NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Painesville, 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 Painesville, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 35 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 35
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Painesville
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Painesville; the strongest was Connie in 1955, a tropical storm with 48 mph winds when its centre passed 66 miles away. The record near Painesville begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 64 miles away. Of the 6 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Painesville has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 64% of the 605 Ohio cities on this site. The highest rating among the 35 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 31, 1985, came within 23 miles. Of the 35, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 15 have come since 2000. August has had the most tornadoes, 12. The most recent tornado was on August 12, 2025. Of the 605 Ohio cities, 89% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Painesville. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 81 times since 1980, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Painesville has more hail reports within 10 miles than 56% of the 605 Ohio cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Painesville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 31 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 6 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 14 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 10 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 Painesville: 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 Painesville
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s5
- 2000s1
- 1990s5
- 1980s3(1 EF3+)
- 1970s3
- 1960s6(1 EF3+)
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1985 | F3 | 23 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 30 |
| Sep 29, 1966 | F3 | 21 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Aug 24, 2023 | EF2 | 17 mi | 0.69 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 24, 2023 | EF2 | 24 mi | 1.52 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 1995 | F2 | 19 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 1985 | F2 | 10 mi | 33.4 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 4, 1969 | F2 | 5 mi | 7.2 mi | 0 / 40 |
| Jul 24, 1967 | F2 | 17 mi | 16.4 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 19, 1963 | F2 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 6, 1959 | F2 | 24 mi | 10.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 8, 1956 | F2 | 17 mi | 23.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 6, 2024 | EF1 | 12 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 35, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Painesville
The Storm Prediction Center has 81 hail reports within 10 miles of Painesville since 1980, made on 56 separate days. Of these, 28 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 7 days, most recently August 1, 2011. The most recent report is from February 27, 2024. May has the most reports, 30.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Painesville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Painesville 4 NW, OH, 4 miles northwest of Painesville 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%). Thompson, 10 miles east, has its own station (Chardon, OH): 50.7 inches a year, 10.4 more than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 82°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Fairport, OH, 4 miles northwest, 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 Painesville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 187 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Painesville: 168 thunderstorm wind reports, 9 flash floods, 9 floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $7.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on August 6, 2024. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 201 have had fewer than Painesville.
November 15, 2020: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Painesville — 2 injured.
May 31, 2010: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Painesville — $4.5 million damage.
October 4, 2000: thunderstorm wind in Painesville — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “A 77 mph thunderstorm wind gust was measured at the Fairport Harbor Light House. Dozens of trees were downed across the county by thunderstorm winds.”
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 Painesville's ZIP code 44077 have filed 240 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $5.9 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2006, with 98. 6% 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, 302 have fewer than Painesville.
Lake County, which includes Painesville, 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 Painesville
- Mentor, OH5 mi
- Perry, OH6 mi
- Thompson, OH10 mi
- Chardon, OH10 mi
- Willoughby, OH10 mi
- Madison, OH11 mi
- Willowick, OH11 mi
- Chesterland, OH14 mi
- Wickliffe, OH14 mi
- Gates Mills, OH15 mi
- Geneva, OH16 mi
- Euclid, OH17 mi
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