NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Columbus Grove, 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 Columbus Grove, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 97 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 97
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
38 deaths in all
What the records show for Columbus Grove
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Columbus Grove; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 59 miles away. The record near Columbus Grove begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Of the 4 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 605 Ohio cities on this site, 53% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Columbus Grove. The highest rating among the 97 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on November 10, 2002, came within 18 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on June 8, 1953, killed 17 people. Of the 97, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 49 have come since 2000. May and June have had the most tornadoes, 21 each. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Columbus Grove has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 80% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 70 times since 1962, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 605 Ohio cities, 49% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Columbus Grove.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Columbus Grove
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Columbus Grove: 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 Columbus Grove
By decade
- 2020s17
- 2010s19
- 2000s13(2 EF3+)
- 1990s11
- 1980s8
- 1970s16(3 EF3+)
- 1960s7(2 EF3+)
- 1950s6(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 8, 1953 | F4 | 24 mi | 118 mi | 17 / 379 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 5 mi | 32.5 mi | 13 / 104 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F4 | 18 mi | 52.8 mi | 4 / 17 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 19 mi | 52.5 mi | 4 / 125 |
| Oct 24, 2001 | F3 | 7 mi | 32 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 22 mi | 8.7 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 2, 1971 | F3 | 13 mi | 39.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 2, 1971 | F3 | 4 mi | 31.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 1950 | F3 | 7 mi | 9.7 mi | 0 / 30 |
| Apr 2, 2025 | EF2 | 16 mi | 4.68 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Nov 17, 2013 | EF2 | 14 mi | 11.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 26, 2010 | EF2 | 16 mi | 3.92 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 97, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Columbus Grove
The Storm Prediction Center has 70 hail reports within 10 miles of Columbus Grove since 1962, made on 53 separate days. Of these, 35 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on July 12, 1980. The most recent report is from May 3, 2022. May and July have the most reports, 15 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Columbus Grove
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Pandora, OH, 6 miles northeast of Columbus Grove at 770 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 19°F. May is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 38.7 inches over 77 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 14 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 124 nights a year. Snowfall averages 32.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 38.7 inches is more than at 28 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (22%). Lima, 11 miles south, has its own station (Lima Wwtp, OH): 41.1 inches a year, 2.4 more than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 19 | 2.6 | 6 | 10.6 |
| Feb | 37 | 22 | 2.2 | 5 | 8.3 |
| Mar | 48 | 30 | 2.6 | 6 | 4.3 |
| Apr | 61 | 40 | 3.8 | 8 | 0.8 |
| May | 73 | 51 | 4.4 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 61 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 64 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 62 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 54 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 44 | 2.8 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 50 | 34 | 2.8 | 6 | 1.9 |
| Dec | 38 | 25 | 2.6 | 6 | 6.5 |
| Year | 61 | 42 | 38.7 | 77 | 32.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Pandora, OH (770 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 Columbus Grove
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 106 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Columbus Grove: 99 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 floods and 3 flash floods. They killed 2 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $2.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on June 29, 2012.
May 18, 1997: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Columbus Grove — 1 killed, $10,000 damage.
March 10, 2009: flood 9 miles from the centre of Columbus Grove — 1 killed.
January 4, 2005: flood 9 miles from the centre of Columbus Grove — $800,000 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 Columbus Grove's ZIP code 45830 have filed 10 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1997, and were paid $90,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 20% 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, 0 have fewer than Columbus Grove.
Allen County, which includes Columbus Grove, has been named in 10 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane, 1 snowstorm). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Allen County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $31.9 million a year, the 22nd highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $22.5 million (70%), 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 Columbus Grove
- Pandora, OH7 mi
- Ottawa, OH8 mi
- Bluffton, OH9 mi
- Lima, OH11 mi
- Fort Jennings, OH11 mi
- Cloverdale, OH15 mi
- Harrod, OH15 mi
- Delphos, OH15 mi
- Leipsic, OH15 mi
- Ada, OH16 mi
- Continental, OH17 mi
- Mc Comb, OH20 mi
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