NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bidwell, 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
6 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Bidwell, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 26 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 26
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
7 deaths in all
What the records show for Bidwell
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Bidwell; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 2 miles away. The record near Bidwell begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 47 miles away. None of the 6 systems has come since 2000. Bidwell has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 64% of the 605 Ohio cities on this site. The strongest of the 26 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 23, 1968; its path came within 8 miles, and it killed 7 people. Of the 26, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 13 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 8. The most recent tornado was on May 26, 2024. Of the 605 Ohio cities, 95% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Bidwell. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 58 times since 1974, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 605 Ohio cities, 64% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Bidwell.
Compare Bidwell's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Bidwell
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 2 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 Bidwell: 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 Bidwell
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s3
- 2000s4
- 1990s7
- 1980s3
- 1970s1
- 1960s2(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 1968 | F5 | 8 mi | 34 mi | 7 / 93 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF2 | 25 mi | 1.87 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2002 | F2 | 3 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 15, 2000 | F2 | 11 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 13, 1967 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 2024 | EF1 | 19 mi | 3.77 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 21 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 19 mi | 0.44 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 24 mi | 1.09 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 2020 | EF1 | 12 mi | 0.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 1, 2017 | EF1 | 11 mi | 0.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 27, 2007 | EF1 | 19 mi | 1.16 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 26, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Bidwell
The Storm Prediction Center has 58 hail reports within 10 miles of Bidwell since 1974, made on 41 separate days. Of these, 37 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on June 12, 1989. The most recent report is from June 3, 2023. April has the most reports, 21.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Bidwell
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Gallipolis, OH, 9 miles southeast of Bidwell at 578 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 41°F and 23°F. June is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and November the driest at 2.6 inches; the year adds up to 44.7 inches over 87 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 33 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 103 nights a year. That 44.7 inches is more than at 107 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (83%). Vinton, 7 miles northwest, has its own station (Carpenter 2 S, OH): 43.2 inches a year, 1.5 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 23 | 3.1 | 7 |
| Feb | 46 | 25 | 3.1 | 7 |
| Mar | 55 | 32 | 4.1 | 9 |
| Apr | 67 | 42 | 3.9 | 9 |
| May | 75 | 52 | 4.5 | 9 |
| Jun | 83 | 61 | 4.6 | 8 |
| Jul | 86 | 66 | 4.5 | 8 |
| Aug | 86 | 64 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Sep | 80 | 57 | 3.8 | 6 |
| Oct | 68 | 45 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Nov | 56 | 34 | 2.6 | 6 |
| Dec | 45 | 28 | 3.8 | 8 |
| Year | 66 | 44 | 44.7 | 87 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Gallipolis, OH (578 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 Bidwell
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 164 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Bidwell: 89 thunderstorm wind reports, 49 floods, 21 flash floods, 4 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 2 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $3.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 64 mph, on June 29, 2012. May has had the most flash floods, 6 of 21. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 438 have had fewer than Bidwell.
March 19, 2008: heavy rain event 6 miles from the centre of Bidwell — 1 killed, $5,000 damage.
February 13, 2020: flood 8 miles from the centre of Bidwell — 1 killed, $5,000 damage.
June 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Bidwell — $2.5 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 Bidwell's ZIP code 45614 have filed 13 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $65,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 31% 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, 40 have fewer than Bidwell.
Gallia County, which includes Bidwell, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Gallia County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for heat waves; Relatively Low for inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes, tornadoes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.6 million a year, the 69th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.9 million (77%), 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.