NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Amherst, OH
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
4 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Amherst, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 79 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 79
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
40 deaths in all
What the records show for Amherst
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Amherst; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 54 miles away. The record near Amherst begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 38 miles away. None of the 4 systems has come since 2000. Of the 605 Ohio cities on this site, 53% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Amherst. The highest rating among the 79 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 11, 1965, came within 10 miles. Of the 79, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 33 have come since 2000. August has had the most tornadoes, 23. The most recent tornado was on August 13, 2025. Amherst has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 56% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 97 times since 1962, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Amherst has more hail reports within 10 miles than 67% of the 605 Ohio cities.
Compare Amherst's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Amherst
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 6 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 22 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Amherst: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Amherst
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s10
- 2000s10
- 1990s15(1 EF3+)
- 1980s5
- 1970s12
- 1960s7(1 EF3+)
- 1950s7(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 10 mi | 22 mi | 18 / 200 |
| Jun 8, 1953 | F4 | 3 mi | 118 mi | 17 / 379 |
| Jul 12, 1992 | F3 | 16 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Aug 20, 1962 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.5 mi | 4 / 20 |
| Mar 10, 1986 | F2 | 23 mi | 8 mi | 1 / 10 |
| May 21, 2001 | F2 | 23 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 2000 | F2 | 21 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 12, 1992 | F2 | 16 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1992 | F2 | 12 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Nov 27, 1989 | F2 | 19 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 26, 1986 | F2 | 3 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 13, 1975 | F2 | 19 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 79, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Amherst
The Storm Prediction Center has 97 hail reports within 10 miles of Amherst since 1962, made on 65 separate days. Of these, 48 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on June 7, 2011. The most recent report is from May 16, 2025. May has the most reports, 33.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Amherst
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Elyria Lorain Co Airport, OH, 4 miles southeast of Amherst at 794 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 20°F. June is the wettest at 3.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.7 inches; the year adds up to 36.8 inches over 77 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 12 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 115 nights a year. That 36.8 inches is more than at 13 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (10%). Elyria, 7 miles east, has its own station (Elyria 3 E, OH): 41.9 inches a year, 5.1 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 20 | 2.1 | 5 |
| Feb | 36 | 21 | 1.7 | 4 |
| Mar | 45 | 29 | 2.5 | 6 |
| Apr | 59 | 39 | 3.3 | 7 |
| May | 70 | 49 | 3.6 | 8 |
| Jun | 79 | 59 | 3.9 | 7 |
| Jul | 82 | 62 | 3.6 | 7 |
| Aug | 80 | 60 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Sep | 75 | 53 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Oct | 63 | 43 | 3.5 | 7 |
| Nov | 49 | 34 | 3.0 | 7 |
| Dec | 39 | 26 | 2.3 | 6 |
| Year | 59 | 41 | 36.8 | 77 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Elyria Lorain Co Airport, OH (794 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Amherst
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 275 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Amherst: 239 thunderstorm wind reports, 26 flash floods and 10 floods. They killed 2 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $19.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on April 11, 2008. August has had the most flash floods, 8 of 26. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 484 have had fewer than Amherst.
July 16, 2005: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Amherst — 2 killed, $1.2 million damage.
August 23, 2023: flash flood in Amherst — $3.0 million damage.
NWS: “Widespread flash flooding across northern Lorain County due to heavy rainfall. Widespread basement and isolated first floor flooding reported in Lorain, Elyria, Amherst, Avon Lake, Avon, and North Ridgeville.”
November 10, 2002: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Amherst — $2.4 million damage.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Amherst's ZIP code 44001 have filed 17 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $267,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 29% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 318 Ohio cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 79 have fewer than Amherst.
Lorain County, which includes Amherst, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lorain County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $65.9 million a year, the 10th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $42.7 million (65%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.