NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sullivan, 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 Sullivan, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 114 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 114
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
25 deaths in all
What the records show for Sullivan
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Sullivan; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 56 mph winds when its centre passed 62 miles away. The record near Sullivan begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 22 miles away. None of the 5 systems has come since 2000. Sullivan has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 46% of the 605 Ohio cities on this site. The strongest of the 114 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 11, 1965; its path came within 13 miles, and it killed 18 people. Of the 114, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 49 have come since 2000. August has had the most tornadoes, 24. The most recent tornado was on August 13, 2025. Sullivan has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 92% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 84 times since 1974, with stones up to 2.25 inches. Sullivan has more hail reports within 10 miles than 58% of the 605 Ohio cities.
Compare Sullivan's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Sullivan
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 6 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 75 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 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 62 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 Sullivan: 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 Sullivan
By decade
- 2020s17
- 2010s18
- 2000s14
- 1990s23(1 EF3+)
- 1980s10
- 1970s20(1 EF3+)
- 1960s7(1 EF3+)
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 13 mi | 22 mi | 18 / 200 |
| May 10, 1973 | F3 | 15 mi | 50.1 mi | 6 / 100 |
| Jul 12, 1992 | F3 | 17 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Mar 10, 1986 | F2 | 21 mi | 8 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Mar 14, 2024 | EF2 | 23 mi | 10.29 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 2023 | EF2 | 22 mi | 8.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 14, 2019 | EF2 | 12 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Sep 4, 2017 | EF2 | 24 mi | 16.67 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 16, 2010 | EF2 | 23 mi | 11.47 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 12, 2003 | F2 | 22 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F2 | 8 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F2 | 4 mi | 9.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 114, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sullivan
The Storm Prediction Center has 84 hail reports within 10 miles of Sullivan since 1974, made on 60 separate days. Of these, 40 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.25 inches, fell on June 15, 2023. The most recent report is from June 18, 2025. June has the most reports, 26.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sullivan
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Chippewa Lake, OH, 15 miles east of Sullivan 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 north, 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 Sullivan
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 110 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sullivan: 96 thunderstorm wind reports, 9 flash floods and 5 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $7.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on July 2, 2019. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 201 have had fewer than Sullivan.
August 23, 2023: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Sullivan — 2 injured, $400,000 damage.
July 25, 2005: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Sullivan — 1 injured, $30,000 damage.
August 21, 2007: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Sullivan — $3.8 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
Ashland County, which includes Sullivan, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 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 Ashland County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $14.7 million a year, the 56th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $9.1 million (62%), 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.