NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Willard, 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 Willard, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 100 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 100
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
29 deaths in all
What the records show for Willard
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Willard; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 56 mph winds when its centre passed 37 miles away. The record near Willard begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 43 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 Willard. The strongest of the 100 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 8, 1953; its path came within 20 miles, and it killed 17 people. Of the 100, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 44 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 25. The most recent tornado was on August 13, 2025. Willard has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 83% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 68 times since 1969, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 605 Ohio cities, 53% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Willard.
Compare Willard's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Willard
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 6 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 37 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 Willard: 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 Willard
By decade
- 2020s19
- 2010s18
- 2000s7(1 EF3+)
- 1990s13
- 1980s9
- 1970s24(1 EF3+)
- 1960s8(1 EF3+)
- 1950s2(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 8, 1953 | F4 | 20 mi | 118 mi | 17 / 379 |
| May 10, 1973 | F3 | in town | 50.1 mi | 6 / 100 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F3 | 7 mi | 15 mi | 4 / 30 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F3 | 14 mi | 21 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Mar 10, 1986 | F2 | 3 mi | 8 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Mar 14, 2024 | EF2 | 7 mi | 10.29 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 2023 | EF2 | 5 mi | 8.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 14, 2019 | EF2 | 14 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Nov 5, 2017 | EF2 | 24 mi | 1.09 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 5, 2017 | EF2 | 14 mi | 0.61 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 4, 2017 | EF2 | 19 mi | 16.67 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 20, 2000 | F2 | 12 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 100, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Willard
The Storm Prediction Center has 68 hail reports within 10 miles of Willard since 1969, made on 57 separate days. Of these, 28 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on March 14, 2024. The most recent report is from May 22, 2024. May has the most reports, 21.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Willard
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Norwalk Wwtp, OH, 15 miles northeast of Willard at 670 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 19°F. June is the wettest at 4.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.3 inches; the year adds up to 40.1 inches over 85 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 15 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 123 nights a year. Snowfall averages 32.7 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%). Plymouth, 6 miles southeast, has its own station (Mansfield Lahm Municipal Airport, OH): 42.6 inches a year, 2.5 more than here, and the same July average high, 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 19 | 2.7 | 7 | 9.7 |
| Feb | 36 | 20 | 2.3 | 6 | 8.2 |
| Mar | 46 | 28 | 2.9 | 7 | 5.1 |
| Apr | 59 | 38 | 4.0 | 9 | 1.6 |
| May | 70 | 50 | 3.9 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 60 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 64 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 62 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 55 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 43 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 50 | 34 | 2.8 | 7 | 1.5 |
| Dec | 39 | 25 | 2.6 | 7 | 6.6 |
| Year | 60 | 41 | 40.1 | 85 | 32.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Norwalk Wwtp, OH (670 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 Willard
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 134 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Willard: 123 thunderstorm wind reports, 7 floods and 4 flash floods. They killed 0 people and injured 9, and the NWS estimated $4.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on January 9, 2008.
August 6, 2000: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Willard — 6 injured, $350,000 damage.
NWS: “A thunderstorm downburst with winds estimated around 100 mph moved east along US Highway 224 in southern Huron County. Many trees were downed in Willard with the first significant damage occurring in New Haven Township just southeast of Willard where a mobile home was destroyed along State Route 61.”
July 21, 1998: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Willard — 1 injured, $150,000 damage.
April 12, 1996: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Willard — 1 injured, $60,000 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
Huron County, which includes Willard, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Huron County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $16.6 million a year, the 52nd highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $9.4 million (56%), 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 Willard
- Plymouth, OH6 mi
- Attica, OH8 mi
- Monroeville, OH11 mi
- Greenwich, OH12 mi
- Norwalk, OH13 mi
- Shelby, OH13 mi
- Shiloh, OH13 mi
- Bellevue, OH14 mi
- Bloomville, OH15 mi
- Republic, OH15 mi
- New London, OH17 mi
- Milan, OH17 mi
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