NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit West Chester, 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 West Chester, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 97 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 97
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
17 deaths in all
What the records show for West Chester
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed West Chester; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 8 miles away. The record near West Chester begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 68 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 West Chester. The strongest of the 97 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 15 miles, and it killed 3 people. The deadliest, an F4 on April 9, 1999, killed 4 people. Of the 97, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 50 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 23. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. West Chester has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 80% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 191 times since 1969, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). West Chester has more hail reports within 10 miles than 96% of the 605 Ohio cities.
Compare West Chester's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near West Chester
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 71 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 West Chester: 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 West Chester
By decade
- 2020s29
- 2010s12
- 2000s9
- 1990s12(2 EF3+)
- 1980s4
- 1970s18(3 EF3+)
- 1960s6(3 EF3+)
- 1950s7
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 15 mi | 20.8 mi | 3 / 210 |
| Apr 9, 1999 | F4 | 8 mi | 10 mi | 4 / 65 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 2 mi | 19.8 mi | 2 / 39 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F4 | 18 mi | 24.1 mi | 1 / 33 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F4 | in town | 33 mi | 0 / 37 |
| Aug 9, 1969 | F3 | 10 mi | 22.2 mi | 4 / 247 |
| Oct 1, 1977 | F3 | 16 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 17 |
| May 10, 1969 | F3 | 5 mi | 54.5 mi | 0 / 25 |
| Apr 25, 1961 | F2 | 22 mi | 25 mi | 2 / 4 |
| May 4, 1990 | F2 | 11 mi | 0.2 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Jul 6, 2022 | EF2 | 14 mi | 4.81 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 9, 1999 | F2 | 8 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 97, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in West Chester
The Storm Prediction Center has 191 hail reports within 10 miles of West Chester since 1969, made on 84 separate days. Of these, 104 were 1 inch across or larger, and 9 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on April 3, 1974. The most recent report is from June 28, 2025. April has the most reports, 59.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in West Chester
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Hamilton Butler Co Regional Airport, OH, 7 miles west of West Chester at 634 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 22°F. April and May are the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.4 inches; the year adds up to 41.5 inches over 81 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 28 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 116 nights a year. That 41.5 inches is more than at 62 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (48%). Monroe, 7 miles north, has its own station (Franklin, OH): 42.4 inches a year, 0.9 more than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 22 | 2.9 | 6 |
| Feb | 44 | 23 | 2.4 | 6 |
| Mar | 54 | 32 | 3.5 | 7 |
| Apr | 67 | 42 | 4.6 | 8 |
| May | 75 | 52 | 4.6 | 9 |
| Jun | 83 | 61 | 4.1 | 8 |
| Jul | 87 | 64 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Aug | 86 | 62 | 3.0 | 5 |
| Sep | 80 | 54 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Oct | 68 | 42 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Nov | 55 | 32 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Dec | 44 | 26 | 3.3 | 7 |
| Year | 65 | 43 | 41.5 | 81 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Hamilton Butler Co Regional Airport, OH (634 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 West Chester
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 391 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of West Chester: 280 thunderstorm wind reports, 58 flash floods, 40 floods, 11 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $6.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on September 27, 2003. May has had the most flash floods, 14 of 58. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 587 have had fewer than West Chester.
September 4, 2011: lightning strike 3 miles from the centre of West Chester — 1 killed, 1 injured.
NWS: “A man was struck and killed by lightning while camping.”
July 24, 1996: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of West Chester — 2 injured, $4,000 damage.
March 23, 2011: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of West Chester — 1 injured, $10,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in West Chester's ZIP code 45069 have filed 24 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $359,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 4% 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, 122 have fewer than West Chester.
Butler County, which includes West Chester, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 9 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 Butler County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $119.7 million a year, the 4th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $62.3 million (52%), 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.