NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sunbury, 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 Sunbury, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 83 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 83
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
9 deaths in all
What the records show for Sunbury
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Sunbury; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 54 mph winds when its centre passed 49 miles away. The record near Sunbury begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 20 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 Sunbury. The highest rating among the 83 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on May 31, 1985, came within 10 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on June 13, 1981, killed 4 people. Of the 83, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 28 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 21. The most recent tornado was on June 5, 2024. Sunbury has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 62% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 47 times since 1963, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 605 Ohio cities, 77% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Sunbury.
Compare Sunbury's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Sunbury
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Sunbury: 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 Sunbury
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s12
- 2000s5
- 1990s11
- 1980s12(2 EF3+)
- 1970s18(2 EF3+)
- 1960s10
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 13, 1981 | F3 | 16 mi | 3.8 mi | 4 / 56 |
| May 31, 1985 | F3 | 10 mi | 29 mi | 1 / 20 |
| May 10, 1973 | F3 | 16 mi | 89.6 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Feb 22, 1971 | F3 | 17 mi | 6.8 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F2 | 13 mi | 22.2 mi | 4 / 62 |
| Mar 14, 2024 | EF2 | 17 mi | 19.48 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 28, 2024 | EF2 | 17 mi | 14.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 11, 2006 | F2 | 13 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 2000 | F2 | 9 mi | 21 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Aug 25, 1998 | F2 | 19 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 1990 | F2 | 25 mi | 22 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 15, 1989 | F2 | 12 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 83, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sunbury
The Storm Prediction Center has 47 hail reports within 10 miles of Sunbury since 1963, made on 33 separate days. Of these, 21 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on March 14, 2024, the most recent report. June has the most reports, 14.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sunbury
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Centerburg 2 SE, OH, 10 miles east of Sunbury at 1,205 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 17°F. June is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.5 inches; the year adds up to 44.2 inches over 84 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 9 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 128 nights a year. That 44.2 inches is more than at 101 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (78%). Galena, 5 miles southwest, has its own station (Westerville, OH): 42.3 inches a year, 1.9 less than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 17 | 3.1 | 7 |
| Feb | 37 | 19 | 2.5 | 6 |
| Mar | 48 | 27 | 3.4 | 8 |
| Apr | 62 | 38 | 4.5 | 9 |
| May | 72 | 49 | 4.5 | 9 |
| Jun | 80 | 58 | 5.0 | 8 |
| Jul | 83 | 61 | 4.2 | 7 |
| Aug | 82 | 59 | 3.9 | 7 |
| Sep | 75 | 52 | 3.6 | 5 |
| Oct | 64 | 41 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Nov | 50 | 31 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Dec | 39 | 23 | 3.2 | 7 |
| Year | 60 | 40 | 44.2 | 84 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Centerburg 2 SE, OH (1,205 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 Sunbury
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 139 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sunbury: 118 thunderstorm wind reports, 16 floods, 4 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 2 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $717,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on May 25, 2006.
August 4, 2010: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Sunbury — 2 killed, 4 injured, $110,000 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
Delaware County, which includes Sunbury, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 3 snowstorms, 3 tornadoes, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Tornadoes, on May 2, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Delaware 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 $69.4 million a year, the 9th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $49.3 million (71%), 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.