NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Madison, 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
6 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Madison, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 29 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 29
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Madison
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Madison; the strongest was Connie in 1955, a tropical storm with 48 mph winds when its centre passed 56 miles away. The record near Madison begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 62 miles away. Of the 6 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Madison has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 64% of the 605 Ohio cities on this site. The strongest of the 29 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on May 31, 1985; its path came within 24 miles. Of the 29, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 12 have come since 2000. August has had the most tornadoes, 8. The most recent tornado was on August 12, 2025. Of the 605 Ohio cities, 93% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Madison. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 35 times since 1991, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 605 Ohio cities, 89% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Madison.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Madison
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 31 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 6 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 14 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Madison: 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 Madison
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s5
- 2000s1
- 1990s3
- 1980s6(1 EF3+)
- 1970s3
- 1960s4
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1985 | F3 | 24 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 30 |
| Aug 24, 2023 | EF2 | 22 mi | 0.69 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 1995 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 1985 | F2 | 8 mi | 33.4 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 31, 1985 | F2 | 19 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Jul 4, 1969 | F2 | 5 mi | 7.2 mi | 0 / 40 |
| Jul 24, 1967 | F2 | 14 mi | 16.4 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 19, 1963 | F2 | 3 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 8, 1956 | F2 | 15 mi | 23.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 6, 2024 | EF1 | 22 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 24, 2023 | EF1 | 17 mi | 1.18 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 24, 2023 | EF1 | 16 mi | 3.27 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 29, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Madison
The Storm Prediction Center has 35 hail reports within 10 miles of Madison since 1991, made on 27 separate days. Of these, 12 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 28, 1995. The most recent report is from March 31, 2023. May has the most reports, 11.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Madison
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Painesville 4 NW, OH, 13 miles west of Madison at 600 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 24°F. July is the wettest at 4.1 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 40.3 inches over 86 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 5 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 100 nights a year. That 40.3 inches is more than at 42 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (33%). Geneva, 6 miles east, has its own station (Ashtabula Co Airport, OH): 37.3 inches a year, 3.0 less than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 82°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Fairport, OH, 12 miles west, averaged 76°F in July and 35°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 24 | 3.1 | 8 | 35 |
| Feb | 39 | 24 | 2.2 | 6 | 35 |
| Mar | 46 | 30 | 2.8 | 7 | 42 |
| Apr | 58 | 40 | 3.5 | 8 | 52 |
| May | 69 | 51 | 3.4 | 7 | 59 |
| Jun | 78 | 62 | 3.6 | 7 | 69 |
| Jul | 82 | 67 | 4.1 | 7 | 76 |
| Aug | 82 | 66 | 3.4 | 6 | 76 |
| Sep | 76 | 59 | 3.9 | 6 | 71 |
| Oct | 65 | 49 | 4.0 | 9 | 61 |
| Nov | 53 | 39 | 3.2 | 7 | 47 |
| Dec | 42 | 30 | 3.1 | 8 | 37 |
| Year | 61 | 45 | 40.3 | 86 | 55 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Painesville 4 NW, OH (600 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Fairport, OH, from NOAA Tides & Currents. 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 Madison
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 63 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Madison: 55 thunderstorm wind reports and 8 flash floods. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $9.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on May 9, 2026. May has had the most flash floods, 4 of 8. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 173 have had fewer than Madison.
June 18, 2024: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Madison — 3 injured, $50,000 damage.
NWS: “Large tree downed onto ranch house, caused significant structural damage, and injured three occupants along the 1300 block of Erieview Drive in North Madison.”
July 20, 2013: flash flood 3 miles from the centre of Madison — $7.0 million damage.
NWS: “During the early morning hours of the 20th, specifically between 230 am and 530 am, torrential rain fell over extreme northeast Cuyahoga County and most of Lake County.”
August 4, 2003: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Madison — $750,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorms dumped heavy rains on portions of Wood County. 38 inches of rain was measured in Bowling Green with just over 3 inches in Cygnet.”
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 Madison's ZIP code 44057 have filed 30 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $329,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 23% 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, 146 have fewer than Madison.
Lake County, which includes Madison, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lake County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $41.9 million a year, the 17th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $30.9 million (74%), 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 Madison
- Perry, OH5 mi
- Geneva, OH6 mi
- Thompson, OH9 mi
- Painesville, OH11 mi
- Rock Creek, OH14 mi
- Ashtabula, OH15 mi
- Mentor, OH16 mi
- Jefferson, OH17 mi
- Chardon, OH17 mi
- Rome, OH17 mi
- Windsor, OH19 mi
- Willoughby, OH21 mi
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