NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Shelby, 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 Shelby, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 100 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 100
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
11 deaths in all
What the records show for Shelby
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Shelby; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 56 mph winds when its centre passed 44 miles away. The record near Shelby begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 32 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 Shelby. The highest rating among the 100 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 10, 1973, came within 12 miles. Of the 100, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 40 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 24. The most recent tornado was on August 13, 2025. Shelby has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 83% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 84 times since 1970, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Shelby has more hail reports within 10 miles than 58% of the 605 Ohio cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Shelby
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 6 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 44 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 Shelby: 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 Shelby
By decade
- 2020s16
- 2010s15
- 2000s9
- 1990s13
- 1980s15
- 1970s26(1 EF3+)
- 1960s6(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 1973 | F3 | 12 mi | 50.1 mi | 6 / 100 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F3 | 19 mi | 15 mi | 4 / 30 |
| Mar 10, 1986 | F2 | 11 mi | 8 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Mar 14, 2024 | EF2 | 5 mi | 10.29 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 2023 | EF2 | 15 mi | 8.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 14, 2019 | EF2 | 2 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Nov 5, 2017 | EF2 | 13 mi | 1.09 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 4, 2017 | EF2 | 6 mi | 16.67 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F2 | 23 mi | 9.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 23, 2000 | F2 | 20 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 1992 | F2 | 20 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 1990 | F2 | 19 mi | 22 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 100, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Shelby
The Storm Prediction Center has 84 hail reports within 10 miles of Shelby since 1970, made on 65 separate days. Of these, 38 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on March 14, 2024. The most recent report is from June 17, 2024. June has the most reports, 25.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Shelby
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mansfield Lahm Municipal Airport, OH, 9 miles southeast of Shelby at 1,295 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 19°F. June is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.5 inches; the year adds up to 42.6 inches over 88 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 8 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 124 nights a year. Snowfall averages 49.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 42.6 inches is more than at 80 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (62%). Crestline, 8 miles southwest, has its own station (Galion Wtr Wks, OH): 43.0 inches a year, 0.4 more than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 19 | 3.2 | 8 | 14.5 |
| Feb | 37 | 21 | 2.5 | 6 | 12.7 |
| Mar | 47 | 29 | 3.3 | 8 | 7.6 |
| Apr | 60 | 39 | 4.3 | 9 | 1.9 |
| May | 71 | 50 | 4.2 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 59 | 4.8 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 62 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 61 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 54 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 43 | 3.2 | 7 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 50 | 33 | 3.2 | 7 | 2.3 |
| Dec | 39 | 25 | 3.0 | 7 | 9.7 |
| Year | 60 | 41 | 42.6 | 88 | 49.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Mansfield Lahm Municipal Airport, OH (1,295 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 Shelby
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 121 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Shelby: 103 thunderstorm wind reports, 9 flash floods and 9 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $81.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on January 9, 2008. June has had the most flash floods, 4 of 9. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 201 have had fewer than Shelby.
September 20, 2002: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Shelby — 2 injured, $200,000 damage.
August 12, 1997: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Shelby — 1 injured, $4,000 damage.
August 21, 2007: flash flood in Shelby — $75.0 million damage.
NWS: “Heavy rain producing thunderstorms affected Richland County during the late evening hours of August 20th and early morning hours of August 21st. Rainfall rates with the strongest storms exceeded three inches per hour.”
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 Shelby's ZIP code 44875 have filed 155 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $5.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1987: 29 claims (19% of all) and $361,000, then Late winter storms in 2011 with 16. The year with the most claims was 2007, with 81. 34% 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, 286 have fewer than Shelby.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1987 | 29 | $361,000 |
| Late winter storms2011 | 16 | $154,000 |
Richland County, which includes Shelby, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 4 snowstorms, 3 tornadoes, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Tornadoes, on May 2, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Richland County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $22.3 million a year, the 33rd highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $14.0 million (63%), 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 Shelby
- Plymouth, OH7 mi
- Shiloh, OH8 mi
- Crestline, OH8 mi
- Mansfield, OH11 mi
- Greenwich, OH12 mi
- Willard, OH13 mi
- Galion, OH14 mi
- Lexington, OH15 mi
- Attica, OH17 mi
- Bucyrus, OH17 mi
- Ashland, OH18 mi
- Lucas, OH18 mi
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