NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Plain City, 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 Plain City, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 84 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 84
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
41 deaths in all
What the records show for Plain City
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Plain City; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 54 mph winds when its centre passed 32 miles away. The record near Plain City begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 35 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 Plain City. The strongest of the 84 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 22 miles, and it killed 36 people. Of the 84, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 40 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 15. The most recent tornado was on March 30, 2025. Plain City has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 63% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 69 times since 1961, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 605 Ohio cities, 51% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Plain City.
Compare Plain City's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Plain City
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Plain City: 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 Plain City
By decade
- 2020s18
- 2010s14
- 2000s8(1 EF3+)
- 1990s6
- 1980s8
- 1970s16(3 EF3+)
- 1960s9
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 22 mi | 31.3 mi | 36 / 1150 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F3 | 23 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 10, 1973 | F3 | in town | 89.6 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Feb 22, 1971 | F3 | 20 mi | 6.8 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F2 | 18 mi | 22.2 mi | 4 / 62 |
| Mar 10, 1986 | F2 | 25 mi | 28 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Mar 14, 2024 | EF2 | 13 mi | 19.48 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 28, 2024 | EF2 | 24 mi | 14.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 28, 2024 | EF2 | 13 mi | 21.11 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Oct 11, 2006 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 2000 | F2 | 23 mi | 21 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F2 | 22 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 84, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Plain City
The Storm Prediction Center has 69 hail reports within 10 miles of Plain City since 1961, made on 48 separate days. Of these, 38 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on August 10, 1984. The most recent report is from May 2, 2025. May has the most reports, 20.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Plain City
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Marysville, OH, 6 miles north of Plain City at 970 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 35°F and 21°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.3 inches; the year adds up to 40.6 inches over 81 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 18 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 114 nights a year. Snowfall averages 24.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 40.6 inches is more than at 45 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (35%). Dublin, 7 miles east, has its own station (Columbus Ohio State Univ Airport, OH): 35.8 inches a year, 4.8 less than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 35 | 21 | 2.7 | 6 | 7.0 |
| Feb | 39 | 23 | 2.3 | 6 | 6.6 |
| Mar | 50 | 31 | 3.0 | 7 | 4.1 |
| Apr | 63 | 41 | 3.9 | 8 | 0.1 |
| May | 74 | 52 | 4.5 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 61 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 64 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 62 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 55 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 65 | 44 | 2.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 51 | 34 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.7 |
| Dec | 40 | 26 | 2.9 | 7 | 5.5 |
| Year | 62 | 43 | 40.6 | 81 | 24.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Marysville, OH (970 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 Plain City
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 107 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Plain City: 91 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 flash floods, 6 floods, 3 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $3.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 98 mph, on January 5, 1997. July has had the most flash floods, 3 of 6. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 110 have had fewer than Plain City.
August 9, 2000: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Plain City — 5 injured, $50,000 damage.
January 5, 1997: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Plain City — 1 injured, $1.0 million damage.
July 8, 2003: flash flood 1 mile from the centre of Plain City — $2.0 million damage.
NWS: “Major flooding continued across the northern part of the county, with more snadbaggin in Rockford. Forty additional homes were evacuated in and around Rockford.”
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 Plain City's ZIP code 43064 have filed 15 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $127,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 318 Ohio cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 61 have fewer than Plain City.
Madison County, which includes Plain City, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 3 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 Madison County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.1 million a year, the 70th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.7 million (61%), 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 Plain City
- Dublin, OH7 mi
- Hilliard, OH9 mi
- Powell, OH10 mi
- West Jefferson, OH11 mi
- Marysville, OH12 mi
- Galloway, OH12 mi
- Ostrander, OH13 mi
- Worthington, OH13 mi
- Lewis Center, OH15 mi
- Columbus, OH16 mi
- Mechanicsburg, OH16 mi
- Delaware, OH17 mi
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