States › Ohio

Ohio

The recorded hazard history of every county in Ohio: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, and National Flood Insurance Program claims since 1978.

Ohio has 51,777 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950 across 88 counties, led by damaging wind: 126.7 per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally.

NCEI attributes 460 deaths and 5,828 injuries to those events, with property damage estimated at $8.4B. By events per 100 square miles the leading counties are Cuyahoga, Hamilton and Lake.

FEMA lists 60 disaster declarations touching the state since 1953, most recently Tornadoes (2 May 2024). NFIP policyholders filed 28,417 flood claims since 1978, $373M paid; 18,040 residential policies are in force.

1,442events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

51,777events since 1950126.7 per 100 sq mi (US 56.0)

60disaster declarations since 1953last 2 May 2024

28,417NFIP flood claims$373M paid

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. Storm records through 30 Jun 2026; declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Compared with the United States

Measure	Ohio	US
Recorded events since 1950	51,777	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	126.7	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	44.0	59.6
Deaths recorded by NCEI	460	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$8.4B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	2.4	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$17K	$43K
Residential flood policies in force	18,040	3,139,862

Hazard mix

Wind24,469

Hail9,155

Winter7,472

Flood6,794

Tornado1,565

Cold863

Drought415

Heat410

Other354

Lightning242

Tropical24

Fog14

Hazard	Events	Share of US	Deaths
■ Wind	24,469	3.5%	77
■ Hail	9,155	2.2%	—
■ Winter	7,472	2.6%	28
■ Flood	6,794	3.7%	74
■ Tornado	1,565	1.9%	200
■ Cold	863	1.6%	27
■ Drought	415	0.5%	—
■ Heat	410	0.7%	16
■ Other	354	0.8%	2
■ Lightning	242	1.3%	28
■ Tropical	24	0.2%	—
■ Fog	14	0.1%	8

Events by decade

Hail: 19Tornado: 71Wind: 81

Hail: 117Tornado: 148Wind: 320

Hail: 192Tornado: 202Wind: 605

Hail: 632Tornado: 165Wind: 1685

Hail: 1389Tornado: 199Flood: 1092Wind: 4142Winter: 714Tropical: 24Heat: 154Cold: 206Drought: 286Lightning: 130Other: 79

Hail: 2695Tornado: 174Flood: 1988Wind: 5945Winter: 1856Heat: 97Cold: 175Drought: 30Lightning: 80Fog: 12Other: 90

Hail: 3034Tornado: 318Flood: 2216Wind: 6794Winter: 3225Heat: 151Cold: 358Lightning: 25Fog: 2Other: 163

Hail: 1077Tornado: 288Flood: 1498Wind: 4897Winter: 1677Heat: 8Cold: 124Drought: 99Lightning: 7Other: 22

1711950s5851960s9991970s2,4821980s8,4151990s13,1422000s16,2862010s9,6972020s

Recorded events in Ohio by decade and hazard group, including events recorded by forecast zone. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterTropicalHeatColdDroughtLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Counties by events per 100 square miles

