NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sugar Grove, 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
6 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Sugar Grove, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 67 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 67
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Sugar Grove
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Sugar Grove; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 48 miles away. The record near Sugar Grove begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 15 miles away. None of the 6 systems has come since 2000. Sugar Grove has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 64% of the 605 Ohio cities on this site. The highest rating among the 67 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on October 13, 1999, came within 25 miles. Of the 67, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 41 have come since 2000. June and September have had the most tornadoes, 12 each. The most recent tornado was on September 25, 2024. Of the 605 Ohio cities, 62% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Sugar Grove. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 65 times since 1961, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 605 Ohio cities, 56% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Sugar Grove.
Compare Sugar Grove's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Sugar Grove
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 48 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 Sugar Grove: 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 Sugar Grove
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s21
- 2000s10
- 1990s4(1 EF3+)
- 1980s7
- 1970s6(2 EF3+)
- 1960s7
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 13, 1999 | F3 | 25 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 6 |
| May 10, 1973 | F3 | 22 mi | 89.6 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Sep 3, 1970 | F3 | 22 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 8, 2022 | EF2 | 19 mi | 9.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 2019 | EF2 | 9 mi | 5.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 16, 2010 | EF2 | 21 mi | 3.3 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Sep 16, 2010 | EF2 | 11 mi | 6.99 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 13, 1981 | F2 | 20 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 16, 1971 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 1958 | F2 | 15 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 8, 2022 | EF1 | 22 mi | 0.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 15, 2021 | EF1 | 23 mi | 2.72 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 67, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sugar Grove
The Storm Prediction Center has 65 hail reports within 10 miles of Sugar Grove since 1961, made on 46 separate days. Of these, 32 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 11, 1980. The most recent report is from April 17, 2024. June has the most reports, 23.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sugar Grove
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lancaster, OH, 8 miles northwest of Sugar Grove at 827 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 22°F. May and July are the wettest at 4.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.3 inches; the year adds up to 40.3 inches over 77 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 22 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 114 nights a year. That 40.3 inches is more than at 40 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (31%). Rockbridge, 7 miles southwest, has its own station (Logan, OH): 43.1 inches a year, 2.8 more than here, and the same July average high, 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 22 | 2.9 | 6 |
| Feb | 41 | 24 | 2.3 | 6 |
| Mar | 52 | 32 | 3.4 | 7 |
| Apr | 65 | 41 | 3.9 | 8 |
| May | 74 | 52 | 4.2 | 8 |
| Jun | 82 | 61 | 4.1 | 8 |
| Jul | 85 | 65 | 4.2 | 7 |
| Aug | 84 | 63 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Sep | 78 | 55 | 3.2 | 5 |
| Oct | 66 | 44 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Nov | 53 | 34 | 2.7 | 5 |
| Dec | 42 | 27 | 2.9 | 6 |
| Year | 63 | 43 | 40.3 | 77 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lancaster, OH (827 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 Sugar Grove
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 248 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sugar Grove: 182 thunderstorm wind reports, 36 floods, 27 flash floods, 2 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 29, 2012. July has had the most flash floods, 16 of 27. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 493 have had fewer than Sugar Grove.
July 22, 2017: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Sugar Grove — 1 injured.
July 7, 2003: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Sugar Grove — $1.0 million damage.
July 27, 2025: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Sugar Grove — $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
Fairfield County, which includes Sugar Grove, 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.