NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Norwalk, 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 Norwalk, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 97 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 97
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
47 deaths in all
What the records show for Norwalk
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Norwalk; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 56 mph winds when its centre passed 39 miles away. The record near Norwalk begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 46 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 Norwalk. The highest rating among the 97 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 11, 1965, came within 18 miles. Of the 97, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 41 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 25. The most recent tornado was on August 13, 2025. Norwalk has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 80% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 87 times since 1974, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Norwalk has more hail reports within 10 miles than 61% of the 605 Ohio cities.
Compare Norwalk's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Norwalk
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 6 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Norwalk: 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 Norwalk
By decade
- 2020s18
- 2010s15
- 2000s8(1 EF3+)
- 1990s13
- 1980s9
- 1970s24(1 EF3+)
- 1960s4(2 EF3+)
- 1950s6(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 18 mi | 22 mi | 18 / 200 |
| Jun 8, 1953 | F4 | 10 mi | 118 mi | 17 / 379 |
| May 10, 1973 | F3 | 12 mi | 50.1 mi | 6 / 100 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F3 | 15 mi | 15 mi | 4 / 30 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F3 | 16 mi | 21 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Mar 10, 1986 | F2 | 5 mi | 8 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Mar 14, 2024 | EF2 | 19 mi | 10.29 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 2023 | EF2 | 5 mi | 8.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 14, 2019 | EF2 | 21 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Nov 5, 2017 | EF2 | 19 mi | 0.61 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 2000 | F2 | 4 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 13, 1992 | F2 | 24 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 97, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Norwalk
The Storm Prediction Center has 87 hail reports within 10 miles of Norwalk since 1974, made on 55 separate days. Of these, 35 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 8 days, most recently May 25, 2011. The most recent report is from May 2, 2025. June has the most reports, 26.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Norwalk
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Norwalk Wwtp, OH, 2 miles north of Norwalk at 670 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 19°F. June is the wettest at 4.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.3 inches; the year adds up to 40.1 inches over 85 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 15 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 123 nights a year. Snowfall averages 32.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 40.1 inches is more than at 36 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (28%). Wakeman, 11 miles east, has its own station (Oberlin, OH): 40.1 inches a year, the same as here, and the same July average high, 83°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Marblehead, OH, 22 miles north, averaged 77°F in July and 33°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 19 | 2.7 | 7 | 9.7 | 33 |
| Feb | 36 | 20 | 2.3 | 6 | 8.2 | 33 |
| Mar | 46 | 28 | 2.9 | 7 | 5.1 | 39 |
| Apr | 59 | 38 | 4.0 | 9 | 1.6 | 49 |
| May | 70 | 50 | 3.9 | 9 | 0.0 | 59 |
| Jun | 79 | 60 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.0 | 70 |
| Jul | 83 | 64 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 | 77 |
| Aug | 81 | 62 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 | 76 |
| Sep | 76 | 55 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 | 72 |
| Oct | 63 | 43 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.0 | 61 |
| Nov | 50 | 34 | 2.8 | 7 | 1.5 | 49 |
| Dec | 39 | 25 | 2.6 | 7 | 6.6 | 38 |
| Year | 60 | 41 | 40.1 | 85 | 32.7 | 55 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Norwalk Wwtp, OH (670 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Marblehead, 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 Norwalk
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 189 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Norwalk: 166 thunderstorm wind reports, 13 floods, 9 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 2 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $6.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 113 mph, on November 10, 1998. June has had the most flash floods, 4 of 9. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 201 have had fewer than Norwalk.
June 26, 2008: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Norwalk — 1 killed, 1 injured.
February 28, 2011: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Norwalk — 1 killed.
July 21, 1998: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Norwalk — 1 injured, $150,000 damage.
NWS: “Numerous trees were downed, particularly in the Norwalk area, where a 58 year old man was taken to the hospital after being seriously injured when a tree fell on his car. In Peru Township, a medium size barn was picked up and dropped on its top and three hay wagons were tossed around by the wind.”
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 Norwalk's ZIP code 44857 have filed 33 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1981, and were paid $460,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 27% 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, 158 have fewer than Norwalk.
Huron County, which includes Norwalk, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Huron County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $16.6 million a year, the 52nd highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $9.4 million (56%), 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.