NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lebanon, 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 Lebanon, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 117 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 117
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
51 deaths in all
What the records show for Lebanon
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Lebanon; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 1 mile away. The record near Lebanon begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 62 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 Lebanon. The strongest of the 117 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 16 miles, and it killed 36 people. Of the 117, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 66 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 34. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Lebanon has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 94% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 125 times since 1974, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Lebanon has more hail reports within 10 miles than 80% of the 605 Ohio cities.
Compare Lebanon's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Lebanon
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 73 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 Lebanon: 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 Lebanon
By decade
- 2020s31
- 2010s16(2 EF3+)
- 2000s19(1 EF3+)
- 1990s14(2 EF3+)
- 1980s7
- 1970s15(2 EF3+)
- 1960s10(4 EF3+)
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 16 mi | 31.3 mi | 36 / 1150 |
| Apr 9, 1999 | F4 | 10 mi | 10 mi | 4 / 65 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 3 mi | 19.8 mi | 2 / 39 |
| Sep 20, 2000 | F4 | 19 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 100 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F4 | 19 mi | 24.1 mi | 1 / 33 |
| May 27, 2019 | EF4 | 23 mi | 18.17 mi | 0 / 166 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F4 | 9 mi | 33 mi | 0 / 37 |
| Aug 9, 1969 | F3 | 19 mi | 22.2 mi | 4 / 247 |
| May 27, 2019 | EF3 | 24 mi | 9.92 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1969 | F3 | 2 mi | 54.5 mi | 0 / 25 |
| May 8, 1969 | F3 | 17 mi | 1.9 mi | 0 / 25 |
| Apr 25, 1961 | F2 | 15 mi | 25 mi | 2 / 4 |
The strongest 12 of 117, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lebanon
The Storm Prediction Center has 125 hail reports within 10 miles of Lebanon since 1974, made on 78 separate days. Of these, 54 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on June 30, 1990. The most recent report is from June 28, 2025. April has the most reports, 34.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lebanon
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Franklin, OH, 9 miles northwest of Lebanon at 679 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 20°F. April is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.5 inches; the year adds up to 42.4 inches over 78 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 22 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 120 nights a year. That 42.4 inches is more than at 76 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (59%). Springboro, 8 miles north, has its own station (Dayton Wright Bros Airport, OH): 40.9 inches a year, 1.5 less than here, and the same July average high, 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 20 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Feb | 42 | 22 | 2.5 | 5 |
| Mar | 52 | 30 | 3.5 | 7 |
| Apr | 65 | 39 | 4.6 | 8 |
| May | 74 | 51 | 4.4 | 9 |
| Jun | 82 | 60 | 4.5 | 8 |
| Jul | 86 | 64 | 4.3 | 7 |
| Aug | 85 | 61 | 2.9 | 5 |
| Sep | 79 | 53 | 2.9 | 5 |
| Oct | 67 | 41 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Nov | 53 | 32 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Dec | 43 | 26 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Year | 64 | 42 | 42.4 | 78 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Franklin, OH (679 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 Lebanon
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 381 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lebanon: 265 thunderstorm wind reports, 64 floods, 44 flash floods, 7 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 3 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $6.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on September 27, 2003. July has had the most flash floods, 15 of 44. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 569 have had fewer than Lebanon.
March 4, 2015: flood 6 miles from the centre of Lebanon — 1 killed, $5,000 damage.
January 1, 2016: heavy rain event 8 miles from the centre of Lebanon — 1 killed.
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 Lebanon's ZIP code 45036 have filed 26 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1982, and were paid $489,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 318 Ohio cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 132 have fewer than Lebanon.
Warren County, which includes Lebanon, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 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 Warren County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for hail and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $61.8 million a year, the 11th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $38.7 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.