Ohio winter storms
Every recorded winter storm record since 1996 · 88 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 7,472 winter storm records in Ohio from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 254 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the December 23, 2022 blizzard in Sandusky County: 5 deaths and 73 injuries across 2 records. Ohio ranks 16th of 51 states and territories by count and 19th of 50 per square mile.
Winter storms in Ohio, 1996 to 2026
Winter storm 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
- 7,4721996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 254average
- Deaths
- 28411 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $1.8Bas filed
- Busiest year
- 2014475 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 winter storm records common in Ohio?
Ohio averages about 254 winter storm records a year since 2000, 16th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2014 (475). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Ohio records 1829 winter storm records since 1996, 19th of 50 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 winter storm records?
Per square mile, Lake County leads Ohio: 127 days with a winter storm record since 1996, 553.6 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Geauga County has the most winter storm records (267 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 winter storm season in Ohio?
60% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. The busiest month is January (2,404 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 2,404 · Feb 2,079 · Mar 1,000 · Apr 133 · May 0 · Jun 0 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 0 · Oct 2 · Nov 354 · Dec 1,500 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest winter storm records in Ohio?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-12-23 | BlizzardSandusky County · forecast zone Sandusky One storm episode: 2 records in 2 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 ... | 5 | 73 | – | |
| 2014-11-22 | Winter WeatherColumbiana County · forecast zone Columbiana Three teenagers were killed when their car collided with a school bus Saturday morning. The bus driver sustained only minor injuries and no other students on the bus were hurt. | 3 | 0 | – | |
| 2018-03-07 | Winter WeatherButler County · forecast zone Butler One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. An upper level disturbance brought light snow to the region during the overnight hours of Wednesday, March 7th through the early morning of March 8th. Significant travel issues occurred as some snow squalls created treacherous driving conditions across the region. | 3 | 0 | – | |
| 2011-02-01 | Ice StormMontgomery County · forecast zone Montgomery One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. An ice storm hit the Ohio Valley, beginning late in the evening of January 31st. Low pressure traced from Texas to the lower Great Lakes region, and strengthened as it crossed the Ohio Valley. The precipitation over northern portions of the region began as a snow and sleet mix and changed over to freezing rain, while ... | 2 | 4 | – | |
| 1996-01-06 | Winter StormMiami County · forecast zone Miami One storm episode: 28 records in 28 places; the totals are the episode's. The Blizzard of '96 developed near the Gulf Coast and moved up the East Coast. This massive system produced the greatest total and 24 hour snowfall at Greater Cincinnati\Northern Kentucky airport. This one storm brought 14.3 inches of snowfall to the airport which normally receives 23 inches for an entire season. The ... | 2 | 0 | $27M | |
| 2013-01-21 | Winter WeatherHamilton County · forecast zone Hamilton One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. A highly unstable airmass produced deep convective snow showers that produced snow squalls during the late morning into the afternoon. These isolated squalls caused whiteout conditions on area roadways. Three major pileups and one minor pileup resulted in over 175 vehicle crashes on the interstate system, causing ... | 1 | 41 | $5.3M | |
| 2019-11-11 | Lake-Effect SnowSummit County · forecast zone Summit One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. On November 10, weak low pressure developed across the Upper Midwest, extending a cold front from the Rockies towards the Upper Great Lakes. As the cold front progressed eastward across the Ohio Valley, a secondary low pressure system developed along the front in the Tennessee Valley and tracked northeast, reaching ... | 1 | 8 | $2.0M | |
| 2007-02-13 | Ice StormClermont County · forecast zone Clermont Thousands of trees were downed. Four tenths of an inch of ice accumulation was observed in Williamsburg. Several thousand people were without power. Power was still out 4 days later in some locations. A nine year old girl, Natalie Fossier, was killed by a falling ice covered branch while walking her dog. The accident ... | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2015-02-14 | Winter WeatherMadison County · forecast zone Madison One person was killed when they were ejected from a passenger van during an accident that occurred on both the westbound and eastbound sides of interstate 70 near route 142. Six tractor trailers and at least 25 other vehicles were involved, and the freeway was closed for over 8 hours and there was a 13 mile backup at ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2014-03-05 | Winter WeatherVan Wert County · forecast zone Van Wert A 17 year old male was killed Wednesday afternoon, March 5th, in a two-car crash on St. Rd. 637 near Elm Sugar Rd. in northeast Van Wert County. Road conditions in this area were reported to have been snow covered and slick. Light snow was falling at the time with temperatures in the low 20s. | 1 | 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 winter storm records in Ohio
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-03-07 | Winter StormKnox County · forecast zone Knox One storm episode: 27 records in 26 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $1.1B | |
| 2005-01-05 | Ice StormRichland County · forecast zone Richland One storm episode: 28 records in 28 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $164M | |
| 2004-12-22 | Winter StormRichland County · forecast zone Richland One storm episode: 12 records in 12 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $73M | |
| 2008-03-04 | Winter StormGeauga County and Lake County · forecast zone Lake One storm episode: 27 records in 26 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $36M | |
| 1996-11-09 | Heavy SnowCuyahoga County · forecast zone Cuyahoga One storm episode: 8 records in 8 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 13 | $34M | |
| 2004-12-22 | Winter StormWayne County · forecast zone Wayne One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $30M | |
| 1996-01-06 | Winter StormMiami County · forecast zone Miami One storm episode: 28 records in 28 places; the totals are the episode's. | 2 | 0 | $27M | |
| 2004-12-22 | Winter StormMahoning County · forecast zone Mahoning One storm episode: 7 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $14M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are winter storm records 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 | 714 | 32,893 | 2.2% |
| 2000s | 1,856 | 88,805 | 2.1% |
| 2010s | 3,225 | 103,626 | 3.1% |
| 2020-26 | 1,677 | 62,015 | 2.7% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent winter storm records in Ohio
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-16 | Winter WeatherWashington County · forecast zone Washington | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Winter WeatherVinton County · forecast zone Vinton | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Winter WeatherPerry County · forecast zone Perry | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Winter WeatherMorgan County · forecast zone Morgan | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Winter WeatherMeigs County · forecast zone Meigs | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Winter WeatherLawrence County · forecast zone Lawrence | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Winter WeatherJackson County · forecast zone Jackson | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Winter WeatherGallia County · forecast zone Gallia | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Heavy SnowAthens County · forecast zone Athens | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Winter WeatherNoble County · forecast zone Noble | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Winter WeatherGuernsey County · forecast zone Guernsey | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Winter WeatherMuskingum County · forecast zone Muskingum | 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 winter storm records in Ohio
FEMA has declared 6 disasters in Ohio for winter storm, counting its incident type and declarations that name snow or winter storm or ice storm or blizzard in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 2 were major disasters, the latest on April 24, 2008.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-04-24 | EM-3286 | Record Snow and Near Record Snow | 20 |
| 2005-02-15 | DR-1580 | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides | 62 |
| 2005-01-11 | EM-3198 | Snow | 26 |
| 2003-03-14 | DR-1453 | Severe Winter Storm and Record/Near Record Snow | 31 |
| 1978-01-26 | EM-3055 | Blizzards & Snowstorms | 88 |
| 1977-02-02 | EM-3029 | Snowstorms | 47 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Lake County: the county's whole recordThe Ohio county with the most winter storm records per square mile
- Winter storms 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
- Floods in Ohio6,794 records