderstorm intensified into a damaging tornado, per IU Daily Student reporting on the two IU Notify Bloomington alert emails.
Two-alert sequence — initial warning, then extension — captures the rapid intensification of the EF2 that touched down approximately at the time of the second alert.
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from IU Daily Student and WTHR reporting on the expired tornado warning and post-storm guidance139 chars
IU Bloomington Alert: The Tornado Warning for Monroe County has expired. The threat has passed. Avoid downed power lines and damaged areas.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Verbatim wording not preserved publicly; reconstructed from IDS reporting on the post-warning advisories.
Bloomington Police Department had urged residents to stay home after the storm because of widespread power outages affecting more than 1,200 Monroe County residents.
Context

Background

On the evening of Thursday, February 19, 2026, an unusually strong February storm system tracked across southern Indiana. The National Weather Service Indianapolis office issued a tornado warning for Monroe County at 6:39 PM EST, then extended the warning at 7:01 PM EST as the severe thunderstorm rotated up into a damaging tornado. IU Notify pushed Bloomington-campus alerts in lockstep with NWS, opening with the imperative "A Tornado Warning has been issued for Monroe County. Go immediately to a designated shelter" and closing with the all-caps "SEEK SHELTER NOW" tag. An EF2 tornado with peak winds of 120 mph tracked through Bloomington for 3.73 miles around 7 PM, damaging buildings near Indiana University. The main campus was spared, but more than 1,200 Monroe County residents lost power.
Analysis

Key Findings

IU Notify pushed two tornado-warning alerts in 22 minutes — initial issuance at 6:39 PM EST, extension at 7:01 PM EST — both ending in the imperative "SEEK SHELTER NOW".
An EF2 tornado with 120 mph winds tracked 3.73 miles through Bloomington as the second alert went out, capturing a tornado intensification within IU Notify's alert window.
Despite damage near campus, the IU Bloomington main campus was spared, demonstrating the value of advance NWS-coupled IU Notify warnings for a campus that sits inside a high-tornado-frequency Indiana corridor.
Outcome
EF2 tornado confirmed by NWS Indianapolis with peak winds of 120 mph; on the ground for 3.73 miles in Monroe County. IU's main Bloomington campus was spared but over 1,200 residents lost power. No injuries reported on campus.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Social
    IU Bloomington Alert (Indiana University Emergency Updates Facebook)
    facebook.com
  2. Source
    February 19 Tornadoes and Severe Storms (NWS Indianapolis)
    weather.gov
  3. News
    Suspected tornado leaves trail of damage in Bloomington area; no injuries reported (WTHR)
    wthr.com
  4. News
    Early look at the Bloomington tornado: Where did it hit? (WTHR)
    wthr.com
  5. Student Paper
    Over 1,200 Monroe County residents without power (Indiana Daily Student)
    idsnews.com
  6. Official
    IU Notify: Get Emergency Alerts (Protect IU)
    protect.iu.edu
Tags
IndianaIndiana UniversityBloomingtontornadoEF2IU Notifysevere-weatherMonroe CountyBig-Ten
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion