NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lexington, 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 Lexington, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 83 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 83
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
14 deaths in all
What the records show for Lexington
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Lexington; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 55 mph winds when its centre passed 53 miles away. The record near Lexington begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 19 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 Lexington. The highest rating among the 83 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on June 13, 1981, came within 17 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on May 10, 1973, killed 6 people. Of the 83, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 25 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 26. The most recent tornado was on April 17, 2024. Lexington has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 62% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 115 times since 1961, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Lexington has more hail reports within 10 miles than 76% of the 605 Ohio cities.
Compare Lexington's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Lexington
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 6 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Lexington: 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 Lexington
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s8
- 2000s9
- 1990s13
- 1980s15(1 EF3+)
- 1970s25(1 EF3+)
- 1960s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 1973 | F3 | 25 mi | 50.1 mi | 6 / 100 |
| Jun 13, 1981 | F3 | 17 mi | 3.8 mi | 4 / 56 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F2 | 19 mi | 22.2 mi | 4 / 62 |
| Mar 14, 2024 | EF2 | 20 mi | 10.29 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 14, 2019 | EF2 | 13 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Nov 5, 2017 | EF2 | 11 mi | 1.09 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 4, 2017 | EF2 | 9 mi | 16.67 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 23, 2000 | F2 | 17 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 1990 | F2 | 4 mi | 22 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 15, 1989 | F2 | 4 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 28, 1985 | F2 | in town | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 2, 1983 | F2 | 24 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 83, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lexington
The Storm Prediction Center has 115 hail reports within 10 miles of Lexington since 1961, made on 79 separate days. Of these, 40 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on August 16, 1961. The most recent report is from April 2, 2025. June has the most reports, 37.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lexington
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mansfield 5 W, OH, 6 miles north of Lexington at 1,350 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. May is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.4 inches; the year adds up to 42.7 inches over 85 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 8 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 135 nights a year. That 42.7 inches is more than at 82 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (64%). Mansfield, 7 miles northeast, has its own station (Mansfield Lahm Municipal Airport, OH): 42.6 inches a year, the same as here, and the same July average high, 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 17 | 3.2 | 7 |
| Feb | 38 | 19 | 2.4 | 5 |
| Mar | 48 | 28 | 3.4 | 7 |
| Apr | 62 | 38 | 3.9 | 8 |
| May | 72 | 49 | 4.7 | 9 |
| Jun | 80 | 58 | 4.3 | 8 |
| Jul | 83 | 61 | 4.0 | 8 |
| Aug | 82 | 60 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Sep | 76 | 53 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Oct | 63 | 42 | 3.5 | 7 |
| Nov | 50 | 32 | 3.3 | 7 |
| Dec | 39 | 23 | 3.1 | 7 |
| Year | 61 | 40 | 42.7 | 85 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Mansfield 5 W, OH (1,350 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 Lexington
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 195 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lexington: 183 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 flash floods and 4 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $7.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on April 1, 2023. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 173 have had fewer than Lexington.
April 29, 2014: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Lexington — 1 injured, $50,000 damage.
June 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Lexington — $1.4 million damage.
June 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Lexington — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “An intense line of thunderstorms or Derecho moved across southern Richland County during the afternoon of June 29th causing extensive damage. Winds were estimated to be as much as 65 mph.”
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
Richland County, which includes Lexington, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 4 snowstorms, 3 tornadoes, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Tornadoes, on May 2, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Richland County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $22.3 million a year, the 33rd highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $14.0 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.