NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Blanchester, 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 Blanchester, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 115 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 115
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
50 deaths in all
What the records show for Blanchester
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Blanchester; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 14 miles away. The record near Blanchester begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 46 miles away. Of the 605 Ohio cities on this site, 82% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Blanchester. The strongest of the 115 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 24 miles, and it killed 36 people. Of the 115, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 71 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 26. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Blanchester has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 93% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 55 times since 1993, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 605 Ohio cities, 69% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Blanchester.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Blanchester
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 59 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 Blanchester: 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 Blanchester
By decade
- 2020s30
- 2010s21
- 2000s20(1 EF3+)
- 1990s17(3 EF3+)
- 1980s5
- 1970s11(2 EF3+)
- 1960s7(3 EF3+)
- 1950s4(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 24 mi | 31.3 mi | 36 / 1150 |
| Apr 9, 1999 | F4 | 14 mi | 10 mi | 4 / 65 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 19 mi | 19.8 mi | 2 / 39 |
| Sep 20, 2000 | F4 | 25 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 100 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F4 | 4 mi | 24.1 mi | 1 / 33 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F4 | 19 mi | 33 mi | 0 / 37 |
| Aug 9, 1969 | F3 | 14 mi | 22.2 mi | 4 / 247 |
| Jun 30, 1993 | F3 | 20 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 10, 1969 | F3 | 16 mi | 54.5 mi | 0 / 25 |
| Feb 10, 1959 | F3 | 21 mi | 10.5 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Apr 25, 1961 | F2 | in town | 25 mi | 2 / 4 |
| Jul 6, 2022 | EF2 | 10 mi | 4.81 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 115, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Blanchester
The Storm Prediction Center has 55 hail reports within 10 miles of Blanchester since 1993, made on 37 separate days. Of these, 35 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on May 16, 2025, the most recent report. April has the most reports, 18.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Blanchester
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Cincinnati, OH, 12 miles northeast of Blanchester at 1,056 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 21°F. May and June are the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 42.4 inches over 82 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 14 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 109 nights a year. That 42.4 inches is more than at 79 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (61%). Clarksville, 7 miles north, has its own station (WFO Wilmington, OH): 44.7 inches a year, 2.3 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 21 | 2.9 | 6 |
| Feb | 41 | 24 | 2.7 | 7 |
| Mar | 51 | 32 | 3.6 | 7 |
| Apr | 64 | 42 | 4.5 | 8 |
| May | 73 | 52 | 4.6 | 9 |
| Jun | 82 | 60 | 4.6 | 9 |
| Jul | 84 | 63 | 3.9 | 7 |
| Aug | 83 | 61 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Sep | 77 | 54 | 2.9 | 5 |
| Oct | 65 | 44 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Nov | 52 | 34 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Dec | 41 | 27 | 3.2 | 7 |
| Year | 62 | 43 | 42.4 | 82 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Cincinnati, OH (1,056 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 Blanchester
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 221 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Blanchester: 167 thunderstorm wind reports, 27 floods, 24 flash floods and 3 heavy rain events. They killed 2 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 115 mph, on April 9, 1999. June has had the most flash floods, 10 of 24. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 468 have had fewer than Blanchester.
March 19, 2008: flood 2 miles from the centre of Blanchester — 1 killed, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “Seven homes were evacuated due to high water in Clarksville. A 54 year old woman attempting to cross a swollen stream was swept away and drowned.”
January 1, 2016: heavy rain event 9 miles from the centre of Blanchester — 1 killed.
May 25, 2006: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Blanchester — 1 injured, $20,000 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
Clinton County, which includes Blanchester, has been named in 10 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 4 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 severe storms, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 flood). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Clinton County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.6 million a year, the 67th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.0 million (52%), 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 Blanchester
- Pleasant Plain, OH6 mi
- Clarksville, OH7 mi
- Fayetteville, OH8 mi
- Morrow, OH8 mi
- Goshen, OH9 mi
- Lynchburg, OH11 mi
- Oregonia, OH11 mi
- Wilmington, OH14 mi
- South Lebanon, OH14 mi
- Maineville, OH15 mi
- Williamsburg, OH15 mi
- New Vienna, OH16 mi
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