NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Piketon, 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 Piketon, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 52 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 52
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
8 deaths in all
What the records show for Piketon
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Piketon; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 23 miles away. The record near Piketon begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 5 miles away. None of the 6 systems has come since 2000. Piketon has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 64% of the 605 Ohio cities on this site. The strongest of the 52 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 23, 1968; its path came within 13 miles, and it killed 6 people. Of the 52, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 24 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 14. The most recent tornado was on May 26, 2024. Of the 605 Ohio cities, 79% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Piketon. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 31 times since 1980, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 605 Ohio cities, 92% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Piketon.
Compare Piketon's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Piketon
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 23 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 Piketon: 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 Piketon
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s11
- 2000s7
- 1990s13(2 EF3+)
- 1980s3
- 1970s4(1 EF3+)
- 1960s6(3 EF3+)
- 1950s2(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 1968 | F4 | 13 mi | 78.7 mi | 6 / 364 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 18 mi | 15.5 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Oct 13, 1999 | F3 | 17 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jun 30, 1993 | F3 | 25 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F3 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 8, 1965 | F3 | 13 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 10, 1959 | F3 | 23 mi | 10.5 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF2 | 20 mi | 11.07 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF2 | 19 mi | 1.87 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 15, 2021 | EF2 | 24 mi | 0.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F2 | 19 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 8, 1965 | F2 | 7 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 9 |
The strongest 12 of 52, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Piketon
The Storm Prediction Center has 31 hail reports within 10 miles of Piketon since 1980, made on 22 separate days. Of these, 15 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on May 14, 2014. The most recent report is from April 19, 2025. May has the most reports, 13.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Piketon
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Waverly, OH, 6 miles northeast of Piketon at 572 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 22°F. May and June are the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and November the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 43.7 inches over 82 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 26 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 124 nights a year. Snowfall averages 11.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 43.7 inches is more than at 96 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (74%). Lucasville, 10 miles southeast, has its own station (Portsmouth-Sciotoville, OH): 43.2 inches a year, 0.5 less than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 22 | 3.2 | 7 | 5.0 |
| Feb | 44 | 24 | 3.1 | 7 | 3.5 |
| Mar | 54 | 31 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.9 |
| Apr | 66 | 41 | 4.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| May | 75 | 52 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 61 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 65 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 63 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 55 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 68 | 43 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 55 | 32 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Dec | 44 | 27 | 3.4 | 7 | 2.0 |
| Year | 65 | 43 | 43.7 | 82 | 11.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Waverly, OH (572 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 Piketon
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 153 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Piketon: 107 thunderstorm wind reports, 33 floods and 13 flash floods. They killed 1 person and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $913,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 105 mph, on July 11, 2009. May has had the most flash floods, 4 of 13. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 307 have had fewer than Piketon.
February 7, 2019: flood 5 miles from the centre of Piketon — 1 killed, $5,000 damage.
NWS: “The body of a man was found near his vehicle on Ohio Route 124, near the intersection of Ohio Route 772. The vehicle was found almost 700 feet inside signs placed in the roadway marking the road closed.”
July 11, 2009: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Piketon — 5 injured, $100,000 damage.
October 4, 2006: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Piketon — $100,000 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 Piketon's ZIP code 45661 have filed 24 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $256,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 38% 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, 122 have fewer than Piketon.
Pike County, which includes Piketon, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 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 Pike County a Relatively 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 $10.6 million a year, the 71st highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.0 million (76%), 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.