NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Waynesville, 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
3 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Waynesville, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 131 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 131
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
47 deaths in all
What the records show for Waynesville
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Waynesville; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 53 mph winds when its centre passed 4 miles away. The record near Waynesville begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 57 miles away. Of the 605 Ohio cities on this site, 82% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Waynesville. The strongest of the 131 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 7 miles, and it killed 36 people. Of the 131, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 76 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 45. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Waynesville has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 97% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 115 times since 1974, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Waynesville has more hail reports within 10 miles than 76% of the 605 Ohio cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Waynesville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Waynesville: 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 Waynesville
By decade
- 2020s27
- 2010s31(3 EF3+)
- 2000s18(1 EF3+)
- 1990s17(2 EF3+)
- 1980s8
- 1970s15(2 EF3+)
- 1960s11(3 EF3+)
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 7 mi | 31.3 mi | 36 / 1150 |
| Apr 9, 1999 | F4 | 18 mi | 10 mi | 4 / 65 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 13 mi | 19.8 mi | 2 / 39 |
| Sep 20, 2000 | F4 | 10 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 100 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F4 | 20 mi | 24.1 mi | 1 / 33 |
| May 27, 2019 | EF4 | 16 mi | 18.17 mi | 0 / 166 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F4 | 18 mi | 33 mi | 0 / 37 |
| May 27, 2019 | EF3 | 16 mi | 9.92 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 14, 2014 | EF3 | 16 mi | 8.93 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1969 | F3 | 1 mi | 54.5 mi | 0 / 25 |
| May 8, 1969 | F3 | 11 mi | 1.9 mi | 0 / 25 |
| Apr 25, 1961 | F2 | 16 mi | 25 mi | 2 / 4 |
The strongest 12 of 131, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Waynesville
The Storm Prediction Center has 115 hail reports within 10 miles of Waynesville since 1974, made on 81 separate days. Of these, 53 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on May 25, 2011. The most recent report is from April 4, 2025. May has the most reports, 30.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Waynesville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Dayton Wright Bros Airport, OH, 10 miles northwest of Waynesville at 962 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 39°F and 22°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.3 inches; the year adds up to 40.9 inches over 80 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 16 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 103 nights a year. That 40.9 inches is more than at 52 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (40%). Oregonia, 6 miles south, has its own station (WFO Wilmington, OH): 44.7 inches a year, 3.8 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 39 | 22 | 2.9 | 6 |
| Feb | 43 | 25 | 2.3 | 6 |
| Mar | 53 | 33 | 3.5 | 7 |
| Apr | 65 | 43 | 4.4 | 8 |
| May | 75 | 53 | 4.2 | 9 |
| Jun | 83 | 62 | 4.9 | 9 |
| Jul | 86 | 65 | 3.6 | 7 |
| Aug | 85 | 63 | 2.8 | 5 |
| Sep | 79 | 56 | 3.0 | 5 |
| Oct | 67 | 45 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Nov | 54 | 35 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Dec | 43 | 27 | 3.2 | 7 |
| Year | 64 | 44 | 40.9 | 80 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Dayton Wright Bros Airport, OH (962 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 Waynesville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 300 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Waynesville: 240 thunderstorm wind reports, 35 floods, 20 flash floods and 5 heavy rain events. They killed 3 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $2.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on April 8, 2015. June has had the most flash floods, 12 of 20. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 425 have had fewer than Waynesville.
March 4, 2015: flood 8 miles from the centre of Waynesville — 1 killed, $5,000 damage.
March 3, 2023: flood 1 mile from the centre of Waynesville — 1 killed.
NWS: “High water was reported in the Waynesville area. An 11 year old boy was killed when he fell into a flooded ditch.”
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 Waynesville's ZIP code 45068 have filed 11 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1995, and were paid $56,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 318 Ohio cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 9 have fewer than Waynesville.
Warren County, which includes Waynesville, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 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 Warren County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for hail and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $61.8 million a year, the 11th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $38.7 million (63%), 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 Waynesville
- Oregonia, OH6 mi
- Spring Valley, OH6 mi
- Bellbrook, OH8 mi
- Springboro, OH9 mi
- Centerville, OH10 mi
- Clarksville, OH10 mi
- Lebanon, OH10 mi
- Kettering, OH12 mi
- Morrow, OH12 mi
- Wilmington, OH13 mi
- Miamisburg, OH13 mi
- South Lebanon, OH13 mi
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