NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hamilton, 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
2 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Hamilton, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1915. Since 1950, 93 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 2
- Tornadoes
- 93
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
14 deaths in all
What the records show for Hamilton
None of the 2 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Hamilton; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 18 miles away. The record near Hamilton begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was an unnamed storm in 1915, a tropical storm 53 miles away. Of the 605 Ohio cities on this site, 98% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Hamilton. The strongest of the 93 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 13 miles, and it killed 3 people. The deadliest, an F4 on April 9, 1999, killed 4 people. Of the 93, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 42 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 20. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Hamilton has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 75% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 101 times since 1968, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Hamilton has more hail reports within 10 miles than 69% of the 605 Ohio cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Hamilton
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Hamilton: 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 Hamilton
By decade
- 2020s25
- 2010s9
- 2000s8
- 1990s12(2 EF3+)
- 1980s5
- 1970s18(3 EF3+)
- 1960s8(3 EF3+)
- 1950s8
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 13 mi | 20.8 mi | 3 / 210 |
| Apr 9, 1999 | F4 | 16 mi | 10 mi | 4 / 65 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 12 mi | 19.8 mi | 2 / 39 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F4 | 7 mi | 33 mi | 0 / 37 |
| Apr 25, 1961 | F4 | 24 mi | 63.1 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Aug 9, 1969 | F3 | 13 mi | 22.2 mi | 4 / 247 |
| Oct 1, 1977 | F3 | 12 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 17 |
| May 10, 1969 | F3 | 1 mi | 54.5 mi | 0 / 25 |
| May 4, 1990 | F2 | 12 mi | 0.2 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Jul 6, 2022 | EF2 | 23 mi | 4.81 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 9, 1999 | F2 | 15 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 10, 1986 | F2 | 10 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 93, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Hamilton
The Storm Prediction Center has 101 hail reports within 10 miles of Hamilton since 1968, made on 63 separate days. Of these, 56 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently April 3, 1974. The most recent report is from May 16, 2025. April has the most reports, 25.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Hamilton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Hamilton Butler Co Regional Airport, OH, 3 miles southeast of Hamilton at 634 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 22°F. April and May are the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.4 inches; the year adds up to 41.5 inches over 81 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 28 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 116 nights a year. That 41.5 inches is more than at 62 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (48%). Fairfield, 5 miles south, has its own station (Fairfield, OH): 45.2 inches a year, 3.7 more than here, and the same July average high, 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 22 | 2.9 | 6 |
| Feb | 44 | 23 | 2.4 | 6 |
| Mar | 54 | 32 | 3.5 | 7 |
| Apr | 67 | 42 | 4.6 | 8 |
| May | 75 | 52 | 4.6 | 9 |
| Jun | 83 | 61 | 4.1 | 8 |
| Jul | 87 | 64 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Aug | 86 | 62 | 3.0 | 5 |
| Sep | 80 | 54 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Oct | 68 | 42 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Nov | 55 | 32 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Dec | 44 | 26 | 3.3 | 7 |
| Year | 65 | 43 | 41.5 | 81 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Hamilton Butler Co Regional Airport, OH (634 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 Hamilton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 219 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hamilton: 154 thunderstorm wind reports, 41 flash floods, 20 floods, 3 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $4.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 98 mph, on January 5, 1997. June has had the most flash floods, 10 of 41. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 563 have had fewer than Hamilton.
September 4, 2011: lightning strike 10 miles from the centre of Hamilton — 1 killed, 1 injured.
July 24, 1996: thunderstorm wind in Hamilton — 2 injured, $4,000 damage.
March 28, 1997: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Hamilton — 1 injured, $10,000 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 Hamilton's 3 ZIP codes have filed 128 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $1.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from March storm in 2008: 14 claims (11% of all) and $88,000. 16% 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, 280 have fewer than Hamilton.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| March storm2008 | 14 | $88,000 |
Butler County, which includes Hamilton, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Butler County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $119.7 million a year, the 4th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $62.3 million (52%), 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 Hamilton
- Fairfield, OH5 mi
- Trenton, OH7 mi
- West Chester, OH9 mi
- Monroe, OH10 mi
- Somerville, OH11 mi
- Oxford, OH12 mi
- Middletown, OH13 mi
- Okeana, OH13 mi
- Mason, OH13 mi
- Harrison, OH15 mi
- Cincinnati, OH16 mi
- Camden, OH17 mi
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