NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Defiance, 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 Defiance, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 67 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 67
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
22 deaths in all
What the records show for Defiance
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Defiance; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 28 miles away. The record near Defiance begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Of the 6 systems, one has come since 2000. Defiance has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 64% of the 605 Ohio cities on this site. The highest rating among the 67 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on November 10, 2002, came within 12 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on June 8, 1953, killed 17 people. Of the 67, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 33 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 19. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Of the 605 Ohio cities, 62% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Defiance. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 37 times since 1963, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 605 Ohio cities, 87% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Defiance.
Compare Defiance's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Defiance
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 49 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 Defiance: 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 Defiance
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s19
- 2000s6(2 EF3+)
- 1990s6
- 1980s7
- 1970s13(2 EF3+)
- 1960s4
- 1950s4(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 8, 1953 | F4 | 25 mi | 118 mi | 17 / 379 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F4 | 12 mi | 52.8 mi | 4 / 17 |
| Oct 24, 2001 | F3 | 24 mi | 32 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 8 mi | 8.7 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 2, 1971 | F3 | 24 mi | 39.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2025 | EF2 | 16 mi | 4.68 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Aug 24, 2016 | EF2 | 2 mi | 2.64 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 24, 2016 | EF2 | 14 mi | 4.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 17, 2013 | EF2 | 17 mi | 11.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF2 | 23 mi | 7.24 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1992 | F2 | 18 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Jul 12, 1986 | F2 | 4 mi | 3.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 67, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Defiance
The Storm Prediction Center has 37 hail reports within 10 miles of Defiance since 1963, made on 28 separate days. Of these, 17 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on April 3, 1974. The most recent report is from April 2, 2025. May has the most reports, 14.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Defiance
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Defiance, OH, 1 mile southwest of Defiance at 700 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 32°F and 18°F. May is the wettest at 4.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 38.0 inches over 80 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 17 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 127 nights a year. Snowfall averages 24.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 38.0 inches is more than at 23 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (18%). Holgate, 12 miles east, has its own station (Napoleon, OH): 37.4 inches a year, 0.6 less than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 32 | 18 | 2.6 | 6 | 8.7 |
| Feb | 36 | 20 | 2.2 | 5 | 8.0 |
| Mar | 46 | 28 | 2.6 | 7 | 2.6 |
| Apr | 60 | 38 | 3.7 | 8 | 0.2 |
| May | 71 | 50 | 4.3 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 60 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 63 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 62 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 54 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 43 | 2.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 49 | 32 | 3.0 | 7 | 0.9 |
| Dec | 37 | 24 | 2.6 | 6 | 3.8 |
| Year | 60 | 41 | 38.0 | 80 | 24.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Defiance, OH (700 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 Defiance
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 86 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Defiance: 80 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 flash floods and 3 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $664,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on June 29, 2012.
August 6, 2000: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Defiance — 1 injured, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “Mobile home blown over.”
January 5, 2005: flood 8 miles from the centre of Defiance — $150,000 damage.
August 1, 2008: thunderstorm wind in Defiance — $125,000 damage.
NWS: “Emergency management officials reported several large trees were either uprooted or snapped in the city of Defiance. One of these trees fell onto a house on Washington Street, reportedly destroying the house.”
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 Defiance's ZIP code 43512 have filed 318 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $2.4 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1985: 91 claims (29% of all) and $372,000. The year with the most claims was 1982, with 63. 29% 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, 304 have fewer than Defiance.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1985 | 91 | $372,000 |
Defiance County, which includes Defiance, has been named in 8 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 3 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms, 2 snowstorms, 1 flood). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Defiance County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $15.7 million a year, the 54th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $10.6 million (68%), 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 Defiance
- Holgate, OH12 mi
- Oakwood, OH13 mi
- Stryker, OH14 mi
- Continental, OH14 mi
- Napoleon, OH14 mi
- Paulding, OH15 mi
- Bryan, OH16 mi
- Archbold, OH17 mi
- Cloverdale, OH20 mi
- Hicksville, OH20 mi
- Antwerp, OH21 mi
- West Unity, OH21 mi
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