Ohio floods
Every recorded flood since 1996 · 88 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 6,794 floods and flash floods in Ohio from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 213 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the June 27, 1998 flash flood in Noble County: 5 deaths and $36.2 million in damage in 2025 dollars. Ohio ranks 9th of 52 states and territories by count and 12th of 51 per square mile.
Floods in Ohio, 1996 to 2026
Flood records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- 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
- Records
- 6,7941996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 213average
- Deaths
- 7423 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $3.0Bas filed
- Busiest year
- 2019480 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are floods and flash floods common in Ohio?
Ohio averages about 213 floods and flash floods a year since 2000, 9th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2019 (480). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Ohio records 1663 floods and flash floods since 1996, 12th of 51 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in Ohio have the most floods and flash floods?
Per square mile, Hamilton County leads Ohio: 149 days with a flood since 1996, 367.5 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Hamilton County has the most flood records (262 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is flood season in Ohio?
Ohio's floods and flash floods by month. The busiest month is June (1,492 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 570 · Feb 532 · Mar 543 · Apr 623 · May 957 · Jun 1,492 · Jul 968 · Aug 547 · Sep 277 · Oct 31 · Nov 94 · Dec 160 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest floods and flash floods in Ohio?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-06-27 | Flash FloodCountywide, Noble County Another round of thunderstorms starting on the evening of the 27th created widespread flash flooding throughout Noble County. These floods caused five deaths during the evening of the 27th and early morning hours of the 28th. In Caldwell, a 90-year-old man and 89-year-old woman were killed as flash flooding from the ... | 5 | 0 | $36M | |
| 2003-07-21 | Flash FloodCountywide, Summit County One storm episode: 9 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. Thunderstorms dumped very heavy rains on Summit County causing catastrophic flooding in parts of the county. Rainfall rates exceeded two inches per hour at times during the evening hours. Many streams and creeks left their banks causing widespread flooding. Spotters measured 7.20 inches of rain at Richfield and a gage ... | 4 | 0 | $319M | |
| 2015-07-18 | Flash FloodEastwood, Brown County Thunderstorms developed across Brown County around 2100EST. A rain gauge near Red Oak received 2.4 inches of rain between 2120EST and 2205EST. Flooding started in the Georgetown area around 2140EST, when 6 people were stranded in multiple vehicles along State Route 125 due to rapidly rising water on Straight Creek. ... | 3 | 3 | $3.7M | |
| 2001-07-17 | Flash FloodCountywide, Hamilton County One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. 389 dwellings sustained damage due to flooding. Several businesses were flooded along Mill Creek in Sharonville. Two people, a young woman, 21, and her father, 48, died in their flooded basement in Fairfax, when Little Duck Creek flooded in their neighborhood. A young woman, 16, was swept away while attempting to ... | 3 | 0 | $13M | |
| 2000-02-20 | FloodScioto County · forecast zone Scioto Heavy rainfall caused the Ohio River at Portsmouth to overflow its banks. The river crested at 52 feet at 730 am on the 21st. Flood stage is 50 feet. Low land flooding occurred along the river in South Portsmouth. Two deaths and 2 injuries occurred when a car was driven into a flooded area near the confluence of the ... | 2 | 2 | $34K | |
| 1999-01-21 | Flash FloodPleasantville, Fairfield County Heavy rain washed out part of Highway 188. Two cars fell into the washed out area with one person being injured and two killed. | 2 | 1 | – | |
| 2015-03-04 | FloodOregonia, Warren County One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. Widespread rain developed ahead of a low pressure system pushing east along a slow moving cold front. The rain fell on snow covered ground, resulting in areas of flooding. | 2 | 0 | $12K | |
| 2011-02-28 | FloodTwinsburg, Summit County One storm episode: 22 records in 19 places; the totals are the episode's. A strong area of low pressure moved northeast across Ohio on February 28th. Heavy rain fell over northern Ohio in association with this low. Rainfall totals of between one and three inches were reported. Up to ten inches of heavy snow was one the ground at daybreak on the 27th. Temperatures warmed into the 40s on the ... | 2 | 0 | $18M | |
