NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lewis Center, 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 Lewis Center, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 91 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 91
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
9 deaths in all
What the records show for Lewis Center
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Lewis Center; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 54 mph winds when its centre passed 44 miles away. The record near Lewis Center begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 24 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 Lewis Center. The highest rating among the 91 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on May 31, 1985, came within 15 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on June 13, 1981, killed 4 people. Of the 91, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 36 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 21. The most recent tornado was on March 30, 2025. Lewis Center has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 72% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 137 times since 1963, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Lewis Center has more hail reports within 10 miles than 84% of the 605 Ohio cities.
Compare Lewis Center's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Lewis Center
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 44 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 Lewis Center: 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 Lewis Center
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s15
- 2000s6
- 1990s9
- 1980s12(2 EF3+)
- 1970s16(2 EF3+)
- 1960s12
- 1950s6
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 13, 1981 | F3 | 23 mi | 3.8 mi | 4 / 56 |
| May 31, 1985 | F3 | 15 mi | 29 mi | 1 / 20 |
| May 10, 1973 | F3 | 8 mi | 89.6 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Feb 22, 1971 | F3 | 13 mi | 6.8 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F2 | 17 mi | 22.2 mi | 4 / 62 |
| Mar 14, 2024 | EF2 | 12 mi | 19.48 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 28, 2024 | EF2 | 14 mi | 14.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 11, 2006 | F2 | 12 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 2000 | F2 | 9 mi | 21 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Nov 15, 1989 | F2 | 18 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 8, 1979 | F2 | 25 mi | 1.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F2 | 10 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 91, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lewis Center
The Storm Prediction Center has 137 hail reports within 10 miles of Lewis Center since 1963, made on 86 separate days. Of these, 67 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on August 10, 1984. The most recent report is from March 30, 2025. June has the most reports, 30.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lewis Center
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Westerville, OH, 4 miles southeast of Lewis Center at 802 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 22°F. June is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.4 inches; the year adds up to 42.3 inches over 86 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 20 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 109 nights a year. Snowfall averages 19.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 42.3 inches is more than at 72 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (56%). Powell, 5 miles west, has its own station (Columbus Ohio State Univ Airport, OH): 35.8 inches a year, 6.5 less than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 22 | 2.9 | 7 | 6.9 |
| Feb | 42 | 24 | 2.4 | 6 | 5.3 |
| Mar | 53 | 32 | 3.4 | 7 | 2.8 |
| Apr | 66 | 42 | 3.9 | 8 | 0.1 |
| May | 76 | 52 | 4.2 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 61 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 65 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 63 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 56 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 67 | 45 | 3.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 53 | 35 | 2.9 | 7 | 0.5 |
| Dec | 42 | 27 | 3.1 | 7 | 3.4 |
| Year | 64 | 44 | 42.3 | 86 | 19.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Westerville, OH (802 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 Lewis Center
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 324 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lewis Center: 262 thunderstorm wind reports, 36 floods, 16 flash floods, 9 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $2.5 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, 5 of 16. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 353 have had fewer than Lewis Center.
June 29, 2025: lightning strike 7 miles from the centre of Lewis Center — 1 killed.
January 5, 1997: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Lewis Center — 1 injured, $1.0 million damage.
September 16, 2010: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Lewis Center — 1 injured, $40,000 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
Delaware County, which includes Lewis Center, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 3 snowstorms, 3 tornadoes, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Tornadoes, on May 2, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Delaware County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $69.4 million a year, the 9th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $49.3 million (71%), 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.