Mahoning County, Ohio

What hazards hit Mahoning County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 265 since 1966. 50% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1966 fell in June and July. The rank column places the county among Ohio's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Mahoning County had?

NOAA records 17 tornadoes in Mahoning County from 1955 to 2022, the strongest rated F3, with 3 deaths and 15 injuries recorded in the county. That is 37th of 88 Ohio counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 18 tornadoes whose track touched Mahoning County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 17: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 3 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Ohio.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Mahoning County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the September 4, 2022 flash flood ($4.5 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

Widespread flash flooding across the Boardman area. Local dispatch, local media, and the local stormwater district reported over 250 residences that experienced basement flooding, with a few reports of water filling entire basements. Widespread street flooding with reports of dozens of car stranded in high water as high as three feet deep. Radar estimated rainfall totaled up to 4.5 in just under a three hour period, which has a 0.2% chance or less probability of annual occurrence per NOAA Atlas 14. Instantaneous rates of up to 6 per hour were observed, with a peak 15 minute rainfall accumulation around 1.25.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1058421)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Mahoning County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

50% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1966 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Mahoning County

FEMA's register lists 12 declarations that include Mahoning County: 8 major disasters, 4 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (6) and biological (2).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Mahoning County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 37 flood or flash flood records for Mahoning County from 1996 to 2022, on 32 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Mahoning County ranks 738th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $2.8 million on 305 claims filed in Mahoning County; the most in one year was 25 in 1982. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Mahoning County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Mahoning County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $42.5 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Mahoning County

1. Mercer County, PA 960
2. Trumbull County 855
3. Stark County 813
4. Columbiana County 735
5. Lawrence County, PA 714
6. Portage County 664
7. Mahoning County 552

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in OhioEvery Ohio tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Severe thunderstorm wind in OhioThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, by county, year and month
• The Ohio recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Mahoning CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Mahoning County's FEMA declarations (CSV)12 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis