Ohio natural disasters

The state's storm and disaster record · population 11,793,992 · 88 counties and county equivalents

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 51,840 storm events in Ohio since 1950, 45,095 of them since 1996 when every event type began to be recorded, and the Storm Prediction Center counts 1,402 tornadoes in the state since 1950. The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events (21,955). In NOAA's storm record since 1950, the deadliest tornado day in Ohio was April 11, 1965: tornadoes and the storms that came with them killed 60 people in the state; the deadliest of them in Ohio, the Strongsville tornado, killed 18 (SPC). FEMA has made 61 declarations for Ohio since 1956, 57 for natural hazards; 53 were major disasters.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm events recorded in Ohio each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).

recorded, no damage figure
under $1 million
$1 million or more
$10 million or more
$100 million or more, or 10 deaths
$1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
a year with a death
1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
1996: all 48 event types from 1996

Storm events recorded: 51,8401950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded: 4625,828 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $16.7Bas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes (SPC): 1,4021950 to 2025
FEMA declarations: 6153 major disasters

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); tornado count: NOAA Storm Prediction Center, 1950-2025; damage in 2025 dollars (BLS CPI-U). Search the record at NCEI.

What natural disasters happen in Ohio?

By NOAA's records, Ohio's most frequent hazards are severe thunderstorm wind events (21,955), hail reports (9,155), winter storm records (7,472); the deadliest are tornadoes (200 deaths). Each hazard is counted over the years NOAA has recorded it everywhere: tornadoes since 1950, hail and thunderstorm wind since 1955, everything else since 1996. Open a hazard for its years, months, counties and worst events.

Ohio: records by hazard to June 30, 2026
Hazard	Records	Last 10 years	Killed	Injured	Damage	Counties
Severe thunderstorm wind	21,955	6,471	55	415	$560M	88 of 88
Hail	9,155	1,632	0	13	$1.4B	88 of 88
Winter storms	7,472	2,576	28	411	$1.8B	88 of 88
Floods	6,794	2,607	74	23	$3.0B	88 of 88
High wind and dust storms	2,516	651	22	84	$1.1B	88 of 88
Tornadoes	1,565	409	200	4,716	$8.5B	88 of 88
Extreme cold	863	194	27	1	$58M	88 of 88
Drought	415	99	0	0	$209M	82 of 88
Heat	410	75	16	0	$24K	71 of 88
Heavy rain	291	32	2	0	$2.9M	81 of 88
Lightning	242	17	28	123	$22M	70 of 88
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds	128	15	8	42	$949K	48 of 88
Hurricanes and tropical storms	24	0	0	0	$11M	5 of 88
Rip currents and high surf	7	3	2	0	–	6 of 88
Landslides and avalanches	3	2	0	0	$3K	3 of 88

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: every record counted once in the state; "last 10 years" is 2017-2026 (2026 to June 30, 2026).

What were the deadliest disasters in Ohio?

The storms with the most deaths since 1950, from the National Weather Service's own entries. NOAA files one storm as several records when it crosses forecast zones and counties or changes type, and groups them under one episode; each row here is an episode, with its totals and the narrative of its deadliest record. Before 1996 tornado records carry no episode and stand alone. The narrative says what happened: some deaths the National Weather Service files under a weather type had another cause beside the weather.

Ohio: the 10 storm episodes with the most deaths
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
1965-04-11	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Strongsville, killed 18 (SPC) · TornadoLorain County Every tornado record filed in the state that day (17, in 17 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F4 13.4 mi x 400 yd	60	698	$25M step
1974-04-03	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Xenia, killed 36 (SPC) · TornadoGreene County Every tornado record filed in the state that day (16, in 9 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F5 20.4 mi x 533 yd	42	1,396	$250M step
1953-06-08	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Cleveland, killed 17 (SPC) · TornadoCuyahoga County Every tornado record filed in the state that day (6, in 6 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F4 15.6 mi x 33 yd	17	379	–
1999-07-20	HeatAdams County · forecast zone Adams The last part of July was very hot and humid across the state with temperatures reaching into the 90s most days and above 100 for a few days. The dewpoints and overnight lows were in the 70s through much of the period. The excessive heat contributed to 10 deaths in the Cincinnati metro area and 3 in the Dayton metro ...		13	0	–
1985-05-31	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Niles, killed 10 in the state (18 on its whole track, SPC) · TornadoTrumbull County Every tornado record filed in the state that day (16, in 10 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F5 23.5 mi x 440 yd	11	340	$250M step
1968-04-23	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Gallipolis, killed 7 (SPC) · TornadoScioto County Every tornado record filed in the state that day (11, in 9 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F5 9.8 mi x 400 yd	9	131	$2.5M step
2022-12-23	BlizzardSandusky County · forecast zone Sandusky One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. A long-duration, multi-faceted winter storm hit northern Ohio just before Christmas 2022 with extreme cold, strong winds, accumulating snow and extensive blowing and drifting of the snow that fell. An Arctic cold front swept east across northern Ohio during the late evening hours of December 22nd and early morning ...		8	73	–
2010-06-05	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Walbridge to Clay Center, killed 7 (SPC) · TornadoMoline, Wood County One storm episode: 6 records in 6 places, 2010-06-05 to 2010-06-06; the totals are the episode's. A stationary frontal system stretched across the lower Great Lakes on the morning of Saturday, June 5th. This resulted in a very warm and humid airmass over northern Ohio. Outflow boundaries from earlier storms interacted with the stationary front to initiate thunderstorm development during the afternoon hours across ...	EF4 6.5 mi x 400 yd	7	28	$140M
2021-02-01	Cold/Wind ChillCuyahoga County · forecast zone Cuyahoga The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner Office determined that seven people in Cuyahoga County died from exposure during the first half of February due to the combination of cold weather and inadequate housing with proper heating. Temperatures during the first half of February were largely below freezing with many nights ...		7	0	–
1973-05-10	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Willard, killed 6 (SPC) · TornadoHuron County Every tornado record filed in the state that day (15, in 15 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F3 11 mi x 50 yd	6	131	$2.5M step

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 direct and indirect, as filed in this state, summed over the records of each episode (EPISODE_ID); a forecast-zone record counts the zone's deaths once. A tornado's whole-track deaths (SPC), on the state's tornado page, can be higher when the track crossed a state line. Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest records in Ohio

Ohio: the 8 records with the most damage since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2008-03-07	Winter StormKnox County · forecast zone Knox		0	0	$1.0B
2019-05-27	TornadoPyrmont, Montgomery County	EF4 18.17 mi x 1,050 yd	1	166	$577M
2006-07-28	Flash FloodCountywide, Lake County		1	0	$468M
2007-06-08	HailAkron, Summit County	4.25 in hail	0	0	$410M
2008-09-14	High WindFranklin County · forecast zone Franklin	65 kt wind	0	0	$176M
2003-07-21	Flash FloodCountywide, Summit County		3	0	$160M
2007-08-21	Flash FloodFindlay, Hancock County		0	0	$149M
2006-10-04	HailGahanna, Franklin County	2.00 in hail	0	0	$146M

Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $250M, in the dollars of the day) holds: April 3, 1974 (tornado, Greene County, 36 killed); May 31, 1985 (tornado, Trumbull County, 10 killed); May 31, 1985 (tornado, Portage County); May 31, 1985 (tornado, Trumbull County).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. BLS consumer price index.

Which counties in Ohio have the most records?

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950 attributed to each county (forecast-zone records count on every county the zone covers).

Every county in Ohio

Billion-dollar disasters in Ohio

NOAA counted 105 weather or climate disasters from 1980-2024 that cost at least $1 billion (adjusted for inflation) and affected Ohio, led by severe storm (69). The most recent: Hurricane Helene (2024); Hurricane Debby (2024); Central and Eastern Tornado Outbreak and Severe Weather (2024).

Ohio: billion-dollar disasters by type, 1980-2024
Type	Events	Total cost (NOAA's range)
Severe Storm	69	$10.0B-$20.0B
Winter Storm	12	$1.0B-$2.0B
Drought	10	$5.0B-$10.0B
Tropical Cyclone	7	$2.0B-$5.0B
Flooding	5	$1.0B-$2.0B
Freeze	2	$250M-$500M

