NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Oak Hill, 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 Oak Hill, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 34 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 34
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
13 deaths in all
What the records show for Oak Hill
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Oak Hill; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 2 miles away. The record near Oak Hill begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 34 miles away. None of the 6 systems has come since 2000. Oak Hill has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 64% of the 605 Ohio cities on this site. The strongest of the 34 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 23, 1968; its path came within 9 miles, and it killed 7 people. Of the 34, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 16 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 13. The most recent tornado was on May 26, 2024. Of the 605 Ohio cities, 90% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Oak Hill. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 33 times since 1991, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 605 Ohio cities, 91% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Oak Hill.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Oak Hill
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Oak Hill: 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 Oak Hill
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s5
- 2000s5
- 1990s9
- 1980s3
- 1960s5(4 EF3+)
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 1968 | F5 | 9 mi | 34 mi | 7 / 93 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F4 | 18 mi | 78.7 mi | 6 / 364 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F3 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 8, 1965 | F3 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF2 | 16 mi | 1.87 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2002 | F2 | 13 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 15, 2000 | F2 | 13 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F2 | 11 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 7, 1956 | F2 | 24 mi | 1.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 2024 | EF1 | 11 mi | 3.77 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 19 mi | 0.44 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 20 mi | 1.09 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 34, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Oak Hill
The Storm Prediction Center has 33 hail reports within 10 miles of Oak Hill since 1991, made on 25 separate days. Of these, 21 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on April 8, 2020. The most recent report is from August 7, 2023. May has the most reports, 10.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Oak Hill
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Waterloo, OH, 14 miles southeast of Oak Hill at 625 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 41°F and 20°F. July is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and November the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 45.9 inches over 90 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 27 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 132 nights a year. Snowfall averages 13.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 45.9 inches is more than at 115 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (89%). Jackson, 11 miles north, has its own station (Jackson 3 NW, OH): 45.2 inches a year, 0.7 less than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 20 | 3.3 | 7 | 5.0 |
| Feb | 45 | 22 | 3.2 | 8 | 3.9 |
| Mar | 54 | 29 | 4.2 | 9 | 2.2 |
| Apr | 67 | 38 | 3.7 | 8 | 0.1 |
| May | 75 | 49 | 4.5 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 58 | 4.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 62 | 5.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 60 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 52 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 68 | 40 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 55 | 30 | 2.9 | 7 | 0.4 |
| Dec | 46 | 25 | 3.7 | 8 | 2.0 |
| Year | 65 | 40 | 45.9 | 90 | 13.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Waterloo, OH (625 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 Oak Hill
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 101 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Oak Hill: 61 thunderstorm wind reports, 24 floods, 14 flash floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $13.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on June 21, 2011. May has had the most flash floods, 7 of 14. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 319 have had fewer than Oak Hill.
February 13, 2020: flood 9 miles from the centre of Oak Hill — 1 killed, $5,000 damage.
May 17, 2019: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Oak Hill — 1 injured, $5,000 damage.
May 10, 2011: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Oak Hill — $8.0 million damage.
NWS: “Flashing flooding was common in the county. Numerous water rescues occurred both from homes and vehicles.”
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 Oak Hill's ZIP code 45656 have filed 15 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1998, and were paid $276,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 13% 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, 61 have fewer than Oak Hill.
Jackson County, which includes Oak Hill, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Jackson County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $8.1 million a year, the 81st highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.9 million (73%), 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 Oak Hill
- Jackson, OH11 mi
- Patriot, OH12 mi
- Minford, OH14 mi
- Pedro, OH14 mi
- Vinton, OH14 mi
- Wheelersburg, OH16 mi
- Bidwell, OH16 mi
- Wellston, OH17 mi
- Beaver, OH17 mi
- Gallipolis, OH20 mi
- Franklin Furnace, OH20 mi
- Portsmouth, OH21 mi
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