NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Burton, 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
5 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Burton, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 64 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 64
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
19 deaths in all
What the records show for Burton
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Burton; the strongest was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm with 46 mph winds when its centre crossed the city. The record near Burton begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 50 miles away. Of the 5 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Burton has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 46% of the 605 Ohio cities on this site. The strongest of the 64 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 31, 1985; its path came within 17 miles, and it killed 18 people. Of the 64, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 31 have come since 2000. August has had the most tornadoes, 15. The most recent tornado was on August 12, 2025. Of the 605 Ohio cities, 68% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Burton. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 86 times since 1960, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Burton has more hail reports within 10 miles than 60% of the 605 Ohio cities.
Compare Burton's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Burton
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 31 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 6 | overhead | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Burton: 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 Burton
By decade
- 2020s16
- 2010s12
- 2000s3
- 1990s11(1 EF3+)
- 1980s6(3 EF3+)
- 1970s7(1 EF3+)
- 1960s6(1 EF3+)
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1985 | F5 | 17 mi | 47 mi | 18 / 310 |
| May 2, 1983 | F3 | 16 mi | 12 mi | 1 / 25 |
| Jul 12, 1992 | F3 | 24 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1985 | F3 | 8 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 30 |
| Jun 3, 1973 | F3 | 18 mi | 12.9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 29, 1966 | F3 | 16 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Aug 24, 2023 | EF2 | 4 mi | 0.69 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 24, 2023 | EF2 | 18 mi | 1.52 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F2 | 15 mi | 10.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 1995 | F2 | 4 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 1985 | F2 | 17 mi | 33.4 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 4, 1969 | F2 | 21 mi | 7.2 mi | 0 / 40 |
The strongest 12 of 64, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Burton
The Storm Prediction Center has 86 hail reports within 10 miles of Burton since 1960, made on 66 separate days. Of these, 33 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on May 21, 2022. The most recent report is from May 5, 2025. May has the most reports, 30.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Burton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Chardon, OH, 10 miles north of Burton at 1,130 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 17°F. July is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.1 inches; the year adds up to 50.7 inches over 110 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 6 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 142 nights a year. Snowfall averages 113.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 50.7 inches is more than at 128 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (99%). Middlefield, 6 miles east, has its own station (Hiram, OH): 44.1 inches a year, 6.6 less than here, and the same July average high, 81°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Fairport, OH, 23 miles north, averaged 76°F in July and 35°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 17 | 4.2 | 12 | 34.4 | 35 |
| Feb | 35 | 17 | 3.1 | 9 | 23.4 | 35 |
| Mar | 44 | 24 | 3.7 | 9 | 16.5 | 42 |
| Apr | 58 | 35 | 4.3 | 10 | 4.0 | 52 |
| May | 69 | 46 | 4.4 | 9 | 0.0 | 59 |
| Jun | 77 | 55 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 | 69 |
| Jul | 81 | 59 | 4.7 | 8 | 0.0 | 76 |
| Aug | 80 | 57 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 | 76 |
| Sep | 73 | 51 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 | 71 |
| Oct | 61 | 41 | 4.5 | 9 | 0.6 | 61 |
| Nov | 48 | 32 | 4.3 | 10 | 9.3 | 47 |
| Dec | 38 | 24 | 4.3 | 11 | 25.5 | 37 |
| Year | 58 | 38 | 50.7 | 110 | 113.7 | 55 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Chardon, OH (1,130 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Fairport, OH, from NOAA Tides & Currents. 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 Burton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 185 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Burton: 173 thunderstorm wind reports, 9 floods and 3 flash floods. They killed 1 person and injured 38, and the NWS estimated $3.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on November 5, 2017.
July 31, 1999: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Burton — 1 killed, $400,000 damage.
June 18, 2014: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Burton — 35 injured.
July 26, 2008: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Burton — 2 injured, $30,000 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
Geauga County, which includes Burton, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms, 1 flood). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Geauga County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for hail and inland flooding; Relatively Low for tornadoes, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $19.8 million a year, the 42nd highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $14.0 million (71%), 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.