NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Vinton, 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 Vinton, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 28 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 28
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
7 deaths in all
What the records show for Vinton
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Vinton; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 4 miles away. The record near Vinton begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 41 miles away. None of the 6 systems has come since 2000. Vinton has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 64% of the 605 Ohio cities on this site. The strongest of the 28 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 23, 1968; its path came within 14 miles, and it killed 7 people. Of the 28, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 15 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 8. The most recent tornado was on May 26, 2024. Of the 605 Ohio cities, 94% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Vinton. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 28 times since 1974, with stones up to 2.25 inches. Of the 605 Ohio cities, 95% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Vinton.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Vinton
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 4 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 Vinton: 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 Vinton
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s5
- 2000s4
- 1990s6
- 1980s3
- 1970s1
- 1960s3(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 1968 | F5 | 14 mi | 34 mi | 7 / 93 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF2 | 19 mi | 1.87 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2002 | F2 | 9 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 15, 2000 | F2 | 16 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F2 | 25 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 13, 1967 | F2 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 2024 | EF1 | 13 mi | 3.77 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 24 mi | 0.44 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 8, 2022 | EF1 | 23 mi | 0.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 2020 | EF1 | 6 mi | 0.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 22, 2017 | EF1 | 22 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 1, 2017 | EF1 | 10 mi | 0.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 28, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Vinton
The Storm Prediction Center has 28 hail reports within 10 miles of Vinton since 1974, made on 21 separate days. Of these, 17 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.25 inches, fell on April 29, 2014. The most recent report is from April 8, 2020. April has the most reports, 14.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Vinton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Carpenter 2 S, OH, 13 miles northeast of Vinton at 822 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 22°F. June is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and November the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 43.2 inches over 82 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 124 nights a year. Snowfall averages 17.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 43.2 inches is more than at 88 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (68%). Bidwell, 7 miles southeast, has its own station (Gallipolis, OH): 44.7 inches a year, 1.5 more than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 22 | 3.2 | 8 | 5.6 |
| Feb | 43 | 23 | 3.3 | 7 | 4.5 |
| Mar | 53 | 30 | 3.9 | 8 | 3.3 |
| Apr | 66 | 40 | 3.7 | 8 | 0.1 |
| May | 74 | 50 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 58 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 62 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 60 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 52 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 67 | 41 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 54 | 32 | 2.8 | 7 | 0.9 |
| Dec | 44 | 26 | 3.4 | 6 | 3.3 |
| Year | 64 | 41 | 43.2 | 82 | 17.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Carpenter 2 S, OH (822 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 Vinton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 106 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Vinton: 58 thunderstorm wind reports, 29 floods, 16 flash floods and 3 heavy rain events. They killed 2 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $3.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 72 mph, on June 13, 2022. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 353 have had fewer than Vinton.
March 19, 2008: heavy rain event 2 miles from the centre of Vinton — 1 killed, $5,000 damage.
NWS: “A man drowned along a swollen Racoon Creek and a low spot along Route 325 near the village of Vinton. Otherwise, county officials reported no flooding.”
February 13, 2020: flood 6 miles from the centre of Vinton — 1 killed, $5,000 damage.
NWS: “Multiple roads were closed across the county due to flooding, including State Route 325, State Route 233, and State Route 141. On the evening of the 14th, a 73 year old man drowned in the flood waters at the intersection of State Route 141 and German Ridge Road.”
June 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Vinton — $2.5 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Vinton's ZIP code 45686 have filed 27 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $407,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 10 claims (37% of all) and $177,000. 48% 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, 136 have fewer than Vinton.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 10 | $177,000 |
Gallia County, which includes Vinton, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Gallia County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for heat waves; Relatively Low for inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes, tornadoes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.6 million a year, the 69th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.9 million (77%), 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 Vinton
- Bidwell, OH7 mi
- Wellston, OH13 mi
- Gallipolis, OH14 mi
- Oak Hill, OH14 mi
- Jackson, OH15 mi
- Middleport, OH15 mi
- Albany, OH16 mi
- Patriot, OH16 mi
- Point Pleasant, WV16 mi
- Pomeroy, OH19 mi
- Mc Arthur, OH19 mi
- Gallipolis Ferry, WV19 mi
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