County	Events	Last 12 mo	Per 100 sq mi	Per 10k residents	Dominant	Tornadoes	Hail	Declarations	NFIP claims	NRI risk
Cuyahoga County	1,309	35	286.3	10.5	Wind	21	299	19	1,730	Relatively High
Hamilton County	1,159	22	285.9	14.0	Wind	18	210	18	1,950	Relatively High
Lake County	607	10	264.8	26.2	Wind	5	98	15	882	Relatively Low
Franklin County	1,273	48	239.1	9.6	Wind	40	286	20	1,399	Relatively High
Montgomery County	1,043	27	226.1	19.5	Wind	22	207	13	347	Relatively Moderate
Erie County	553	11	220.1	73.9	Wind	15	108	14	1,103	Relatively Low
Warren County	882	29	219.7	35.8	Wind	35	127	13	209	Relatively Low
Summit County	904	13	219.0	16.8	Wind	18	259	14	817	Relatively Moderate
Lucas County	719	12	211.7	16.8	Wind	12	201	16	1,201	Relatively Moderate
Ottawa County	529	9	207.7	131.9	Wind	15	114	13	1,384	Relatively Low
Lorain County	927	19	189.0	29.4	Wind	36	179	19	538	Relatively Moderate
Greene County	773	28	186.9	45.9	Wind	25	165	16	156	Relatively Low
Clermont County	837	21	184.9	39.9	Wind	26	119	18	623	Relatively Low
Clinton County	745	18	182.3	177.4	Wind	32	118	10	16	Very Low
Geauga County	688	16	171.9	72.0	Wind	18	109	13	73	Relatively Low
Butler County	801	21	171.7	20.5	Wind	26	159	14	474	Relatively Moderate
Clark County	663	36	167.1	48.9	Wind	33	87	11	136	Relatively Low
Medina County	655	4	155.4	35.8	Wind	30	173	14	290	Relatively Low
Miami County	585	19	143.9	53.5	Wind	35	80	15	150	Relatively Low
Stark County	813	6	141.3	21.7	Wind	18	229	12	456	Relatively Moderate
Auglaize County	555	13	138.3	120.3	Wind	24	94	13	124	Very Low
Richland County	685	16	138.3	54.7	Wind	30	169	18	329	Relatively Low
Trumbull County	855	24	138.3	42.5	Wind	25	180	12	405	Relatively Moderate
Columbiana County	735	16	138.2	72.5	Wind	22	138	18	116	Relatively Low
Portage County	664	12	136.2	40.9	Wind	18	169	12	85	Relatively Low
Delaware County	603	17	136.1	27.3	Wind	14	95	15	101	Relatively Low
Perry County	551	37	135.1	155.4	Wind	12	69	19	137	Very Low
Mahoning County	552	6	134.1	24.3	Wind	17	126	12	305	Relatively Moderate
Fairfield County	671	43	133.0	41.7	Wind	24	114	13	311	Relatively Low
Lawrence County	595	31	131.2	103.6	Wind	9	94	16	467	Relatively Low
Shelby County	535	23	131.2	111.5	Wind	10	72	15	97	Relatively Low
Ashland County	544	2	128.6	104.0	Wind	20	126	12	58	Relatively Low
Tuscarawas County	729	14	128.5	78.8	Wind	15	125	13	192	Relatively Low
Athens County	638	41	126.7	102.8	Wind	4	93	19	422	Relatively Low
Logan County	573	26	125.0	124.5	Wind	8	72	14	117	Relatively Low
Brown County	607	11	124.0	139.0	Wind	27	66	19	149	Relatively Low
Huron County	602	5	122.3	103.1	Wind	37	126	14	71	Relatively Low
Carroll County	482	7	122.1	180.6	Wind	11	66	11	31	Very Low
Sandusky County	497	8	121.7	84.6	Wind	13	106	13	145	Relatively Low
Preble County	513	12	120.9	125.5	Wind	17	61	11	48	Relatively Low
Mercer County	544	16	117.6	128.6	Wind	29	74	14	96	Very Low
Scioto County	708	10	116.0	96.5	Wind	15	95	18	318	Relatively Low
Van Wert County	473	10	115.6	164.6	Wind	42	73	13	36	Very Low
Marion County	463	5	114.7	70.9	Wind	17	98	12	240	Relatively Low
Fayette County	452	13	111.2	156.4	Wind	18	67	11	20	Very Low
Jefferson County	454	15	111.2	70.1	Wind	8	77	22	397	Relatively Low
Holmes County	469	5	111.0	105.9	Wind	12	92	12	120	Relatively Low
Licking County	753	30	110.3	41.7	Wind	29	122	20	400	Relatively Low
Belmont County	583	20	109.6	88.5	Wind	5	96	22	653	Relatively Low
Washington County	689	45	109.0	115.9	Flood	8	105	20	1,302	Relatively Low
Crawford County	437	13	108.8	104.7	Wind	18	80	15	154	Very Low
Gallia County	507	23	108.7	173.9	Wind	8	82	17	176	Relatively Low
Darke County	649	29	108.5	125.8	Wind	31	99	13	35	Relatively Low
Hocking County	457	21	108.5	162.7	Wind	6	39	18	157	Relatively Low
Ashtabula County	754	8	107.4	77.5	Wind	16	108	15	146	Relatively Low
Wayne County	596	4	107.4	51.1	Wind	25	143	10	175	Relatively Low
Meigs County	457	20	106.3	207.3	Wind	6	55	18	273	Relatively Low
Jackson County	439	29	104.4	135.0	Wind	6	62	16	193	Very Low
Highland County	577	8	104.3	133.1	Wind	22	63	12	2	Relatively Low
Vinton County	430	27	104.3	338.7	Wind	6	17	16	15	Very Low
Champaign County	444	13	103.5	114.7	Wind	8	61	11	38	Very Low
Pickaway County	508	20	101.4	85.6	Wind	27	66	15	71	Relatively Low
Seneca County	558	10	101.3	101.6	Wind	23	159	13	123	Relatively Low
Wood County	624	7	101.1	47.1	Wind	28	145	10	210	Relatively Low
Union County	433	12	100.3	66.6	Wind	12	67	13	56	Very Low
Guernsey County	510	20	97.7	133.2	Wind	11	105	17	373	Very Low
Adams County	569	16	97.5	206.6	Wind	16	81	19	155	Relatively Low
Allen County	392	7	97.4	38.6	Wind	23	64	10	259	Relatively Low
Hancock County	516	9	97.1	69.1	Wind	14	101	14	2,049	Relatively Low
Muskingum County	644	18	96.9	74.5	Wind	25	115	17	182	Relatively Low
Coshocton County	543	13	96.3	148.3	Wind	6	90	16	60	Relatively Low
Pike County	418	8	94.9	154.3	Wind	16	36	17	105	Relatively Low
Madison County	435	20	93.4	98.0	Wind	15	64	12	22	Very Low
Morrow County	370	12	91.1	105.3	Wind	19	79	16	9	Very Low
Morgan County	377	18	90.5	275.5	Wind	1	35	17	185	Very Low
Henry County	371	9	89.2	134.7	Wind	19	51	10	163	Very Low
Fulton County	360	6	88.8	84.8	Wind	13	59	9	34	Very Low
Knox County	459	9	87.3	73.0	Wind	14	80	13	65	Relatively Low
Harrison County	348	11	86.5	240.4	Wind	4	45	18	90	Very Low
Ross County	590	22	85.6	76.7	Wind	16	89	16	125	Relatively Low
Putnam County	400	7	82.9	116.6	Wind	26	88	13	461	Very Low
Defiance County	333	9	80.9	87.3	Wind	13	63	8	330	Very Low
Noble County	321	10	80.7	226.4	Wind	4	30	18	174	Very Low
Hardin County	364	12	77.4	118.9	Wind	11	51	12	17	Very Low
Paulding County	320	7	76.8	169.6	Wind	16	49	13	34	Very Low
Wyandot County	311	12	76.4	143.3	Wind	9	55	12	127	Very Low
Williams County	286	4	68.0	77.9	Wind	9	43	8	32	Relatively Low
Monroe County	297	2	65.2	222.8	Wind	3	41	22	108	Very Low

