NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Delaware, 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 Delaware, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 80 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 80
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
9 deaths in all
What the records show for Delaware
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Delaware; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 54 mph winds when its centre passed 37 miles away. The record near Delaware begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 31 miles away. None of the 4 systems has come since 2000. Of the 605 Ohio cities on this site, 53% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Delaware. The highest rating among the 80 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 5 times; the most recent, on November 10, 2002, came within 22 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on June 13, 1981, killed 4 people. Of the 80, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 28 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 19. The most recent tornado was on December 29, 2024. Delaware has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 57% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 61 times since 1966, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 605 Ohio cities, 61% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Delaware.
Compare Delaware's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Delaware
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Delaware: 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 Delaware
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s11
- 2000s7(1 EF3+)
- 1990s11
- 1980s10(2 EF3+)
- 1970s18(2 EF3+)
- 1960s9
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 13, 1981 | F3 | 17 mi | 3.8 mi | 4 / 56 |
| May 31, 1985 | F3 | 20 mi | 29 mi | 1 / 20 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F3 | 22 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 10, 1973 | F3 | 15 mi | 89.6 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Feb 22, 1971 | F3 | 22 mi | 6.8 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F2 | 8 mi | 22.2 mi | 4 / 62 |
| Mar 14, 2024 | EF2 | 6 mi | 19.48 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 28, 2024 | EF2 | 23 mi | 14.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 11, 2006 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 2000 | F2 | 17 mi | 21 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Nov 15, 1989 | F2 | 12 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 8, 1979 | F2 | 16 mi | 1.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 80, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Delaware
The Storm Prediction Center has 61 hail reports within 10 miles of Delaware since 1966, made on 45 separate days. Of these, 31 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on May 14, 2014. The most recent report is from March 14, 2024. June has the most reports, 17.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Delaware
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Marysville, OH, 13 miles southwest of Delaware at 970 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 35°F and 21°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.3 inches; the year adds up to 40.6 inches over 81 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 114 nights a year. Snowfall averages 24.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 40.6 inches is more than at 45 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (35%). Lewis Center, 9 miles southeast, has its own station (Westerville, OH): 42.3 inches a year, 1.7 more than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 35 | 21 | 2.7 | 6 | 7.0 |
| Feb | 39 | 23 | 2.3 | 6 | 6.6 |
| Mar | 50 | 31 | 3.0 | 7 | 4.1 |
| Apr | 63 | 41 | 3.9 | 8 | 0.1 |
| May | 74 | 52 | 4.5 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 61 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 64 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 62 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 55 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 65 | 44 | 2.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 51 | 34 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.7 |
| Dec | 40 | 26 | 2.9 | 7 | 5.5 |
| Year | 62 | 43 | 40.6 | 81 | 24.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Marysville, OH (970 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 Delaware
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 188 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Delaware: 145 thunderstorm wind reports, 32 floods, 6 flash floods and 5 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $806,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on July 10, 2013. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 110 have had fewer than Delaware.
July 22, 2017: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Delaware — 3 injured, $5,000 damage.
September 16, 2010: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Delaware — 1 injured, $40,000 damage.
May 18, 1997: thunderstorm wind in Delaware — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Numerous trees downed. Six homes were damaged when trees fell on them.”
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 Delaware's ZIP code 43015 have filed 42 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $526,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 14% 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, 186 have fewer than Delaware.
Delaware County, which includes Delaware, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 3 snowstorms, 3 tornadoes, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Tornadoes, on May 2, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Delaware County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $69.4 million a year, the 9th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $49.3 million (71%), 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 Delaware
- Ostrander, OH7 mi
- Lewis Center, OH9 mi
- Ashley, OH10 mi
- Powell, OH10 mi
- Galena, OH11 mi
- Sunbury, OH12 mi
- Prospect, OH13 mi
- Worthington, OH14 mi
- Dublin, OH14 mi
- Westerville, OH14 mi
- Marengo, OH16 mi
- Marysville, OH16 mi
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