NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Cleves, 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
3 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Cleves, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1915. Since 1950, 87 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 87
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
14 deaths in all
What the records show for Cleves
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Cleves; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 22 miles away. The record near Cleves begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was an unnamed storm in 1915, a tropical storm 59 miles away. Of the 605 Ohio cities on this site, 82% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Cleves. The strongest of the 87 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 3 miles, and it killed 3 people. The deadliest, an F4 on April 9, 1999, killed 4 people. Of the 87, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 35 have come since 2000. April and June have had the most tornadoes, 19 each. The most recent tornado was on July 20, 2025. Cleves has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 67% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 114 times since 1955, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Cleves has more hail reports within 10 miles than 76% of the 605 Ohio cities.
Compare Cleves's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Cleves
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 68 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 Cleves: 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 Cleves
By decade
- 2020s22
- 2010s9
- 2000s4
- 1990s17(3 EF3+)
- 1980s6
- 1970s15(4 EF3+)
- 1960s8(2 EF3+)
- 1950s6
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 3 mi | 20.8 mi | 3 / 210 |
| Apr 9, 1999 | F4 | 20 mi | 10 mi | 4 / 65 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 14 mi | 19.8 mi | 2 / 39 |
| Nov 22, 1992 | F4 | 18 mi | 26.7 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F4 | 5 mi | 33 mi | 0 / 37 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 13 mi | 27.1 mi | 0 / 104 |
| Aug 9, 1969 | F3 | 12 mi | 22.2 mi | 4 / 247 |
| Oct 1, 1977 | F3 | 6 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 17 |
| May 10, 1969 | F3 | 11 mi | 54.5 mi | 0 / 25 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F2 | 13 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Mar 10, 1986 | F2 | 22 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 1980 | F2 | 16 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 4 |
The strongest 12 of 87, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Cleves
The Storm Prediction Center has 114 hail reports within 10 miles of Cleves since 1955, made on 63 separate days. Of these, 66 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on July 2, 1997. The most recent report is from March 30, 2025. April has the most reports, 37.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Cleves
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Cincinnati-Fernbank, OH, 5 miles southeast of Cleves at 500 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 24°F. May is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.1 inches; the year adds up to 47.6 inches over 85 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 22 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 101 nights a year. Snowfall averages 11.4 inches a year, most of it in February. That 47.6 inches is more than at 122 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (95%). West Harrison, IN, 11 miles northwest, has its own station (Brookville, IN): 44.0 inches a year, 3.6 less than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 24 | 3.7 | 7 | 2.9 |
| Feb | 44 | 26 | 3.1 | 6 | 4.7 |
| Mar | 54 | 34 | 4.4 | 8 | 1.7 |
| Apr | 66 | 43 | 5.0 | 9 | 0.0 |
| May | 75 | 54 | 5.2 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 62 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 67 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 65 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 57 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 68 | 46 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 55 | 36 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Dec | 44 | 29 | 4.0 | 8 | 2.0 |
| Year | 65 | 45 | 47.6 | 85 | 11.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Cincinnati-Fernbank, OH (500 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 Cleves
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 240 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Cleves: 165 thunderstorm wind reports, 47 flash floods, 18 floods, 7 heavy rain events and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $1.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on July 13, 2016. June has had the most flash floods, 12 of 47. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 576 have had fewer than Cleves.
July 22, 2020: lightning strike 10 miles from the centre of Cleves — 4 injured.
July 13, 2016: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Cleves — $500,000 damage.
August 9, 2000: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Cleves — $100,000 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 Cleves's ZIP code 45002 have filed 77 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $525,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 18% 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, 247 have fewer than Cleves.
Hamilton County, which includes Cleves, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms). 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 Hamilton County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes and lightning; Relatively High for inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for hail; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $221.2 million a year, the 3rd highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $109.1 million (49%), 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.