NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Johnstown, 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 Johnstown, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 86 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 86
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
5 deaths in all
What the records show for Johnstown
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Johnstown; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 54 mph winds when its centre passed 60 miles away. The record near Johnstown begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 8 miles away. Of the 605 Ohio cities on this site, 82% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Johnstown. The highest rating among the 86 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 31, 1985, came within 2 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on April 11, 1965, killed 4 people. Of the 86, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 35 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 18. The most recent tornado was on March 30, 2025. Johnstown has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 66% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 36 times since 1966, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 605 Ohio cities, 88% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Johnstown.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Johnstown
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 60 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 Johnstown: 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 Johnstown
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s17
- 2000s5
- 1990s9
- 1980s12(1 EF3+)
- 1970s15(2 EF3+)
- 1960s9
- 1950s6
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1985 | F3 | 2 mi | 29 mi | 1 / 20 |
| May 10, 1973 | F3 | 11 mi | 89.6 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Feb 22, 1971 | F3 | 12 mi | 6.8 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F2 | 24 mi | 22.2 mi | 4 / 62 |
| Feb 28, 2024 | EF2 | 7 mi | 14.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 20, 2011 | EF2 | 14 mi | 3.85 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 11, 2006 | F2 | 8 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 2000 | F2 | 3 mi | 21 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Aug 25, 1998 | F2 | 11 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 15, 1989 | F2 | 24 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1982 | F2 | 25 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Mar 31, 1982 | F2 | 20 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 4 |
The strongest 12 of 86, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Johnstown
The Storm Prediction Center has 36 hail reports within 10 miles of Johnstown since 1966, made on 30 separate days. Of these, 18 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 3 days, most recently May 21, 2004. The most recent report is from May 5, 2025. August has the most reports, 8.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Johnstown
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Centerburg 2 SE, OH, 10 miles north of Johnstown at 1,205 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 17°F. June is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.5 inches; the year adds up to 44.2 inches over 84 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 9 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 128 nights a year. That 44.2 inches is more than at 101 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (78%). Alexandria, 5 miles southeast, has its own station (Newark Heath Airport, OH): 38.8 inches a year, 5.4 less than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 17 | 3.1 | 7 |
| Feb | 37 | 19 | 2.5 | 6 |
| Mar | 48 | 27 | 3.4 | 8 |
| Apr | 62 | 38 | 4.5 | 9 |
| May | 72 | 49 | 4.5 | 9 |
| Jun | 80 | 58 | 5.0 | 8 |
| Jul | 83 | 61 | 4.2 | 7 |
| Aug | 82 | 59 | 3.9 | 7 |
| Sep | 75 | 52 | 3.6 | 5 |
| Oct | 64 | 41 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Nov | 50 | 31 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Dec | 39 | 23 | 3.2 | 7 |
| Year | 60 | 40 | 44.2 | 84 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Centerburg 2 SE, OH (1,205 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 Johnstown
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 108 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Johnstown: 91 thunderstorm wind reports, 12 floods, 3 flash floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 2 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $772,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on August 4, 2010.
August 4, 2010: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Johnstown — 2 killed, 4 injured, $110,000 damage.
NWS: “A microburst hit an egg facility causing the collapse of three large barns and damaging another. This resulted in the fatalities of two men working in one of the collapsed structures.”
June 14, 2022: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Johnstown — $100,000 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
Licking County, which includes Johnstown, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 severe storms, 3 floods, 3 tornadoes, 2 biological emergencies). 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 Licking County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hail, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $47.7 million a year, the 12th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $32.8 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 Johnstown
- Alexandria, OH5 mi
- New Albany, OH10 mi
- Granville, OH10 mi
- Centerburg, OH11 mi
- Pataskala, OH11 mi
- Galena, OH12 mi
- Sunbury, OH12 mi
- Blacklick, OH13 mi
- Westerville, OH13 mi
- Gahanna, OH13 mi
- Utica, OH14 mi
- Newark, OH15 mi
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