NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Rittman, 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 Rittman, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 87 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 87
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
18 deaths in all
What the records show for Rittman
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Rittman; the strongest was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm with 46 mph winds when its centre passed 2 miles away. The record near Rittman begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Opal in 1995. 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 Rittman. The strongest of the 87 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 11, 1965; its path came within 24 miles, and it killed 18 people. Of the 87, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 42 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 19. The most recent tornado was on July 28, 2025. Rittman has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 67% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 113 times since 1974, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Rittman has more hail reports within 10 miles than 75% of the 605 Ohio cities.
Compare Rittman's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Rittman
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 6 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 22 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Rittman: 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 Rittman
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s14
- 2000s15
- 1990s18(2 EF3+)
- 1980s6
- 1970s12(1 EF3+)
- 1960s7(1 EF3+)
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 24 mi | 22 mi | 18 / 200 |
| Jul 12, 1992 | F3 | 19 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1992 | F3 | 18 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 3, 1973 | F3 | 24 mi | 12.9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 16, 2010 | EF2 | 12 mi | 11.47 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 2006 | F2 | 24 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 12, 2003 | F2 | 14 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F2 | 12 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F2 | 19 mi | 9.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 28, 2002 | F2 | 16 mi | 7.2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 21, 2001 | F2 | 15 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 30, 1977 | F2 | 17 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 87, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Rittman
The Storm Prediction Center has 113 hail reports within 10 miles of Rittman since 1974, made on 66 separate days. Of these, 45 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 3 days, most recently June 10, 2011. The most recent report is from May 5, 2025. June has the most reports, 29.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Rittman
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Wooster Wayne Co Airport, OH, 9 miles southwest of Rittman 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%). Wadsworth, 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 Rittman
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 163 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Rittman: 144 thunderstorm wind reports, 17 flash floods and 2 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 9, and the NWS estimated $33.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 84 mph, on June 30, 1998. August has had the most flash floods, 7 of 17. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 374 have had fewer than Rittman.
July 7, 1996: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Rittman — 6 injured, $30,000 damage.
July 13, 2016: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Rittman — 3 injured.
July 10, 2013: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Rittman — $15.0 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Rittman's ZIP code 44270 have filed 54 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $468,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1979, with 22. 6% 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, 205 have fewer than Rittman.
Wayne County, which includes Rittman, has been named in 10 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 5 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 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 Wayne County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $22.2 million a year, the 35th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $12.9 million (58%), 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.