NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Willoughby, 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
6 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Willoughby, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 47 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 47
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
18 deaths in all
What the records show for Willoughby
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Willoughby; the strongest was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm with 46 mph winds when its centre passed 17 miles away. The record near Willoughby begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 67 miles away. Of the 6 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Willoughby has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 64% of the 605 Ohio cities on this site. The strongest of the 47 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 8, 1953; its path came within 19 miles, and it killed 17 people. Of the 47, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 23 have come since 2000. August has had the most tornadoes, 13. The most recent tornado was on August 12, 2025. Of the 605 Ohio cities, 83% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Willoughby. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 104 times since 1970, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Willoughby has more hail reports within 10 miles than 70% of the 605 Ohio cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Willoughby
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 31 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 6 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 22 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Willoughby: 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 Willoughby
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s7
- 2000s3
- 1990s6
- 1980s4(2 EF3+)
- 1970s4
- 1960s6(1 EF3+)
- 1950s4(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 8, 1953 | F4 | 19 mi | 118 mi | 17 / 379 |
| May 2, 1983 | F3 | 18 mi | 12 mi | 1 / 25 |
| May 31, 1985 | F3 | 25 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 30 |
| Sep 29, 1966 | F3 | 12 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Aug 24, 2023 | EF2 | 19 mi | 0.69 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 24, 2023 | EF2 | 15 mi | 1.52 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F2 | 17 mi | 10.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 1995 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 1985 | F2 | 18 mi | 33.4 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 4, 1969 | F2 | 14 mi | 7.2 mi | 0 / 40 |
| Jul 24, 1967 | F2 | 23 mi | 16.4 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 19, 1963 | F2 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 47, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Willoughby
The Storm Prediction Center has 104 hail reports within 10 miles of Willoughby since 1970, made on 60 separate days. Of these, 45 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on April 14, 1974. The most recent report is from June 27, 2025. May has the most reports, 37.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Willoughby
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Kirtland-Holden 2, OH, 5 miles east of Willoughby at 1,030 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 19°F. July is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 48.2 inches over 99 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 9 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 124 nights a year. That 48.2 inches is more than at 124 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (96%). Mentor, 5 miles northeast, has its own station (Painesville 4 NW, OH): 40.3 inches a year, 7.9 less than here, and the same July average high, 82°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Fairport, OH, 11 miles northeast, averaged 76°F in July and 35°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 19 | 3.5 | 10 | 35 |
| Feb | 36 | 20 | 2.7 | 6 | 35 |
| Mar | 45 | 28 | 3.3 | 8 | 42 |
| Apr | 58 | 38 | 4.1 | 9 | 52 |
| May | 69 | 49 | 4.1 | 9 | 59 |
| Jun | 77 | 58 | 4.0 | 8 | 69 |
| Jul | 82 | 62 | 5.2 | 8 | 76 |
| Aug | 80 | 61 | 4.4 | 7 | 76 |
| Sep | 74 | 55 | 4.6 | 7 | 71 |
| Oct | 62 | 45 | 3.9 | 8 | 61 |
| Nov | 49 | 35 | 4.1 | 10 | 47 |
| Dec | 39 | 25 | 4.3 | 10 | 37 |
| Year | 59 | 41 | 48.2 | 99 | 55 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Kirtland-Holden 2, OH (1,030 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Fairport, OH, from NOAA Tides & Currents. 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 Willoughby
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 220 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Willoughby: 196 thunderstorm wind reports, 14 floods, 9 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $9.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on August 6, 2024. August has had the most flash floods, 5 of 9. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 201 have had fewer than Willoughby.
November 15, 2020: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Willoughby — 2 injured.
May 31, 2010: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Willoughby — $4.5 million damage.
June 27, 2015: flood 5 miles from the centre of Willoughby — $1.0 million 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 Willoughby's ZIP code 44094 have filed 192 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $2.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1989: 19 claims (10% of all) and $209,000. The year with the most claims was 1978, with 42. 14% 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, 295 have fewer than Willoughby.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1989 | 19 | $209,000 |
Lake County, which includes Willoughby, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lake County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, 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 $41.9 million a year, the 17th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $30.9 million (74%), 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 Willoughby
- Willowick, OH3 mi
- Wickliffe, OH4 mi
- Mentor, OH5 mi
- Gates Mills, OH6 mi
- Richmond Heights, OH7 mi
- Euclid, OH7 mi
- Chesterland, OH8 mi
- Mayfield Heights, OH9 mi
- South Euclid, OH10 mi
- Painesville, OH10 mi
- Novelty, OH11 mi
- Chardon, OH11 mi
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