NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Wellington, 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 Wellington, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 109 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 109
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
42 deaths in all
What the records show for Wellington
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Wellington; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 56 mph winds when its centre passed 59 miles away. The record near Wellington begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 28 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 Wellington. The highest rating among the 109 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 11, 1965, came within 6 miles. Of the 109, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 49 have come since 2000. August has had the most tornadoes, 26. The most recent tornado was on August 13, 2025. Wellington has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 90% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 85 times since 1962, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Wellington has more hail reports within 10 miles than 60% of the 605 Ohio cities.
Compare Wellington's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Wellington
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 6 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 22 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 59 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 Wellington: 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 Wellington
By decade
- 2020s20
- 2010s14
- 2000s15
- 1990s20(1 EF3+)
- 1980s7
- 1970s20(1 EF3+)
- 1960s6(1 EF3+)
- 1950s7(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 6 mi | 22 mi | 18 / 200 |
| Jun 8, 1953 | F4 | 20 mi | 118 mi | 17 / 379 |
| May 10, 1973 | F3 | 16 mi | 50.1 mi | 6 / 100 |
| Jul 12, 1992 | F3 | 14 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Mar 10, 1986 | F2 | 18 mi | 8 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Mar 14, 2024 | EF2 | 24 mi | 10.29 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 2023 | EF2 | 21 mi | 8.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 14, 2019 | EF2 | 15 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F2 | 14 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F2 | 10 mi | 9.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 2001 | F2 | 12 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 2000 | F2 | 22 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 109, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Wellington
The Storm Prediction Center has 85 hail reports within 10 miles of Wellington since 1962, made on 64 separate days. Of these, 40 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on June 12, 2013. The most recent report is from May 5, 2025. June has the most reports, 22.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Wellington
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Oberlin, OH, 9 miles north of Wellington at 816 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 18°F. June is the wettest at 4.1 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.4 inches; the year adds up to 40.1 inches over 87 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 128 nights a year. Snowfall averages 47.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 40.1 inches is more than at 36 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (28%). Sullivan, 8 miles south, has its own station (Chippewa Lake, OH): 40.6 inches a year, 0.5 more than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 18 | 2.9 | 7 | 14.4 |
| Feb | 37 | 20 | 2.4 | 7 | 12.4 |
| Mar | 46 | 28 | 2.9 | 8 | 8.4 |
| Apr | 59 | 38 | 3.7 | 8 | 1.9 |
| May | 71 | 49 | 3.8 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 58 | 4.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 62 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 60 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 52 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 42 | 3.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 50 | 33 | 3.0 | 7 | 1.4 |
| Dec | 39 | 24 | 2.7 | 7 | 8.5 |
| Year | 60 | 40 | 40.1 | 87 | 47.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Oberlin, OH (816 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 Wellington
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 116 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Wellington: 105 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 flash floods and 3 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $4.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on November 5, 2017. August has had the most flash floods, 4 of 8. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 173 have had fewer than Wellington.
August 23, 2023: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Wellington — 2 injured, $400,000 damage.
June 22, 2006: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Wellington — $950,000 damage.
NWS: “Hundreds of trees, large limbs, utility poles and power lines were reported down across the county as severe thunderstorms moved across Wayne County during the late afternoon hours of the 22nd. Damage in the City of Wooster was especially bad with many homes damaged by fallen trees.”
February 28, 2011: flood 8 miles from the centre of Wellington — $500,000 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
Lorain County, which includes Wellington, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 4 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 Lorain County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $65.9 million a year, the 10th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $42.7 million (65%), 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.