NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Springfield, 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 Springfield, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 103 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 103
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
37 deaths in all
What the records show for Springfield
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Springfield; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 53 mph winds when its centre passed 9 miles away. The record near Springfield begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 56 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 Springfield. The strongest of the 103 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 8 miles, and it killed 36 people. Of the 103, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 59 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 35. The most recent tornado was on July 19, 2025. Springfield has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 86% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 73 times since 1974, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Springfield has more hail reports within 10 miles than 52% of the 605 Ohio cities.
Compare Springfield's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Springfield
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Springfield: 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 Springfield
By decade
- 2020s17
- 2010s37(4 EF3+)
- 2000s5(1 EF3+)
- 1990s10
- 1980s9
- 1970s9(2 EF3+)
- 1960s12(2 EF3+)
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 8 mi | 31.3 mi | 36 / 1150 |
| Sep 20, 2000 | F4 | 14 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 100 |
| May 27, 2019 | EF4 | 20 mi | 18.17 mi | 0 / 166 |
| May 27, 2019 | EF3 | 14 mi | 9.92 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 2019 | EF3 | 25 mi | 10.49 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 14, 2014 | EF3 | 11 mi | 8.93 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1973 | F3 | 20 mi | 89.6 mi | 0 / 8 |
| May 10, 1969 | F3 | 24 mi | 54.5 mi | 0 / 25 |
| May 8, 1969 | F3 | 22 mi | 1.9 mi | 0 / 25 |
| Feb 28, 2024 | EF2 | 5 mi | 21.11 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 8, 2022 | EF2 | 16 mi | 13.75 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 2019 | EF2 | 19 mi | 7.57 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 103, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Springfield
The Storm Prediction Center has 73 hail reports within 10 miles of Springfield since 1974, made on 59 separate days. Of these, 44 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on April 9, 2001. The most recent report is from February 28, 2024. May has the most reports, 23.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Springfield
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Springfield Wtp, OH, 3 miles north of Springfield at 951 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 36°F and 19°F. May and July are the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.1 inches; the year adds up to 40.3 inches over 79 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 12 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 126 nights a year. That 40.3 inches is more than at 40 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (31%). South Charleston, 10 miles southeast, has its own station (London Fish Hatchery, OH): 42.4 inches a year, 2.1 more than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | 19 | 2.7 | 6 |
| Feb | 40 | 20 | 2.1 | 5 |
| Mar | 50 | 28 | 2.9 | 6 |
| Apr | 63 | 38 | 4.0 | 8 |
| May | 73 | 49 | 4.6 | 9 |
| Jun | 81 | 59 | 4.5 | 9 |
| Jul | 84 | 62 | 4.6 | 8 |
| Aug | 83 | 60 | 3.3 | 5 |
| Sep | 78 | 52 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Oct | 65 | 41 | 2.8 | 6 |
| Nov | 52 | 31 | 2.8 | 6 |
| Dec | 41 | 24 | 2.6 | 6 |
| Year | 62 | 40 | 40.3 | 79 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Springfield Wtp, OH (951 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 Springfield
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 256 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Springfield: 188 thunderstorm wind reports, 39 floods, 20 flash floods and 9 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on July 29, 2002. May has had the most flash floods, 8 of 20. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 425 have had fewer than Springfield.
January 5, 1997: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Springfield — 1 injured, $75,000 damage.
January 1, 2005: flood 2 miles from the centre of Springfield — $425,000 damage.
August 30, 2005: flood 2 miles from the centre of Springfield — $100,000 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 Springfield's 5 ZIP codes have filed 83 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.4 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1980, with 12. 7% 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, 255 have fewer than Springfield.
Clark County, which includes Springfield, has been named in 11 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 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 Clark County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind 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 $32.7 million a year, the 21st highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $21.5 million (66%), 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 Springfield
- Enon, OH8 mi
- South Charleston, OH10 mi
- Yellow Springs, OH10 mi
- South Vienna, OH11 mi
- New Carlisle, OH11 mi
- Medway, OH12 mi
- Urbana, OH13 mi
- Cedarville, OH13 mi
- Fairborn, OH14 mi
- Mechanicsburg, OH15 mi
- Saint Paris, OH16 mi
- Huber Heights, OH18 mi
All Ohio cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Springfield with another place →