NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Rushville, 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 Rushville, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 58 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 58
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Rushville
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Rushville; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 55 miles away. The record near Rushville begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 15 miles away. None of the 5 systems has come since 2000. Rushville has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 46% of the 605 Ohio cities on this site. The strongest of the 58 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on May 10, 1973; its path came within 11 miles. Of the 58, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 33 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 13. The most recent tornado was on September 25, 2024. Of the 605 Ohio cities, 74% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Rushville. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 56 times since 1961, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 605 Ohio cities, 67% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Rushville.
Compare Rushville's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Rushville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 55 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 Rushville: 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 Rushville
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s19
- 2000s6
- 1990s1
- 1980s7
- 1970s5(1 EF3+)
- 1960s9
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 1973 | F3 | 11 mi | 89.6 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Feb 28, 2024 | EF2 | 21 mi | 14.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 2019 | EF2 | 21 mi | 5.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 20, 2011 | EF2 | 17 mi | 3.85 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 16, 2010 | EF2 | 2 mi | 6.99 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 13, 1981 | F2 | 9 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 16, 1971 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 27, 1965 | F2 | 18 mi | 5.9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 22, 1958 | F2 | 22 mi | 12.6 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 22, 1958 | F2 | 21 mi | 8.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 1958 | F2 | 23 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 27, 2019 | EF1 | 17 mi | 1.98 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 58, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Rushville
The Storm Prediction Center has 56 hail reports within 10 miles of Rushville since 1961, made on 45 separate days. Of these, 25 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 11, 1980. The most recent report is from May 5, 2025. June has the most reports, 16.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Rushville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is New Lexington 2 NW, OH, 11 miles east of Rushville at 877 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 18°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 44.4 inches over 94 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 10 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 139 nights a year. Snowfall averages 20.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 44.4 inches is more than at 103 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (80%). Bremen, 5 miles south, has its own station (Lancaster, OH): 40.3 inches a year, 4.1 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 18 | 3.4 | 8 | 8.6 |
| Feb | 41 | 20 | 2.7 | 7 | 5.3 |
| Mar | 51 | 27 | 3.8 | 9 | 2.8 |
| Apr | 64 | 36 | 4.4 | 9 | 0.1 |
| May | 73 | 47 | 4.3 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 57 | 4.9 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 61 | 4.6 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 59 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 52 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 65 | 40 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 53 | 30 | 3.2 | 7 | 0.4 |
| Dec | 42 | 24 | 3.3 | 8 | 3.0 |
| Year | 62 | 39 | 44.4 | 94 | 20.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at New Lexington 2 NW, OH (877 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 Rushville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 204 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Rushville: 151 thunderstorm wind reports, 27 flash floods, 23 floods and 3 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $3.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 110 mph, on July 22, 2008. July has had the most flash floods, 17 of 27. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 493 have had fewer than Rushville.
June 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Rushville — 1 killed, $1.0 million damage.
July 9, 2013: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Rushville — $350,000 damage.
July 22, 2008: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Rushville — $300,000 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
Fairfield County, which includes Rushville, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms, 1 flood). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Fairfield County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $39.0 million a year, the 19th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $26.6 million (68%), 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 Rushville
- Bremen, OH5 mi
- Somerset, OH7 mi
- Junction City, OH8 mi
- Thornville, OH9 mi
- Millersport, OH11 mi
- Glenford, OH11 mi
- Buckeye Lake, OH11 mi
- Lancaster, OH11 mi
- Sugar Grove, OH12 mi
- Baltimore, OH12 mi
- New Lexington, OH12 mi
- Hebron, OH13 mi
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