NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Chesapeake, 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
7 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Chesapeake, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 31 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 7
- Tornadoes
- 31
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
7 deaths in all
What the records show for Chesapeake
None of the 7 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Chesapeake; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 28 miles away. The record near Chesapeake begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 53 miles away. None of the 7 systems has come since 2000. Chesapeake has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 90% of the 605 Ohio cities on this site. The strongest of the 31 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 23, 1968; its path came within 22 miles, and it killed 7 people. Of the 31, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 16 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 11. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2024. Of the 605 Ohio cities, 92% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Chesapeake. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 141 times since 1962, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Chesapeake has more hail reports within 10 miles than 86% of the 605 Ohio cities.
Compare Chesapeake's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Chesapeake
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 18 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 28 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 Chesapeake: 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 Chesapeake
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s3
- 2000s3
- 1990s5
- 1980s5
- 1970s2
- 1960s3(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 1968 | F5 | 22 mi | 34 mi | 7 / 93 |
| Apr 8, 1965 | F3 | 9 mi | 6.9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF2 | 20 mi | 1.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 4, 2016 | EF2 | 25 mi | 2.63 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 15, 2000 | F2 | 21 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1980 | F2 | 15 mi | 29.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 25 mi | 8.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 16 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 5 mi | 4.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 14 mi | 0.44 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 5 mi | 0.55 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 11 mi | 1.09 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 31, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Chesapeake
The Storm Prediction Center has 141 hail reports within 10 miles of Chesapeake since 1962, made on 77 separate days. Of these, 78 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on July 23, 1962. The most recent report is from April 29, 2025. May has the most reports, 38.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Chesapeake
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Huntington Swg Pl, WV, 6 miles southwest of Chesapeake at 520 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 25°F. July is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and November the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 45.2 inches over 86 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 32 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 98 nights a year. Snowfall averages 10.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 45.2 inches is more than at 110 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (85%). Proctorville, 5 miles east, has its own station (Pea Ridge Psd, WV): 46.8 inches a year, 1.6 more than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 25 | 3.4 | 7 | 4.3 |
| Feb | 48 | 28 | 3.3 | 7 | 2.5 |
| Mar | 56 | 34 | 4.2 | 8 | 2.1 |
| Apr | 69 | 43 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| May | 77 | 53 | 4.5 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 84 | 62 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 66 | 4.8 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 87 | 65 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 57 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 45 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 57 | 35 | 2.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 47 | 30 | 3.8 | 7 | 1.3 |
| Year | 67 | 45 | 45.2 | 86 | 10.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Huntington Swg Pl, WV (520 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 Chesapeake
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 361 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Chesapeake: 248 thunderstorm wind reports, 57 flash floods, 45 floods, 7 heavy rain events and 4 lightning strikes. They killed 3 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $11.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on April 2, 2024. July has had the most flash floods, 22 of 57. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 586 have had fewer than Chesapeake.
May 6, 2022: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Chesapeake — 1 killed, $900,000 damage.
July 14, 2016: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Chesapeake — 1 killed, $500,000 damage.
July 25, 2005: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Chesapeake — 1 killed, $1,000 damage.
NWS: “The outflow wind gust was funneled between 2 adjacent buildings along Piedmont Road in Huntington. A man was sitting outside on his second floor apartment landing, reading his Bible.”
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 Chesapeake's ZIP code 45619 have filed 60 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $300,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Not a named storm in 1978: 17 claims (28% of all) and $17,000, then Flooding in 1997 with 14. The year with the most claims was 1997, with 14. 53% 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, 213 have fewer than Chesapeake.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Not a named storm1978 | 17 | $17,000 |
| Flooding1997 | 14 | $107,000 |
Lawrence County, which includes Chesapeake, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1978, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 4 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 Lawrence County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $27.4 million a year, the 28th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $21.8 million (80%), 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.