Pike County, Ohio

What hazards hit Pike County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 158 since 1959. 61% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1959 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 Pike County had?

NOAA records 16 tornadoes in Pike County from 1956 to 2026, the strongest rated EF2, with 0 deaths and 11 injuries recorded in the county. 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 14 tornadoes whose track touched Pike County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 16: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 0 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 Pike County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 18, 2026 tornado ($250,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

The first evidence of tornadic damage occurred on Union Hill Road, about six tenths of a mile north of Appalachian Highway, where a few hardwood trees were snapped and multiple limbs were broken off of trees. The tornado then moved through a heavily forested area towards the intersection of Lansing Road and Chenoweth Fork Road where more tree damage was noted. Tree damage continued in a concentrated path to the east-northeast along Chenoweth Fork Road before crossing Appalachian Highway and causing a fair amount of tree damage at a rest station on Meads Road. The damage noted in the first third of the tornado's path consisted of broken branches, snapped trunks, and uprooted mature trees. This was consistent with EF-0 and EF-1 damage. The tornado continued east through a forest with a large hillside that was not accessible by ground survey. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1340876)

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 Pike 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?

61% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1959 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 Pike County

FEMA's register lists 17 declarations that include Pike County: 13 major disasters, 4 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (10) and flood (3).

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 Pike County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 83 flood or flash flood records for Pike County from 1996 to 2025, on 63 days, with 2 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Pike County ranks 1286th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.7 million on 105 claims filed in Pike County; the most in one year was 40 in 1997. 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 Pike County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Pike County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $10.6 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 Pike County

1. Scioto County 708
2. Ross County 590
3. Highland County 577
4. Adams County 569
5. Jackson County 439
6. Pike County 418

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 Pike CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Pike County's FEMA declarations (CSV)17 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis