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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bethel, OH

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

4 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Bethel, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 83 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
4

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
83

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
8

24 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Bethel

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Bethel, Ohio, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
1995OpalOct 542 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 4
1957AudreyJun 2875 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 3
1892Unnamed 1892 stormSep 1317 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2140 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 3

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Bethel: 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 Bethel

By decade

  • 2020s15
  • 2010s19(2 EF3+)
  • 2000s10
  • 1990s11(2 EF3+)
  • 1980s4
  • 1970s10
  • 1960s10(3 EF3+)
  • 1950s4(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Bethel, Ohio
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Apr 23, 1968F417 mi78.7 mi6 / 364
Mar 2, 2012EF422 mi9.85 mi4 / 8
Apr 9, 1999F424 mi10 mi4 / 65
Apr 23, 1968F414 mi24.1 mi1 / 33
Aug 9, 1969F312 mi22.2 mi4 / 247
Mar 2, 2012EF35 mi20.41 mi3 / 13
Jul 2, 1997F39 mi12 mi0 / 0
Feb 10, 1959F322 mi10.5 mi0 / 6
Apr 25, 1961F224 mi25 mi2 / 4
Jul 6, 2022EF217 mi4.81 mi0 / 2
May 8, 1996F220 mi2 mi0 / 2
Jun 2, 1990F25 mi4 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 83, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Bethel while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

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