NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Baltimore, 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 Baltimore, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 85 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 85
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Baltimore
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Baltimore; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 54 mph winds when its centre passed 70 miles away. The record near Baltimore begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 3 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 Baltimore. The highest rating among the 85 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on May 31, 1985, came within 22 miles. Of the 85, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 47 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 18. The most recent tornado was on March 30, 2025. Baltimore has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 65% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 102 times since 1963, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Baltimore has more hail reports within 10 miles than 69% of the 605 Ohio cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Baltimore
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Baltimore: 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 Baltimore
By decade
- 2020s12
- 2010s24
- 2000s11
- 1990s5
- 1980s8(1 EF3+)
- 1970s11(3 EF3+)
- 1960s10
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1985 | F3 | 22 mi | 29 mi | 1 / 20 |
| May 10, 1973 | F3 | 8 mi | 89.6 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Feb 22, 1971 | F3 | 16 mi | 6.8 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Sep 3, 1970 | F3 | 21 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Feb 28, 2024 | EF2 | 13 mi | 14.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 2019 | EF2 | 23 mi | 5.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 20, 2011 | EF2 | 14 mi | 3.85 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 16, 2010 | EF2 | 13 mi | 6.99 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 11, 2006 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 2000 | F2 | 22 mi | 21 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 13, 1981 | F2 | 16 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F2 | 20 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 85, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Baltimore
The Storm Prediction Center has 102 hail reports within 10 miles of Baltimore since 1963, made on 73 separate days. Of these, 44 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 11, 1980. The most recent report is from April 2, 2025. June has the most reports, 25.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Baltimore
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lancaster Fairfield Airport, OH, 8 miles south of Baltimore at 869 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 20°F. June and July are the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.3 inches; the year adds up to 40.4 inches over 83 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 16 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 120 nights a year. That 40.4 inches is more than at 44 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (34%). Millersport, 5 miles northeast, has its own station (Newark Heath Airport, OH): 38.8 inches a year, 1.6 less than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 20 | 2.9 | 6 |
| Feb | 42 | 22 | 2.3 | 6 |
| Mar | 52 | 31 | 3.6 | 7 |
| Apr | 65 | 40 | 3.9 | 8 |
| May | 74 | 50 | 3.8 | 8 |
| Jun | 82 | 59 | 4.4 | 8 |
| Jul | 84 | 62 | 4.4 | 7 |
| Aug | 83 | 60 | 3.1 | 7 |
| Sep | 78 | 52 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Oct | 66 | 41 | 2.9 | 7 |
| Nov | 53 | 32 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Dec | 42 | 26 | 2.9 | 7 |
| Year | 63 | 41 | 40.4 | 83 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lancaster Fairfield Airport, OH (869 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 Baltimore
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 257 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Baltimore: 190 thunderstorm wind reports, 39 floods, 23 flash floods, 4 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on April 11, 2008. July has had the most flash floods, 19 of 23. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 454 have had fewer than Baltimore.
July 22, 2017: lightning strike 10 miles from the centre of Baltimore — 1 injured.
July 27, 2025: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Baltimore — $100,000 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 Baltimore's ZIP code 43105 have filed 16 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1990, and were paid $1.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2008, with 10. Of the 318 Ohio cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 71 have fewer than Baltimore.
Fairfield County, which includes Baltimore, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms, 1 flood). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Fairfield County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $39.0 million a year, the 19th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $26.6 million (68%), 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.
Cities near Baltimore
- Millersport, OH5 mi
- Carroll, OH6 mi
- Pickerington, OH8 mi
- Buckeye Lake, OH9 mi
- Hebron, OH9 mi
- Pataskala, OH10 mi
- Lancaster, OH10 mi
- Canal Winchester, OH10 mi
- Lithopolis, OH11 mi
- Thornville, OH11 mi
- Reynoldsburg, OH12 mi
- Rushville, OH12 mi
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