Ohio severe thunderstorm wind
Every recorded severe thunderstorm wind event since 1955 · 88 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 21,955 severe thunderstorm wind events in Ohio from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 578 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the July 13, 1995 thunderstorm wind: 3 deaths, 15 injuries and $5.3 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 13 records. Ohio ranks 7th of 52 states and territories by count and 6th of 51 per square mile.
Severe thunderstorm wind in Ohio, 1955 to 2026
Thunderstorm wind records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996.
- 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
- 1996: all 48 event types recorded from 1996
- Records
- 21,9551955 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 578average
- Deaths
- 55415 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $560Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2020900 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 severe thunderstorm wind events common in Ohio?
Ohio averages about 578 severe thunderstorm wind events a year since 2000, 7th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2020 (900). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Ohio records 5373 severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955, 6th of 51 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1955, 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 severe thunderstorm wind events?
Per square mile, Cuyahoga County leads Ohio: 349 days with a severe thunderstorm wind event since 1955, 763.3 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Cuyahoga County has the most thunderstorm wind records (608 since 1955); 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 1955 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is the severe thunderstorm season in Ohio?
50% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955 fell in June and July. The busiest month is June (5,795 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 203 · Feb 228 · Mar 733 · Apr 1,779 · May 2,842 · Jun 5,795 · Jul 5,183 · Aug 2,959 · Sep 903 · Oct 431 · Nov 700 · Dec 199 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1955.
What were the deadliest severe thunderstorm wind events in Ohio?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-07-13 | Thunderstorm WindLake Erie Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (13, in 13 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. A line of severe thunderstorms roared south from Ontario and Michigan across Lake Erie at 50 mph. The strong winds rushed out ahead of the thunderstorms and despite the issuance of a special marine warning many boaters were caught by surprise. The Coast Guard received 152 calls for assistance and had to fish many ... | 3 | 15 | $5.3M | |
| 1984-06-18 | Thunderstorm WindMahoning County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (3, in 3 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 3 | 13 | – | |
| 1990-09-06 | Thunderstorm WindCuyahoga County | 3 | 3 | – | |
| 1990-06-03 | Thunderstorm WindLucas County | 3 | 1 | – | |
| 1999-07-24 | Thunderstorm WindBay Vlg, Cuyahoga County A 46 year old woman and two men, ages 30 and 32 were killed when a large branch broke off of a tree and fell 60 feet landing on the picnic table they were sitting at. Although no adverse weather was occurring at the time of the accident, strong thunderstorms producing winds of around 45 mph moved through the area ... | 3 | 0 | $4K | |
| 2010-08-04 | Thunderstorm WindJohnstown, Licking County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A very unstable air mass was in place with temperatures in the 90s and dew points in the upper 70s. While forcing was weak, there was enough lift ahead of a mid-level impulse to spark widespread convection in the form of a mesoscale convective system. | 78 kt wind | 2 | 4 | $318K |
| 1991-05-30 | Thunderstorm WindHancock County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (2, in 2 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 2 | 2 | – | |
| 1997-08-16 | Thunderstorm WindCleveland, Cuyahoga County During a sailboat race on Lake Erie, two people who were not wearing life preservers, were swept overboard by high waves and drowned. A total of four boats capsized and twelve people were swept overboard. | 2 | 0 | $138K | |
| 1996-04-12 | Thunderstorm WindCountywide, Ashtabula County | 2 | 0 | $188K | |
| 2020-11-15 | Thunderstorm WindClendening, Harrison County More info: https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2020/11/17/bodies-missing-michigan-hunters-found-clendening-lake-ohio/6322047002/ Two men, aged 43 and 60 and residents of south central Michigan, died when an overloaded watercraft, convective wind, and not being prepared for the environmental conditions all played a ... | 50 kt wind | 2 | 0 | – |
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 severe thunderstorm wind events in Ohio
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994-08-28 | Thunderstorm WindE Portion, Cuyahoga County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (5, in 5 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 1 | 0 | $32M | |
| 2012-06-29 | Thunderstorm WindMc Comb, Hancock County One storm episode: 10 records in 10 places; the totals are the episode's. | 74 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $22M |
| 2017-11-05 | Thunderstorm WindWest Richfield, Summit County One storm episode: 14 records in 10 places; the totals are the episode's. | 87 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $21M |
| 2012-06-29 | Thunderstorm WindThornville, Perry County One storm episode: 11 records in 9 places; the totals are the episode's. | 56 kt wind | 1 | 0 | $20M |
| 1994-04-15 | Thunderstorm WindManchester, Adams County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (7, in 7 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 1 | 0 | $16M | |
| 1993-08-02 | Thunderstorm WindN Portion, Crawford County | 0 | 0 | $11M | |
| 2010-05-07 | Thunderstorm WindBay Vlg, Cuyahoga County One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. | 65 kt wind | 0 | 1 | $10M |
| 1993-10-20 | Thunderstorm WindSouthwest Side Of Co, Franklin County | 0 | 0 | $10M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are severe thunderstorm wind events 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-59 | 81 | 3,482 | 2.3% |
| 1960s | 320 | 10,124 | 3.2% |
| 1970s | 605 | 18,714 | 3.2% |
| 1980s | 1,685 | 39,604 | 4.3% |
| 1990s | 3,781 | 85,554 | 4.4% |
| 2000s | 4,762 | 129,990 | 3.7% |
| 2010s | 6,250 | 161,286 | 3.9% |
| 2020-26 | 4,471 | 126,815 | 3.5% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent severe thunderstorm wind events in Ohio
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-27 | Thunderstorm WindLimecrest, Clark County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2026-06-27 | Thunderstorm WindMaitland, Clark County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2026-06-25 | Thunderstorm WindHanoverton, Columbiana County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $2K |
| 2026-06-25 | Thunderstorm WindSeneraville Res, Noble County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $5K |
| 2026-06-25 | Thunderstorm WindCraig, Guernsey County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2026-06-25 | Thunderstorm WindCassell, Guernsey County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2026-06-25 | Thunderstorm WindTiffin, Seneca County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-25 | Thunderstorm WindLeavittsburg, Trumbull County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $2K |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindElk Fork, Vinton County | 45 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $2K |
| 2026-06-20 | Thunderstorm WindLowell, Washington County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $3K |
| 2026-06-18 | Thunderstorm WindRome, Ashtabula County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2026-06-18 | Thunderstorm WindPurdy Corners, Scioto County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $3K |
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 severe thunderstorm wind events in Ohio
FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 24 declarations in Ohio, 23 of them major disasters; the latest on August 20, 2012.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-08-20 | DR-4077 | Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds | 39 |
| 2012-06-30 | EM-3346 | Severe Storms | 88 |
| 2011-07-13 | DR-4002 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 21 |
| 2008-10-24 | DR-1805 | Severe Wind Storm Associated With Tropical Depression Ike | 33 |
| 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 |
| 2004-01-26 | DR-1507 | Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides | 14 |
| 2003-07-15 | DR-1478 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 10 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Cuyahoga County: the county's whole recordThe Ohio county with the most severe thunderstorm wind events per square mile
- Severe thunderstorm wind across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in OhioTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Hail in Ohio9,155 records
- Winter storms in Ohio7,472 records
- Floods in Ohio6,794 records