NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Middletown, 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 Middletown, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 108 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 108
- EF3 or stronger
- 13
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
53 deaths in all
What the records show for Middletown
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Middletown; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 10 miles away. The record near Middletown begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 71 miles away. Of the 605 Ohio cities on this site, 82% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Middletown. The highest rating among the 108 tornadoes within 25 miles is F5, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 3, 1974, came within 19 miles. Of the 108, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 53 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 32. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Middletown has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 90% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 83 times since 1968, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Middletown has more hail reports within 10 miles than 58% of the 605 Ohio cities.
Compare Middletown's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Middletown
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Middletown: 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 Middletown
By decade
- 2020s26
- 2010s17(2 EF3+)
- 2000s10(1 EF3+)
- 1990s12(2 EF3+)
- 1980s7
- 1970s20(4 EF3+)
- 1960s10(4 EF3+)
- 1950s6
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 19 mi | 31.3 mi | 36 / 1150 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 25 mi | 20.8 mi | 3 / 210 |
| Apr 9, 1999 | F4 | 17 mi | 10 mi | 4 / 65 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 7 mi | 19.8 mi | 2 / 39 |
| Sep 20, 2000 | F4 | 23 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 100 |
| May 27, 2019 | EF4 | 20 mi | 18.17 mi | 0 / 166 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F4 | 12 mi | 33 mi | 0 / 37 |
| Apr 25, 1961 | F4 | 21 mi | 63.1 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Aug 9, 1969 | F3 | 22 mi | 22.2 mi | 4 / 247 |
| May 27, 2019 | EF3 | 22 mi | 9.92 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 1, 1977 | F3 | 24 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 17 |
| May 10, 1969 | F3 | 5 mi | 54.5 mi | 0 / 25 |
The strongest 12 of 108, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Middletown
The Storm Prediction Center has 83 hail reports within 10 miles of Middletown since 1968, made on 53 separate days. Of these, 37 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on June 30, 1990. The most recent report is from May 16, 2025. April and May have the most reports, 21 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Middletown
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Franklin, OH, 4 miles northeast of Middletown 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%). Trenton, 6 miles southwest, has its own station (Hamilton Butler Co Regional Airport, OH): 41.5 inches a year, 0.9 less than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 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 Middletown
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 243 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Middletown: 187 thunderstorm wind reports, 25 floods, 23 flash floods, 7 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $2.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 4, 2008. June has had the most flash floods, 8 of 23. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 454 have had fewer than Middletown.
January 26, 2012: flood 7 miles from the centre of Middletown — 2 injured, $15,000 damage.
May 6, 1999: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Middletown — 1 injured, $13,000 damage.
October 31, 2013: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Middletown — 1 injured, $10,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Middletown's 3 ZIP codes have filed 71 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $917,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2020, with 10. 11% 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, 236 have fewer than Middletown.
Butler County, which includes Middletown, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 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 Butler County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $119.7 million a year, the 4th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $62.3 million (52%), 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 Middletown
- Monroe, OH5 mi
- Trenton, OH6 mi
- Germantown, OH8 mi
- Springboro, OH8 mi
- Lebanon, OH9 mi
- Miamisburg, OH10 mi
- West Chester, OH12 mi
- Mason, OH12 mi
- Farmersville, OH12 mi
- West Carrollton, OH12 mi
- Hamilton, OH13 mi
- South Lebanon, OH13 mi
All Ohio cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Middletown with another place →