NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Buckeye Lake, 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 Buckeye Lake, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 79 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 79
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Buckeye Lake
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Buckeye Lake; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 54 mph winds when its centre passed 75 miles away. The record near Buckeye Lake begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 8 miles away. None of the 4 systems has come since 2000. Of the 605 Ohio cities on this site, 53% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Buckeye Lake. The highest rating among the 79 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 31, 1985, came within 18 miles. Of the 79, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 42 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 17. The most recent tornado was on March 30, 2025. Buckeye Lake has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 56% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 81 times since 1963, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Buckeye Lake has more hail reports within 10 miles than 56% of the 605 Ohio cities.
Compare Buckeye Lake's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Buckeye Lake
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 66 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 Buckeye Lake: 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 Buckeye Lake
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s21
- 2000s8
- 1990s7
- 1980s10(1 EF3+)
- 1970s8(2 EF3+)
- 1960s10
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1985 | F3 | 18 mi | 29 mi | 1 / 20 |
| May 10, 1973 | F3 | 1 mi | 89.6 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Feb 22, 1971 | F3 | 20 mi | 6.8 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jun 5, 2024 | EF2 | 22 mi | 1.25 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Feb 28, 2024 | EF2 | 10 mi | 14.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 20, 2011 | EF2 | 6 mi | 3.85 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 16, 2010 | EF2 | 13 mi | 6.99 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 11, 2006 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 2000 | F2 | 21 mi | 21 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Aug 25, 1998 | F2 | 19 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 1981 | F2 | 9 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F2 | 21 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 79, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Buckeye Lake
The Storm Prediction Center has 81 hail reports within 10 miles of Buckeye Lake since 1963, made on 56 separate days. Of these, 38 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on April 7, 2006. The most recent report is from May 5, 2025. April and June have the most reports, 17 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Buckeye Lake
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Newark Heath Airport, OH, 6 miles north of Buckeye Lake at 884 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 39°F and 21°F. May and June are the wettest at 4.1 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 38.8 inches over 81 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 15 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 122 nights a year. That 38.8 inches is more than at 30 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (23%). Baltimore, 9 miles southwest, has its own station (Lancaster Fairfield Airport, OH): 40.4 inches a year, 1.6 more than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 39 | 21 | 2.7 | 5 |
| Feb | 42 | 23 | 2.2 | 6 |
| Mar | 52 | 31 | 3.4 | 7 |
| Apr | 65 | 41 | 3.8 | 8 |
| May | 75 | 51 | 4.1 | 9 |
| Jun | 83 | 60 | 4.1 | 8 |
| Jul | 86 | 63 | 4.0 | 7 |
| Aug | 84 | 61 | 3.4 | 7 |
| Sep | 79 | 53 | 2.8 | 6 |
| Oct | 67 | 42 | 2.8 | 6 |
| Nov | 54 | 33 | 2.7 | 6 |
| Dec | 43 | 27 | 2.8 | 6 |
| Year | 64 | 42 | 38.8 | 81 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Newark Heath Airport, OH (884 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 Buckeye Lake
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 235 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Buckeye Lake: 175 thunderstorm wind reports, 41 floods, 16 flash floods and 3 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $3.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 102 mph, on April 20, 2011. July has had the most flash floods, 8 of 16. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 353 have had fewer than Buckeye Lake.
June 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Buckeye Lake — 1 killed, $1.0 million damage.
March 20, 2020: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Buckeye Lake — $900,000 damage.
April 20, 2011: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Buckeye Lake — $175,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Buckeye Lake's ZIP code 43008 have filed 14 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $130,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 318 Ohio cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 46 have fewer than Buckeye Lake.
Licking County, which includes Buckeye Lake, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 severe storms, 3 floods, 3 tornadoes, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, and Landslides, on October 2, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Licking County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hail, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $47.7 million a year, the 12th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $32.8 million (69%), 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.