NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Cambridge, 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 Cambridge, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 37 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 37
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Cambridge
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Cambridge; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 52 miles away. The record near Cambridge begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 48 miles away. None of the 6 systems has come since 2000. Cambridge has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 64% of the 605 Ohio cities on this site. The highest rating among the 37 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 12 times; the most recent, on June 27, 1998, came within 19 miles. Of the 37, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 9 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 14. The most recent tornado was on May 7, 2024. Of the 605 Ohio cities, 88% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Cambridge. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 79 times since 1971, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Cambridge has more hail reports within 10 miles than 54% of the 605 Ohio cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Cambridge
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 52 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 Cambridge: 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 Cambridge
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s2
- 1990s5
- 1980s7
- 1970s7
- 1960s4
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 27, 1998 | F2 | 19 mi | 0.3 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Mar 10, 1986 | F2 | 8 mi | 5 mi | 1 / 3 |
| Jun 13, 1981 | F2 | 13 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1978 | F2 | 4 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Aug 14, 1973 | F2 | 9 mi | 12.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 1971 | F2 | 14 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Sep 26, 1970 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 1968 | F2 | 4 mi | 8.5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Nov 16, 1965 | F2 | 6 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jul 22, 1958 | F2 | 14 mi | 9.5 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 22, 1958 | F2 | 24 mi | 12.6 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Mar 11, 1955 | F2 | 18 mi | 3.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 37, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Cambridge
The Storm Prediction Center has 79 hail reports within 10 miles of Cambridge since 1971, made on 46 separate days. Of these, 53 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on May 25, 2019. The most recent report is from May 11, 2024. June has the most reports, 29.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Cambridge
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Cambridge, OH, 1 mile southeast of Cambridge at 800 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 21°F. June is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.4 inches; the year adds up to 41.4 inches over 85 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 18 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 111 nights a year. Snowfall averages 17.4 inches a year, most of it in January. That 41.4 inches is more than at 59 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (46%). Newcomerstown, 17 miles north, has its own station (Coshocton Ag Rsch Stn, OH): 39.7 inches a year, 1.7 less than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 21 | 3.3 | 7 | 5.5 |
| Feb | 42 | 23 | 2.4 | 6 | 5.3 |
| Mar | 53 | 30 | 3.3 | 8 | 3.1 |
| Apr | 66 | 40 | 3.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| May | 75 | 50 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 59 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 63 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 61 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 54 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 66 | 42 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 53 | 33 | 3.0 | 7 | 0.5 |
| Dec | 42 | 26 | 3.0 | 7 | 3.0 |
| Year | 64 | 42 | 41.4 | 85 | 17.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Cambridge, OH (800 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 Cambridge
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 194 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Cambridge: 158 thunderstorm wind reports, 21 floods, 12 flash floods and 3 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $8.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on June 29, 2012. April has had the most flash floods, 7 of 12. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 288 have had fewer than Cambridge.
August 25, 1998: thunderstorm wind in Cambridge — 3 injured, $400,000 damage.
NWS: “An intense thunderstorm gust known as a macroburst raked across central Guernsey County, wind gusts were estimated between 80 and 90 mph. The thunderstorm formed in northeast Guernsey County about 430 pm just ahead of another very intense thunderstorm moving through Muskingum County.”
January 5, 2005: flood 7 miles from the centre of Cambridge — $6.0 million damage.
June 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind in Cambridge — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Emergency manager reported damage to the clock tower of an 150 year old courthouse, the collapse of a church, and several other structures damaged in the city of Cambridge.”
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 Cambridge's ZIP code 43725 have filed 199 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $5.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1998: 59 claims (30% of all) and $1.9 million, then Not a named storm in 1979 with 12. The year with the most claims was 2004, with 64. 39% 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, 298 have fewer than Cambridge.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1998 | 59 | $1.9 million |
| Not a named storm1979 | 12 | $292,000 |
Guernsey County, which includes Cambridge, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 severe storms, 3 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 Guernsey County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $9.3 million a year, the 76th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.9 million (74%), 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 Cambridge
- Byesville, OH5 mi
- New Concord, OH8 mi
- Kimbolton, OH9 mi
- Senecaville, OH10 mi
- Quaker City, OH16 mi
- Newcomerstown, OH17 mi
- West Lafayette, OH19 mi
- Caldwell, OH20 mi
- Freeport, OH20 mi
- Philo, OH22 mi
- Coshocton, OH22 mi
- Barnesville, OH22 mi
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