NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Westerville, 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 Westerville, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 93 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 93
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
5 deaths in all
What the records show for Westerville
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Westerville; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 54 mph winds when its centre passed 49 miles away. The record near Westerville begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 19 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 Westerville. The highest rating among the 93 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 31, 1985, came within 11 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on April 11, 1965, killed 4 people. Of the 93, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 41 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 19. The most recent tornado was on March 30, 2025. Westerville has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 75% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 130 times since 1955, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Westerville has more hail reports within 10 miles than 82% of the 605 Ohio cities.
Compare Westerville's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Westerville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Westerville: 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 Westerville
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s19
- 2000s7
- 1990s10
- 1980s10(1 EF3+)
- 1970s16(2 EF3+)
- 1960s10
- 1950s6
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1985 | F3 | 11 mi | 29 mi | 1 / 20 |
| May 10, 1973 | F3 | 6 mi | 89.6 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Feb 22, 1971 | F3 | 8 mi | 6.8 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F2 | 22 mi | 22.2 mi | 4 / 62 |
| Mar 14, 2024 | EF2 | 18 mi | 19.48 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 28, 2024 | EF2 | 9 mi | 14.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 20, 2011 | EF2 | 24 mi | 3.85 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 11, 2006 | F2 | 7 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 11, 2006 | F2 | 25 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 2000 | F2 | 5 mi | 21 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Aug 25, 1998 | F2 | 24 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 15, 1989 | F2 | 21 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 93, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Westerville
The Storm Prediction Center has 130 hail reports within 10 miles of Westerville since 1955, made on 84 separate days. Of these, 64 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 3 days, most recently March 14, 2024. The most recent report is from April 2, 2025. June has the most reports, 28.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Westerville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Westerville, OH, 2 miles west of Westerville at 802 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 22°F. June is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.4 inches; the year adds up to 42.3 inches over 86 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 20 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 109 nights a year. Snowfall averages 19.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 42.3 inches is more than at 72 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (56%). New Albany, 6 miles southeast, has its own station (Columbus Port Columbus International Airport, OH): 41.5 inches a year, 0.8 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 22 | 2.9 | 7 | 6.9 |
| Feb | 42 | 24 | 2.4 | 6 | 5.3 |
| Mar | 53 | 32 | 3.4 | 7 | 2.8 |
| Apr | 66 | 42 | 3.9 | 8 | 0.1 |
| May | 76 | 52 | 4.2 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 61 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 65 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 63 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 56 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 67 | 45 | 3.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 53 | 35 | 2.9 | 7 | 0.5 |
| Dec | 42 | 27 | 3.1 | 7 | 3.4 |
| Year | 64 | 44 | 42.3 | 86 | 19.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Westerville, OH (802 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 Westerville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 313 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Westerville: 245 thunderstorm wind reports, 42 floods, 18 flash floods, 7 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 83 mph, on June 29, 2012. July has had the most flash floods, 7 of 18. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 393 have had fewer than Westerville.
June 29, 2025: lightning strike 5 miles from the centre of Westerville — 1 killed.
June 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Westerville — 1 injured, $20,000 damage.
June 24, 2014: flood 8 miles from the centre of Westerville — $100,000 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 Westerville's 2 ZIP codes have filed 71 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $1.1 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2020, with 13. 1% 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, 236 have fewer than Westerville.
Franklin County, which includes Westerville, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 severe storms, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, and Landslides, on October 2, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Franklin County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $331.4 million a year, the highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $209.6 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.