NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit South Point, 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
7 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of South Point, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 31 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 7
- Tornadoes
- 31
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
7 deaths in all
What the records show for South Point
None of the 7 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed South Point; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 26 miles away. The record near South Point begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 48 miles away. None of the 7 systems has come since 2000. South Point has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 90% of the 605 Ohio cities on this site. The strongest of the 31 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 23, 1968; its path came within 21 miles, and it killed 7 people. Of the 31, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 17 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 10. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2024. Of the 605 Ohio cities, 92% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than South Point. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 176 times since 1962, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). South Point has more hail reports within 10 miles than 94% of the 605 Ohio cities.
Compare South Point's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near South Point
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 18 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 26 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 South Point: 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 South Point
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s3
- 2000s4
- 1990s4
- 1980s6
- 1970s2
- 1960s2(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 1968 | F5 | 21 mi | 34 mi | 7 / 93 |
| Apr 8, 1965 | F3 | 6 mi | 6.9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF2 | 15 mi | 1.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 4, 2016 | EF2 | 23 mi | 2.63 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 15, 2000 | F2 | 23 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1980 | F2 | 10 mi | 29.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 21 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 11 mi | 4.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 18 mi | 0.44 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 7 mi | 0.55 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 11 mi | 1.09 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 7 mi | 1.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 31, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in South Point
The Storm Prediction Center has 176 hail reports within 10 miles of South Point since 1962, made on 83 separate days. Of these, 95 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on July 23, 1962. The most recent report is from April 29, 2025. June has the most reports, 54.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in South Point
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is S Pt, OH, 2 miles southwest of South Point at 553 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 25°F. July is the wettest at 5.7 inches of precipitation on average and November the driest at 3.2 inches; the year adds up to 49.7 inches over 100 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 27 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 108 nights a year. Snowfall averages 6.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 49.7 inches is more than at 127 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (98%). Kenova, WV, 4 miles south, has its own station (Huntington Tri State Airport, WV): 45.3 inches a year, 4.4 less than here, and the same July average high, 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 25 | 3.5 | 8 | 3.2 |
| Feb | 46 | 27 | 3.6 | 8 | 1.2 |
| Mar | 56 | 33 | 4.6 | 10 | 0.8 |
| Apr | 68 | 42 | 4.2 | 9 | 0.0 |
| May | 76 | 53 | 4.9 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 63 | 4.5 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 66 | 5.7 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 65 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 58 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 69 | 45 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 57 | 35 | 3.2 | 8 | 0.1 |
| Dec | 46 | 29 | 4.2 | 9 | 0.9 |
| Year | 66 | 45 | 49.7 | 100 | 6.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at S Pt, OH (553 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 South Point
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 486 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of South Point: 340 thunderstorm wind reports, 67 flash floods, 62 floods, 10 heavy rain events and 7 lightning strikes. They killed 3 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $12.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 105 mph, on March 1, 2017. July has had the most flash floods, 26 of 67. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 591 have had fewer than South Point.
May 6, 2022: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of South Point — 1 killed, $900,000 damage.
July 14, 2016: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of South Point — 1 killed, $500,000 damage.
July 25, 2005: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of South Point — 1 killed, $1,000 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 South Point's ZIP code 45680 have filed 60 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.0 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2002, with 13. 15% 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, 213 have fewer than South Point.
Lawrence County, which includes South Point, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1978, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lawrence County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $27.4 million a year, the 28th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $21.8 million (80%), 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.