NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Spencer, 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 Spencer, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 106 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 106
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
41 deaths in all
What the records show for Spencer
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Spencer; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 56 mph winds when its centre passed 67 miles away. The record near Spencer begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 20 miles away. None of the 5 systems has come since 2000. Spencer has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 46% of the 605 Ohio cities on this site. The highest rating among the 106 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 11, 1965, came within 11 miles. Of the 106, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 45 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 25. The most recent tornado was on August 13, 2025. Spencer has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 88% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 94 times since 1962, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Spencer has more hail reports within 10 miles than 65% of the 605 Ohio cities.
Compare Spencer's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Spencer
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 6 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 22 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 67 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 Spencer: 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 Spencer
By decade
- 2020s16
- 2010s14
- 2000s15
- 1990s24(1 EF3+)
- 1980s6
- 1970s18(1 EF3+)
- 1960s7(1 EF3+)
- 1950s6(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 11 mi | 22 mi | 18 / 200 |
| Jun 8, 1953 | F4 | 24 mi | 118 mi | 17 / 379 |
| May 10, 1973 | F3 | 21 mi | 50.1 mi | 6 / 100 |
| Jul 12, 1992 | F3 | 10 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 14, 2019 | EF2 | 19 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Sep 16, 2010 | EF2 | 24 mi | 11.47 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 12, 2003 | F2 | 23 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F2 | 9 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F2 | 5 mi | 9.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 2001 | F2 | 4 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1992 | F2 | 14 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1992 | F2 | 9 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 3 |
The strongest 12 of 106, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Spencer
The Storm Prediction Center has 94 hail reports within 10 miles of Spencer since 1962, made on 71 separate days. Of these, 43 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on June 8, 1993. The most recent report is from June 18, 2025. May has the most reports, 23.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Spencer
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Chippewa Lake, OH, 9 miles east of Spencer at 1,180 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 32°F and 17°F. June is the wettest at 4.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 40.6 inches over 84 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 7 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 133 nights a year. Snowfall averages 35.7 inches a year, most of it in January and December. That 40.6 inches is more than at 45 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (35%). Wellington, 8 miles northwest, has its own station (Oberlin, OH): 40.1 inches a year, 0.5 less than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 32 | 17 | 2.9 | 7 | 9.9 |
| Feb | 35 | 18 | 2.2 | 5 | 8.2 |
| Mar | 45 | 26 | 3.1 | 7 | 5.6 |
| Apr | 58 | 37 | 3.7 | 9 | 0.6 |
| May | 69 | 47 | 4.0 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 78 | 57 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 60 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 59 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 52 | 3.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 41 | 3.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 48 | 31 | 3.0 | 7 | 1.5 |
| Dec | 37 | 23 | 2.9 | 7 | 9.9 |
| Year | 58 | 39 | 40.6 | 84 | 35.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Chippewa Lake, OH (1,180 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 Spencer
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 134 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Spencer: 124 thunderstorm wind reports, 7 flash floods and 3 floods. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $5.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on April 12, 1996. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 148 have had fewer than Spencer.
April 12, 1996: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Spencer — 1 killed, 2 injured, $50,000 damage.
July 9, 1999: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Spencer — $1.1 million damage.
June 17, 2019: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Spencer — $1.0 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
Medina County, which includes Spencer, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 3 tornadoes, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Medina County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $35.0 million a year, the 20th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $20.6 million (59%), 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.