NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ripley, 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 Ripley, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 82 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 82
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
11 deaths in all
What the records show for Ripley
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Ripley; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 22 miles away. The record near Ripley begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 23 miles away. None of the 5 systems has come since 2000. Ripley has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 46% of the 605 Ohio cities on this site. The strongest of the 82 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 23, 1968; its path passed within a mile of the city centre, and it killed 6 people. Of the 82, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 40 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 21. The most recent tornado was on September 22, 2025. Ripley has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 60% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 41 times since 1968, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 605 Ohio cities, 84% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Ripley.
Compare Ripley's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Ripley
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 22 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 Ripley: 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 Ripley
By decade
- 2020s14
- 2010s17(1 EF3+)
- 2000s9(1 EF3+)
- 1990s9(1 EF3+)
- 1980s8
- 1970s13(2 EF3+)
- 1960s10(2 EF3+)
- 1950s2(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 1968 | F4 | in town | 78.7 mi | 6 / 364 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 13 mi | 20.41 mi | 3 / 13 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 12 mi | 15.5 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 10, 2003 | F3 | 11 mi | 25 mi | 0 / 17 |
| Jul 2, 1997 | F3 | 15 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 25 mi | 19.3 mi | 0 / 27 |
| May 7, 1967 | F3 | 13 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 10, 1959 | F3 | 23 mi | 10.5 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF2 | 16 mi | 11.07 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F2 | 21 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 10, 1986 | F2 | in town | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1982 | F2 | 21 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 82, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Ripley
The Storm Prediction Center has 41 hail reports within 10 miles of Ripley since 1968, made on 33 separate days. Of these, 17 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on April 23, 1968. The most recent report is from August 21, 2022. April has the most reports, 12.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Ripley
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ripley Exp Farm, OH, 2 miles north of Ripley at 880 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 17°F. May is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 47.9 inches over 88 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 20 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 127 nights a year. Snowfall averages 17.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 47.9 inches is more than at 123 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (95%). Maysville, KY, 10 miles south, has its own station (Maysville Wwtp, KY): 48.4 inches a year, 0.5 more 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 | 17 | 3.4 | 7 | 6.5 |
| Feb | 44 | 20 | 3.2 | 6 | 5.2 |
| Mar | 53 | 27 | 4.1 | 8 | 2.7 |
| Apr | 66 | 37 | 4.5 | 10 | 0.0 |
| May | 75 | 48 | 5.3 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 57 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 60 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 58 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 50 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 67 | 39 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 54 | 30 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.6 |
| Dec | 44 | 21 | 3.9 | 7 | 2.1 |
| Year | 65 | 39 | 47.9 | 88 | 17.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ripley Exp Farm, OH (880 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 Ripley
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 206 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Ripley: 147 thunderstorm wind reports, 31 flash floods and 28 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $2.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on February 6, 2008. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 523 have had fewer than Ripley.
July 22, 2017: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Ripley — $750,000 damage.
July 22, 2017: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Ripley — $250,000 damage.
NWS: “Four to five inches of rain produced widespread flash flooding across southeastern Brown County. Damage to several roads was reported throughout Huntington Township and a bridge at Stringtown and Flaugher Hill Roads sustained damage.”
July 14, 2000: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Ripley — $150,000 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 Ripley's ZIP code 45167 have filed 102 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 66 claims (65% of all) and $1.1 million, then Not a named storm in 1979 with 13. 78% 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, 268 have fewer than Ripley.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 66 | $1.1 million |
| Not a named storm1979 | 13 | $16,000 |
Brown County, which includes Ripley, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 5 floods, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Brown County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $17.7 million a year, the 50th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $12.5 million (71%), 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 Ripley
- Georgetown, OH9 mi
- Maysville, KY10 mi
- Augusta, KY10 mi
- Manchester, OH11 mi
- Winchester, OH14 mi
- West Union, OH14 mi
- Hamersville, OH15 mi
- Sardinia, OH15 mi
- Felicity, OH16 mi
- Brooksville, KY17 mi
- Seaman, OH18 mi
- Bethel, OH20 mi
All Ohio cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Ripley with another place →