| 2010-06-09 | FloodCedron, Clermont County Heavy rain allowed for Bullskin Creek to rise. Two boys, ages 8 and 11, were killed when they were swept away in the rising water after they went to look at the high water. | 2 | 0 | $4K | |
| 2010-05-02 | FloodBishopville, Morgan County One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. A strong southerly flow, ahead of a cold front, transported very moist air through Tennessee, Kentucky and into southeast Ohio. Surface dew points were in the mid and upper 60s. Wave after wave in the mid and upper levels helped trigger widespread showers, with embedded thunderstorms. These training rains first ... | 2 | 0 | $3.0M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest floods and flash floods in Ohio
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-07-28 | Flash FloodCountywide, Lake County One storm episode: 7 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. | 1 | 0 | $529M | |
| 2007-08-21 | Flash FloodFindlay, Hancock County One storm episode: 7 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $362M | |
| 2003-07-21 | Flash FloodCountywide, Summit County One storm episode: 9 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. | 4 | 0 | $319M | |
| 2006-06-22 | FloodCountywide, Lorain County One storm episode: 24 records in 16 places; the totals are the episode's. | 1 | 0 | $292M | |
| 2003-07-27 | Flash FloodCountywide, Stark County One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $108M | |
| 2014-05-12 | Flash FloodShawville, Lorain County One storm episode: 7 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $76M | |
| 1998-06-27 | Flash FloodCountywide, Muskingum County | 0 | 0 | $43M | |
| 1998-06-27 | Flash FloodCountywide, Washington County One storm episode: 7 records in 6 places, 1998-06-27 to 1998-06-29; the totals are the episode's. | 2 | 0 | $37M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are floods and flash floods becoming more frequent in Ohio?
Ohio's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | Ohio | United States | Ohio's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 1,092 | 20,986 | 5.2% |
| 2000s | 1,988 | 54,913 | 3.6% |
| 2010s | 2,216 | 68,322 | 3.2% |
| 2020-26 | 1,498 | 43,563 | 3.4% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent floods and flash floods in Ohio
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-28 | FloodDurbin, Clark County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-28 | Flash FloodBeatty, Clark County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-22 | Flash FloodBatesville, Noble County | 0 | 0 | $5K | |
| 2026-06-18 | FloodBoston, Highland County | 0 | 0 | $3K | |
| 2026-06-18 | Flash FloodStonelick, Clermont County | 0 | 0 | $4K | |
| 2026-06-18 | Flash FloodVigo, Ross County | 0 | 0 | $20K | |
| 2026-06-18 | Flash FloodStubbs Mills, Warren County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-18 | FloodSouth Lebanon, Warren County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-18 | FloodSt Bernard, Hamilton County | 0 | 0 | $5K | |
| 2026-06-18 | FloodCheviot, Hamilton County | 0 | 0 | $40K | |
| 2026-06-18 | FloodMadisonville, Hamilton County | 0 | 0 | $20K | |
| 2026-06-18 | FloodBrighton, Hamilton County | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Federal disaster declarations for floods and flash floods in Ohio
FEMA has declared 40 disasters in Ohio for floods and flash floods, counting its incident type and declarations that name flood in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 40 were major disasters, the latest on October 2, 2026.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-02 | DR-4945 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, and Landslides | 7 |
| 2019-06-18 | DR-4447 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslide | 12 |
| 2019-04-08 | DR-4424 | Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides | 21 |
| 2018-04-17 | DR-4360 | Severe Storms, Landslides, and Mudslides | 22 |
| 2013-01-03 | DR-4098 | Severe Storms and Flooding Due to the Remnants of Hurricane Sandy | 2 |
| 2011-07-13 | DR-4002 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 21 |
| 2007-08-27 | DR-1720 | Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes | 8 |
| 2006-08-01 | DR-1656 | Severe Storms, Straight Line Winds, and Flooding | 3 |
| 2006-07-02 | DR-1651 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight Line Winds, and Flooding | 6 |
| 2005-02-15 | DR-1580 | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides | 62 |
| 2004-09-19 | DR-1556 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 88 |
| 2004-06-03 | DR-1519 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 25 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Hamilton County: the county's whole recordThe Ohio county with the most floods and flash floods per square mile
- Floods across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in OhioTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Severe thunderstorm wind in Ohio21,955 records
- Hail in Ohio9,155 records
- Winter storms in Ohio7,472 records