NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Frankfort, 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
5 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Frankfort, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 70 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 70
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Frankfort
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Frankfort; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 53 mph winds when its centre passed 52 miles away. The record near Frankfort begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 11 miles away. None of the 5 systems has come since 2000. Frankfort has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 46% of the 605 Ohio cities on this site. The highest rating among the 70 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on October 13, 1999, came within 4 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on April 25, 1961, killed 2 people. Of the 70, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 37 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 14. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Of the 605 Ohio cities, 58% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Frankfort. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 27 times since 1967, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 605 Ohio cities, 96% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Frankfort.
Compare Frankfort's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Frankfort
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 48 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 Frankfort: 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 Frankfort
By decade
- 2020s12
- 2010s16
- 2000s9
- 1990s9(1 EF3+)
- 1980s9
- 1970s7(1 EF3+)
- 1960s6(1 EF3+)
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 13, 1999 | F3 | 4 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Sep 3, 1970 | F3 | 22 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 16, 1965 | F3 | 13 mi | 3.8 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 25, 1961 | F2 | 18 mi | 25 mi | 2 / 4 |
| Mar 10, 1986 | F2 | 19 mi | 28 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Jun 8, 2022 | EF2 | 24 mi | 9.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 15, 2021 | EF2 | 6 mi | 0.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 14, 1990 | F2 | 16 mi | 35 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Feb 22, 1971 | F2 | 16 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 1970 | F2 | 17 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 1965 | F2 | 25 mi | 10.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 1965 | F2 | 21 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 9 |
The strongest 12 of 70, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Frankfort
The Storm Prediction Center has 27 hail reports within 10 miles of Frankfort since 1967, made on 20 separate days. Of these, 18 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on July 1, 2012. The most recent report is from May 16, 2025. May has the most reports, 12.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Frankfort
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Washington Court House, OH, 16 miles northwest of Frankfort at 957 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 36°F and 20°F. May is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.5 inches; the year adds up to 41.0 inches over 83 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 12 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 115 nights a year. Snowfall averages 18.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 41.0 inches is more than at 53 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (41%). Bainbridge, 12 miles southwest, has its own station (Hillsboro, OH): 46.8 inches a year, 5.8 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | 20 | 3.0 | 7 | 7.9 |
| Feb | 40 | 22 | 2.5 | 6 | 3.7 |
| Mar | 50 | 30 | 3.8 | 8 | 2.8 |
| Apr | 64 | 40 | 4.1 | 9 | 0.3 |
| May | 73 | 51 | 4.5 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 60 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 63 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 61 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 54 | 2.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 66 | 42 | 2.7 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 52 | 32 | 2.8 | 6 | 0.7 |
| Dec | 41 | 25 | 3.2 | 7 | 2.7 |
| Year | 62 | 41 | 41.0 | 83 | 18.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Washington Court House, OH (957 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 Frankfort
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 101 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Frankfort: 59 thunderstorm wind reports, 27 floods and 15 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $504,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 72 mph, on June 10, 2020. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 339 have had fewer than Frankfort.
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 Frankfort's ZIP code 45628 have filed 10 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2001, and were paid $190,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 318 Ohio cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 0 have fewer than Frankfort.
Ross County, which includes Frankfort, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Ross County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $21.5 million a year, the 37th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $14.8 million (69%), 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 Frankfort
- Greenfield, OH11 mi
- New Holland, OH12 mi
- Bainbridge, OH12 mi
- Chillicothe, OH13 mi
- Williamsport, OH14 mi
- Washington Court House, OH16 mi
- Kingston, OH18 mi
- Leesburg, OH19 mi
- Circleville, OH20 mi
- Waverly, OH21 mi
- Mount Sterling, OH23 mi
- Londonderry, OH24 mi
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