NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Gahanna, 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 Gahanna, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 99 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 99
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Gahanna
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Gahanna; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 54 mph winds when its centre passed 52 miles away. The record near Gahanna begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 15 miles away. Of the 605 Ohio cities on this site, 82% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Gahanna. The highest rating among the 99 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 31, 1985, came within 12 miles. Of the 99, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 46 have come since 2000. April and June have had the most tornadoes, 17 each. The most recent tornado was on March 30, 2025. Gahanna has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 82% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 159 times since 1955, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Gahanna has more hail reports within 10 miles than 91% of the 605 Ohio cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Gahanna
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 52 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 Gahanna: 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 Gahanna
By decade
- 2020s19
- 2010s20
- 2000s7
- 1990s8
- 1980s9(1 EF3+)
- 1970s16(2 EF3+)
- 1960s13
- 1950s7
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1985 | F3 | 12 mi | 29 mi | 1 / 20 |
| May 10, 1973 | F3 | in town | 89.6 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Feb 22, 1971 | F3 | 2 mi | 6.8 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Mar 14, 2024 | EF2 | 23 mi | 19.48 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 28, 2024 | EF2 | 3 mi | 14.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 20, 2011 | EF2 | 21 mi | 3.85 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 11, 2006 | F2 | 6 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 11, 2006 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 2000 | F2 | 7 mi | 21 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Aug 25, 1998 | F2 | 25 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F2 | 3 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F2 | 24 mi | 15.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 99, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Gahanna
The Storm Prediction Center has 159 hail reports within 10 miles of Gahanna since 1955, made on 107 separate days. Of these, 80 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on August 10, 1984. The most recent report is from April 2, 2025. July has the most reports, 36.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Gahanna
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Columbus Port Columbus International Airport, OH, 3 miles south of Gahanna at 810 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 22°F. July is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.4 inches; the year adds up to 41.5 inches over 82 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 21 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 103 nights a year. Snowfall averages 28.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 41.5 inches is more than at 61 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (47%). Westerville, 6 miles north, has its own station (Westerville, OH): 42.3 inches a year, 0.8 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 | 37 | 22 | 3.0 | 7 | 9.5 |
| Feb | 41 | 24 | 2.4 | 6 | 7.6 |
| Mar | 51 | 32 | 3.6 | 8 | 4.1 |
| Apr | 64 | 42 | 3.9 | 8 | 0.5 |
| May | 74 | 52 | 4.0 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 62 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 65 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 64 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 57 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 66 | 45 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 52 | 35 | 2.8 | 6 | 1.2 |
| Dec | 42 | 27 | 3.1 | 6 | 5.1 |
| Year | 63 | 44 | 41.5 | 82 | 28.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Columbus Port Columbus International Airport, OH (810 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 Gahanna
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 351 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Gahanna: 251 thunderstorm wind reports, 57 floods, 37 flash floods, 5 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 2 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 83 mph, on June 29, 2012. July has had the most flash floods, 16 of 37. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 552 have had fewer than Gahanna.
May 19, 2020: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Gahanna — 1 killed, $20,000 damage.
June 29, 2025: lightning strike 5 miles from the centre of Gahanna — 1 killed.
June 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Gahanna — 1 injured, $20,000 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 Gahanna's ZIP code 43230 have filed 68 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $321,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1979, with 23. 12% 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, 226 have fewer than Gahanna.
Franklin County, which includes Gahanna, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 severe storms, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). 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 Franklin County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $331.4 million a year, the highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $209.6 million (63%), 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 Gahanna
- New Albany, OH4 mi
- Blacklick, OH5 mi
- Westerville, OH6 mi
- Columbus, OH7 mi
- Reynoldsburg, OH7 mi
- Worthington, OH9 mi
- Lewis Center, OH11 mi
- Pataskala, OH11 mi
- Galena, OH11 mi
- Pickerington, OH11 mi
- Groveport, OH13 mi
- Canal Winchester, OH13 mi
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