Every one of the 105, newest first

Hurricane Helene2024
Hurricane Debby2024
Central and Eastern Tornado Outbreak and Severe Weather2024
Hurricane Beryl2024
Central and Eastern Severe Weather2024
Central, Southern, Eastern Severe Weather2024
Central, Southern, Southeastern Tornado Outbreak2024
Central Tornado Outbreak and Eastern Severe Weather2024
Central and Southern Severe Weather2024
Central and Eastern Severe Weather2024
Southern Tornado Outbreak and East Coast Storm2024
Southern/Eastern/Northwestern Drought and Heat Wave2024
North Central and Eastern Severe Weather2023
North Central and Southeastern Severe Weather2023
Northeastern Flooding and North Central Severe Weather2023
Central and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Central Tornado Outbreak and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Southern and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Southern and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Central and Eastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave2022
North Central and Eastern Severe Weather2022
Central Derecho2022
Central Severe Weather2022
North Central Hail Storms2022
Southern and Central Severe Weather2022
Southern Severe Weather2022
Southern Tornado Outbreak2022
Southeast, Central Tornado Outbreak2021
North Central Severe Weather2021
Central Severe Storms2021
Ohio Valley Hail Storms2021
Southeast Tornadoes and Severe Weather2021
Central Severe Weather - Derecho2020
North Central and Ohio Valley Hail Storms and Severe Weather2020
Midwest and Ohio Valley Severe Weather2020
Southeast Tornadoes and Northern Storms and Flooding2020
Rockies, Central and Northeast Tornadoes and Severe Weather2019
Southern and Eastern Tornadoes and Severe Weather2019
Mississippi River, Midwest and Southern Flooding2019
Southeast, Ohio Valley and Northeast Severe Weather2019
Central and Eastern Severe Weather2018
Central and Northeast Severe Weather2018
Missouri and Arkansas Flooding and Central Severe Weather2017
Midwest Tornado Outbreak2017
Central/Southeast Tornado Outbreak2017
West Virginia Flooding and Ohio Valley Tornadoes2016
Texas and Oklahoma Flooding and Severe Weather2015
Midwest/Ohio Valley Severe Weather2015
Central and Eastern Winter storm, Cold Wave2015
Rockies/Midwest/Eastern Severe Weather2014
Center Severe Weather2014
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Winter Storm2014
Ohio Valley Tornadoes2013
Hurricane Sandy2012
Plains/East/Northeast Derecho2012
Southeast/Ohio Valley Tornadoes2012
U.S. Drought/Heat Wave2012
Rockies and Midwest Derecho2011
Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes2011
Southeast/Ohio Valley/Midwest Tornadoes2011
Ohio Valley Derecho and Southern Tornadoes2011
Groundhog Day Blizzard2011
Southeast/Ohio Valley Severe Weather2009
Hurricane Ike2008
Southeast Tornadoes and Severe Weather2008
Western, Central and Northeast Severe Weather2008
U.S. Drought2008
Western/Eastern Drought/Heat Wave2007
Spring Freeze2007
Central Severe Weather2006
Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes2006
Midwest Drought2005
Hurricane Ivan2004
Severe Storms, Hail, Tornadoes2004
Southern Derecho and Eastern Severe Weather2003
Midwest/Plains Severe Weather2003
Severe Storms/Tornadoes2003
Eastern Tornadoes and Severe Storms2002
Severe Storms and Tornadoes2002
U.S. Drought2002
Midwest/Ohio Valley Hail and Tornadoes2001
Eastern Drought/Heat Wave1999
Oklahoma and Kansas Tornadoes1999
Central and Eastern Winter Storm1999
Central and Eastern Winter Storm1999
Central and Eastern Severe Storms and Flooding1998
Northern Plains and Great Lakes Derecho, Tornadoes1998
Mississippi and Ohio Valley Severe Weather and Flooding1997
Hurricane Fran1996
Blizzard/Floods1996
Central, Southern and Northeast Drought/Heat Wave1995
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1994
Northern Plains and Ohio Valley Severe Weather1993
East Coast Blizzard and Severe Weather1993
Southeast Severe Weather1992
Severe Storms, Tornadoes1991
U.S. Drought1991
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1989
U.S. Drought/Heat Wave1988
Ohio and Pennsylvania Tornado Outbreak1985
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1985
Freeze/Cold Wave1983
Severe Storms1982
Midwest/Plains/Southeast Tornadoes1982
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Winter Storm, Cold Wave1982

Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters, state summary for Ohio, 1980-2024 (NCEI's last update; the product is archived). A disaster that affected several states counts in each. NCEI billion-dollar disasters.

Federal disaster declarations in Ohio

FEMA has made 61 declarations for Ohio since 1956: 53 major disasters, 8 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. The most common incident types are severe storm (24), flood (18), tornado (8).

1950s 2
1960s 5
1970s 10
1980s 6
1990s 7
2000s 20
2010s 7
2020s 4

The 15 most recent declarations in Ohio
Declared	Number	Type	Title	Areas named
2026-10-02	DR-4945	Flood	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, and Landslides	7
2024-05-02	DR-4777	Tornado	Tornadoes	11
2020-03-31	DR-4507	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	88
2020-03-13	EM-3457	Biological	Covid-19	88
2019-06-18	DR-4447	Tornado	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslide	12
2019-04-08	DR-4424	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides	21
2018-04-17	DR-4360	Flood	Severe Storms, Landslides, and Mudslides	22
2013-01-03	DR-4098	Hurricane	Severe Storms and Flooding Due to the Remnants of Hurricane Sandy	2
2012-08-20	DR-4077	Severe Storm	Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds	39
2012-06-30	EM-3346	Severe Storm	Severe Storms	88
2011-07-13	DR-4002	Severe Storm	Severe Storms and Flooding	21
2008-10-24	DR-1805	Severe Storm	Severe Wind Storm Associated With Tropical Depression Ike	33
2008-04-24	EM-3286	Snowstorm	Record Snow and Near Record Snow	20
2007-08-27	DR-1720	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes	8
2006-08-01	DR-1656	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight Line Winds, and Flooding	3

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

Flood insurance claims in Ohio

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $371 million on 28,209 claims in 88 Ohio counties. Claims count insured losses only.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk across Ohio's counties

How FEMA's National Risk Index rates Ohio's counties overall: a model of expected future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of events.

Relatively High 3
Relatively Moderate 8
Relatively Low 51
Very Low 26

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