Events are county-recorded plus zone-recorded events whose zone is named for the county. NRI risk is FEMA's National Risk Index overall rating (December 2025).

Counties by flood claims per 100 policies in force

County	Claims, last 10 years	Policies in force	Claims per 100 policies	Claims since 1978	Paid
Hamilton County	362	876	41.3	1,950	$34M
Belmont County	50	145	34.5	653	$7.8M
Mahoning County	48	143	33.6	305	$2.8M
Hancock County	120	387	31.0	2,049	$39M
Hocking County	34	115	29.6	157	$2.2M
Allen County	48	163	29.4	259	$4.1M
Licking County	99	402	24.6	400	$4.4M
Franklin County	298	1,221	24.4	1,399	$8.4M
Clermont County	64	270	23.7	623	$10M
Erie County	95	414	22.9	1,103	$8.3M
Washington County	63	278	22.7	1,302	$18M
Athens County	36	166	21.7	422	$5.4M
Auglaize County	25	116	21.6	124	$2.3M
Ottawa County	125	608	20.6	1,384	$9.5M
Jefferson County	27	136	19.9	397	$4.0M

Counties with at least 100 residential policies in force. Claims by year of loss in the ten years to 2026, divided by residential policies in force as of 3 Aug 2026; a rough ratio, since policies in force today differ from those in force when the losses occurred.

Federal disaster declarations by year

195319902026

Declarations touching Ohio by year declared, 1953 to 2026; each disaster number counted once.

Incident type	Declarations
Severe Storm	24
Flood	17
Tornado	8
Snowstorm	4
Biological	2
Hurricane	2
Other	2
Mud/Landslide	1

Most recent declarations (each disaster number once, with the number of counties designated):

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Counties
2 May 2024	DR-4777	Major disaster	Tornado	Tornadoes	11
31 Mar 2020	DR-4507	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	88
13 Mar 2020	EM-3457	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	88
18 Jun 2019	DR-4447	Major disaster	Tornado	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslide	12
8 Apr 2019	DR-4424	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Landslides	21
17 Apr 2018	DR-4360	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Landslides, And Mudslides	22
3 Jan 2013	DR-4098	Major disaster	Hurricane	Severe Storms And Flooding Due To The Remnants Of Hurricane Sandy	2
20 Aug 2012	DR-4077	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Straight-Line Winds	39
30 Jun 2012	EM-3346	Emergency	Severe Storm	Severe Storms	88
13 Jul 2011	DR-4002	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	21
24 Oct 2008	DR-1805	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Wind Storm Associated With Tropical Depression Ike	33
24 Apr 2008	EM-3286	Emergency	Snowstorm	Record Snow And Near Record Snow	20
27 Aug 2007	DR-1720	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes	8
1 Aug 2006	DR-1656	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight Line Winds, And Flooding	3
2 Jul 2006	DR-1651	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight Line Winds, And Flooding	6

Flood insurance claims by year

197820022026

NFIP claims in Ohio by year of loss, 1978 to 2026.

28,417 claims, 22,074 paid, $373M in total; 2,635 repetitive-loss and 295 severe repetitive-loss properties. ZIP codes in Ohio with flood claims (602).

Year by year

Each year's events, declarations and claims: 2026 · 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011 · 2010 · 2009 · 2008 · 2007 · 2006 · 2005 · 2004 · 2003 · 2002 · 2001 · 2000 · 1999 · 1998 · 1997 · and earlier years back to 1950

Questions and answers

Which Ohio counties have the most recorded tornadoes?

Van Wert (42), Franklin (40) and Huron (37), by NCEI count since 1950. Larger counties record more events; the state table also ranks by events per 100 square miles.

Which Ohio counties have the most flood insurance claims?

Hancock (2,049), Hamilton (1,950) and Cuyahoga (1,730) since 1978, in the OpenFEMA NFIP claims file.

How many federal disaster declarations has Ohio had?

60 declarations since 1953 (major disaster, emergency and fire management assistance declarations combined), 0 of them in 2026 so far.

How does Ohio compare with the national rate?

126.7 recorded events per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally; 2.4 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 8.1.

Provenance

NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 refreshed 29 Sep 2026; OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026); FEMA National Risk Index December 2025; US Census Bureau 2021 population and area. Built 30 Sep 2026. Methodology.