NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Philo, 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 Philo, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 48 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 48
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Philo
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Philo; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 48 miles away. The record near Philo begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 37 miles away. None of the 6 systems has come since 2000. Philo has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 64% of the 605 Ohio cities on this site. The strongest of the 48 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on May 10, 1973; its path came within 22 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on March 10, 1986, killed 1 person. Of the 48, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 21 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 17. The most recent tornado was on June 5, 2024. Of the 605 Ohio cities, 83% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Philo. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 70 times since 1980, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 605 Ohio cities, 49% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Philo.
Compare Philo's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Philo
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 48 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 Philo: 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 Philo
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s8
- 2000s2
- 1990s4
- 1980s7
- 1970s7(1 EF3+)
- 1960s5
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 1973 | F3 | 22 mi | 89.6 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Mar 10, 1986 | F2 | 10 mi | 5 mi | 1 / 3 |
| Jun 5, 2024 | EF2 | 21 mi | 1.25 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Sep 16, 2010 | EF2 | 19 mi | 6.99 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 13, 1981 | F2 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 13, 1981 | F2 | 16 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1978 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Aug 14, 1973 | F2 | 11 mi | 12.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 1968 | F2 | 13 mi | 8.5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Nov 16, 1965 | F2 | 14 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jul 22, 1958 | F2 | 20 mi | 12.6 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 22, 1958 | F2 | 23 mi | 8.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 48, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Philo
The Storm Prediction Center has 70 hail reports within 10 miles of Philo since 1980, made on 45 separate days. Of these, 38 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on April 28, 2002. The most recent report is from May 5, 2025. May and June have the most reports, 20 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Philo
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Philo 3 SW, OH, in Philo at 1,020 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 23°F. June is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.1 inches; the year adds up to 39.6 inches over 78 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 6 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 123 nights a year. That 39.6 inches is more than at 32 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (25%). Zanesville, 8 miles northwest, has its own station (Zanesville Municipal Airport, OH): 38.5 inches a year, 1.1 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 23 | 2.7 | 6 |
| Feb | 42 | 26 | 2.1 | 5 |
| Mar | 52 | 33 | 3.2 | 7 |
| Apr | 66 | 43 | 3.8 | 8 |
| May | 74 | 53 | 4.1 | 7 |
| Jun | 80 | 60 | 4.5 | 8 |
| Jul | 84 | 64 | 4.2 | 7 |
| Aug | 83 | 63 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Sep | 77 | 56 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Oct | 66 | 46 | 2.9 | 6 |
| Nov | 53 | 36 | 2.7 | 6 |
| Dec | 43 | 28 | 2.7 | 6 |
| Year | 63 | 44 | 39.6 | 78 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Philo 3 SW, OH (1,020 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 Philo
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 194 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Philo: 152 thunderstorm wind reports, 22 floods, 18 flash floods, 1 heavy rain event and 1 lightning strike. They killed 2 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $3.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 14, 2022. June has had the most flash floods, 6 of 18. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 393 have had fewer than Philo.
June 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Philo — 1 killed, 1 injured, $40,000 damage.
July 3, 2012: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Philo — 1 killed.
June 14, 2024: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Philo — 1 injured.
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
Muskingum County, which includes Philo, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, and Landslides, on October 2, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Muskingum County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $29.4 million a year, the 24th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $23.6 million (80%), 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.