NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bowling Green, 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 Bowling Green, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 74 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 74
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
53 deaths in all
What the records show for Bowling Green
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Bowling Green; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 44 miles away. The record near Bowling Green begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Of the 4 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 605 Ohio cities on this site, 53% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Bowling Green. The highest rating among the 74 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on June 5, 2010, came within 13 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 11, 1965, killed 18 people. Of the 74, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 37 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 21. The most recent tornado was on June 18, 2025. Of the 605 Ohio cities, 52% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Bowling Green. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 60 times since 1966, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 605 Ohio cities, 62% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Bowling Green.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Bowling Green
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Bowling Green: 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 Bowling Green
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s19(1 EF3+)
- 2000s14(2 EF3+)
- 1990s10
- 1980s9(1 EF3+)
- 1970s7(2 EF3+)
- 1960s9(1 EF3+)
- 1950s2(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 20 mi | 5.6 mi | 18 / 236 |
| Jun 8, 1953 | F4 | 9 mi | 118 mi | 17 / 379 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF4 | 13 mi | 8.8 mi | 7 / 28 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F4 | 19 mi | 52.8 mi | 4 / 17 |
| May 10, 1973 | F3 | 16 mi | 50.1 mi | 6 / 100 |
| May 2, 1983 | F3 | 5 mi | 5 mi | 1 / 22 |
| Oct 24, 2001 | F3 | 21 mi | 32 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 2, 1971 | F3 | 24 mi | 39.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 2023 | EF2 | 24 mi | 3.81 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 17, 2013 | EF2 | 11 mi | 11.28 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF2 | 15 mi | 7.24 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 2008 | EF2 | 21 mi | 8.31 mi | 0 / 6 |
The strongest 12 of 74, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Bowling Green
The Storm Prediction Center has 60 hail reports within 10 miles of Bowling Green since 1966, made on 45 separate days. Of these, 29 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on May 9, 2000. The most recent report is from October 23, 2020. May has the most reports, 21.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Bowling Green
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Bowling Green Wwtp, OH, 2 miles east of Bowling Green at 675 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 19°F. May is the wettest at 4.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 35.2 inches over 74 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 127 nights a year. Snowfall averages 21.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 35.2 inches is more than at 7 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (5%). Weston, 7 miles west, has its own station (Hoytville 2 NE, OH): 36.1 inches a year, 0.9 more than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 19 | 2.3 | 6 | 6.3 |
| Feb | 36 | 21 | 2.0 | 5 | 6.1 |
| Mar | 46 | 29 | 2.2 | 6 | 2.6 |
| Apr | 60 | 39 | 3.4 | 8 | 0.5 |
| May | 71 | 50 | 4.0 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 61 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 64 | 3.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 62 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 54 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 44 | 2.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 50 | 33 | 2.4 | 5 | 0.5 |
| Dec | 38 | 25 | 2.3 | 6 | 5.3 |
| Year | 60 | 42 | 35.2 | 74 | 21.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Bowling Green Wwtp, OH (675 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 Bowling Green
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 143 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Bowling Green: 134 thunderstorm wind reports, 7 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $9.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 101 mph, on July 8, 2003.
June 22, 2017: lightning strike 2 miles from the centre of Bowling Green — 1 injured.
NWS: “Lightning stuck a tree at a golf course in Bowling Green causing the tree to fall and land on a golf cart. A person riding on the golf cart was pinned and had to be cut out.”
July 8, 2003: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Bowling Green — $2.5 million damage.
NWS: “A line of severe thunderstorms moved across Wood County and caused widespread damage and power outages. The most significant damage occurred in the central portion of the county, but Bradner, Tontogany and Grand Rapids were also very hard hit.”
July 8, 2003: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Bowling Green — $2.0 million damage.
NWS: “A line of severe thunderstorms moved across Wood County and caused widespread damage and power outages. m.”
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 Bowling Green's ZIP code 43402 have filed 12 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1982, and were paid $88,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 25% 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, 25 have fewer than Bowling Green.
Wood County, which includes Bowling Green, has been named in 10 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 5 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Wood County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $43.3 million a year, the 15th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $28.6 million (66%), 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 Bowling Green
- Weston, OH7 mi
- Waterville, OH9 mi
- Pemberville, OH9 mi
- Grand Rapids, OH10 mi
- Wayne, OH11 mi
- Perrysburg, OH11 mi
- Whitehouse, OH12 mi
- Maumee, OH13 mi
- Monclova, OH14 mi
- North Baltimore, OH14 mi
- Walbridge, OH15 mi
- Rossford, OH16 mi
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