NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Polk, 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
5 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Polk, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 102 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 102
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
24 deaths in all
What the records show for Polk
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Polk; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 56 mph winds when its centre passed 67 miles away. The record near Polk begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 15 miles away. None of the 5 systems has come since 2000. Polk has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 46% of the 605 Ohio cities on this site. The strongest of the 102 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 11, 1965; its path came within 23 miles, and it killed 18 people. Of the 102, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 40 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 24. The most recent tornado was on August 13, 2025. Polk has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 85% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 109 times since 1965, with stones up to 2.25 inches. Polk has more hail reports within 10 miles than 73% of the 605 Ohio cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Polk
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 6 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Polk: 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 Polk
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s12
- 2000s13
- 1990s23(1 EF3+)
- 1980s8
- 1970s23(1 EF3+)
- 1960s6(1 EF3+)
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 23 mi | 22 mi | 18 / 200 |
| May 10, 1973 | F3 | 18 mi | 50.1 mi | 6 / 100 |
| Jul 12, 1992 | F3 | 24 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Mar 14, 2024 | EF2 | 24 mi | 10.29 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 14, 2019 | EF2 | 13 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Sep 4, 2017 | EF2 | 20 mi | 16.67 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 16, 2010 | EF2 | 15 mi | 11.47 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 12, 2003 | F2 | 15 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F2 | 6 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F2 | 3 mi | 9.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 2001 | F2 | 16 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1992 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 102, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Polk
The Storm Prediction Center has 109 hail reports within 10 miles of Polk since 1965, made on 73 separate days. Of these, 56 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.25 inches, fell on June 15, 2023. The most recent report is from June 18, 2025. May has the most reports, 32.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Polk
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Wooster Wayne Co Airport, OH, 16 miles east of Polk at 1,137 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 18°F. June is the wettest at 4.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.9 inches; the year adds up to 36.8 inches over 80 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 7 days a year, almost all from June to July. Lows fall below freezing on about 129 nights a year. That 36.8 inches is more than at 13 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (10%). West Salem, 5 miles northeast, has its own station (Chippewa Lake, OH): 40.6 inches a year, 3.8 more than here, and the same July average high, 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 18 | 2.4 | 5 |
| Feb | 37 | 20 | 1.9 | 5 |
| Mar | 47 | 28 | 2.8 | 7 |
| Apr | 60 | 38 | 3.6 | 8 |
| May | 71 | 48 | 3.8 | 9 |
| Jun | 79 | 57 | 4.0 | 8 |
| Jul | 82 | 61 | 3.7 | 7 |
| Aug | 80 | 58 | 3.5 | 7 |
| Sep | 74 | 50 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Oct | 63 | 41 | 2.9 | 7 |
| Nov | 49 | 32 | 2.6 | 6 |
| Dec | 38 | 24 | 2.4 | 6 |
| Year | 60 | 40 | 36.8 | 80 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Wooster Wayne Co Airport, OH (1,137 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 Polk
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 166 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Polk: 147 thunderstorm wind reports, 12 flash floods and 7 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $10.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 79 mph, on June 28, 1998. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 288 have had fewer than Polk.
July 9, 1999: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Polk — 1 injured, $70,000 damage.
July 25, 2005: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Polk — 1 injured, $30,000 damage.
NWS: “Severe thunderstorm winds downed a few trees, numerous large tree limbs and some power lines across the area. One person was injured by falling debris.”
August 21, 2007: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Polk — $3.8 million 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
Ashland County, which includes Polk, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Ashland County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $14.7 million a year, the 56th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $9.1 million (62%), 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 Polk
- West Salem, OH5 mi
- Ashland, OH7 mi
- Jeromesville, OH7 mi
- Sullivan, OH9 mi
- Burbank, OH11 mi
- Lodi, OH13 mi
- Wooster, OH14 mi
- Spencer, OH14 mi
- Creston, OH16 mi
- Wellington, OH17 mi
- New London, OH17 mi
- Shreve, OH17 mi
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