NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Waterville, 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 Waterville, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 73 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 73
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
58 deaths in all
What the records show for Waterville
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Waterville; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 35 miles away. The record near Waterville begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Of the 4 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 605 Ohio cities on this site, 53% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Waterville. The highest rating among the 73 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 5 times; the most recent, on June 5, 2010, came within 11 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 11, 1965, killed 18 people. Of the 73, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 34 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 23. The most recent tornado was on June 18, 2025. Of the 605 Ohio cities, 53% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Waterville. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 149 times since 1962, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Waterville has more hail reports within 10 miles than 89% of the 605 Ohio cities.
Compare Waterville's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Waterville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 23 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 Waterville: 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 Waterville
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s19(1 EF3+)
- 2000s10(1 EF3+)
- 1990s13
- 1980s10(1 EF3+)
- 1970s8(2 EF3+)
- 1960s6(1 EF3+)
- 1950s2(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 14 mi | 5.6 mi | 18 / 236 |
| Jun 8, 1953 | F4 | 18 mi | 118 mi | 17 / 379 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF4 | 11 mi | 8.8 mi | 7 / 28 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F4 | 20 mi | 52.8 mi | 4 / 17 |
| Jun 8, 1953 | F4 | 21 mi | 5.4 mi | 4 / 18 |
| May 10, 1973 | F3 | 25 mi | 50.1 mi | 6 / 100 |
| May 2, 1983 | F3 | 9 mi | 5 mi | 1 / 22 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 23 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 15, 2023 | EF2 | 19 mi | 3.81 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 17, 2013 | EF2 | 9 mi | 11.28 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF2 | 8 mi | 7.24 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1992 | F2 | 19 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 73, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Waterville
The Storm Prediction Center has 149 hail reports within 10 miles of Waterville since 1962, made on 82 separate days. Of these, 71 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on May 9, 2000. The most recent report is from June 19, 2024. May has the most reports, 52.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Waterville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Toledo Express Airport, OH, 7 miles northwest of Waterville at 669 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 35°F and 20°F. May is the wettest at 3.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.3 inches; the year adds up to 35.2 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 19 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 123 nights a year. Snowfall averages 37.4 inches a year, most of it in January. That 35.2 inches is more than at 7 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (5%). Perrysburg, 8 miles east, has its own station (Toledo Metcalf Field, OH): 32.5 inches a year, 2.7 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 35 | 20 | 2.4 | 6 | 12.3 |
| Feb | 38 | 22 | 2.3 | 6 | 10.2 |
| Mar | 48 | 30 | 2.6 | 6 | 5.3 |
| Apr | 62 | 40 | 3.5 | 7 | 1.3 |
| May | 73 | 51 | 3.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 61 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 64 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 63 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 55 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 65 | 44 | 2.6 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 51 | 35 | 2.7 | 6 | 1.7 |
| Dec | 39 | 26 | 2.4 | 6 | 6.5 |
| Year | 62 | 43 | 35.2 | 74 | 37.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Toledo Express Airport, OH (669 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 Waterville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 219 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Waterville: 207 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 floods, 2 flash floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $13.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 2, 2019.
July 2, 2019: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Waterville — 1 killed, $5,000 damage.
June 22, 2017: lightning strike 10 miles from the centre of Waterville — 1 injured.
July 8, 2003: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Waterville — $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 Waterville's ZIP code 43566 have filed 46 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $287,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1985: 14 claims (30% of all) and $36,000. 33% 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, 190 have fewer than Waterville.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1985 | 14 | $36,000 |
Lucas County, which includes Waterville, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lucas County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $111.3 million a year, the 6th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $71.5 million (64%), 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.