NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bellbrook, 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
3 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Bellbrook, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 139 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 139
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
46 deaths in all
What the records show for Bellbrook
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Bellbrook; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 53 mph winds when its centre passed 1 mile away. The record near Bellbrook begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 61 miles away. Of the 605 Ohio cities on this site, 82% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Bellbrook. The strongest of the 139 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 2 miles, and it killed 36 people. Of the 139, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 77 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 52. The most recent tornado was on July 19, 2025. Bellbrook has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 99% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 196 times since 1962, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Bellbrook has more hail reports within 10 miles than 96% of the 605 Ohio cities.
Compare Bellbrook's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Bellbrook
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Bellbrook: 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 Bellbrook
By decade
- 2020s23
- 2010s39(4 EF3+)
- 2000s15(1 EF3+)
- 1990s17(2 EF3+)
- 1980s12
- 1970s15(2 EF3+)
- 1960s13(2 EF3+)
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 2 mi | 31.3 mi | 36 / 1150 |
| Apr 9, 1999 | F4 | 25 mi | 10 mi | 4 / 65 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 18 mi | 19.8 mi | 2 / 39 |
| Sep 20, 2000 | F4 | 6 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 100 |
| May 27, 2019 | EF4 | 8 mi | 18.17 mi | 0 / 166 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F4 | 24 mi | 33 mi | 0 / 37 |
| May 27, 2019 | EF3 | 9 mi | 9.92 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 2019 | EF3 | 25 mi | 10.49 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 14, 2014 | EF3 | 13 mi | 8.93 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1969 | F3 | 9 mi | 54.5 mi | 0 / 25 |
| May 8, 1969 | F3 | 3 mi | 1.9 mi | 0 / 25 |
| Apr 25, 1961 | F2 | 24 mi | 25 mi | 2 / 4 |
The strongest 12 of 139, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Bellbrook
The Storm Prediction Center has 196 hail reports within 10 miles of Bellbrook since 1962, made on 111 separate days. Of these, 91 were 1 inch across or larger, and 13 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 25, 2011. The most recent report is from April 29, 2025. April has the most reports, 54.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Bellbrook
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Dayton Wright Bros Airport, OH, 8 miles southwest of Bellbrook at 962 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 39°F and 22°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.3 inches; the year adds up to 40.9 inches over 80 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 103 nights a year. That 40.9 inches is more than at 52 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (40%). Spring Valley, 4 miles southeast, has its own station (Xenia 6 SSE, OH): 43.4 inches a year, 2.5 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 39 | 22 | 2.9 | 6 |
| Feb | 43 | 25 | 2.3 | 6 |
| Mar | 53 | 33 | 3.5 | 7 |
| Apr | 65 | 43 | 4.4 | 8 |
| May | 75 | 53 | 4.2 | 9 |
| Jun | 83 | 62 | 4.9 | 9 |
| Jul | 86 | 65 | 3.6 | 7 |
| Aug | 85 | 63 | 2.8 | 5 |
| Sep | 79 | 56 | 3.0 | 5 |
| Oct | 67 | 45 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Nov | 54 | 35 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Dec | 43 | 27 | 3.2 | 7 |
| Year | 64 | 44 | 40.9 | 80 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Dayton Wright Bros Airport, OH (962 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 Bellbrook
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 413 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Bellbrook: 319 thunderstorm wind reports, 59 floods, 28 flash floods, 6 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 2 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on March 28, 1997. June has had the most flash floods, 14 of 28. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 500 have had fewer than Bellbrook.
April 29, 1996: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Bellbrook — 1 killed, $300,000 damage.
March 3, 2023: flood 7 miles from the centre of Bellbrook — 1 killed.
April 8, 2015: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Bellbrook — 1 injured.
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 Bellbrook's ZIP code 45305 have filed 33 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $126,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 27% 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, 158 have fewer than Bellbrook.
Greene County, which includes Bellbrook, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Greene County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $41.6 million a year, the 18th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $19.5 million (47%), 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.