NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Yellow Springs, 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
3 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Yellow Springs, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 116 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 116
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
37 deaths in all
What the records show for Yellow Springs
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Yellow Springs; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 53 mph winds when its centre passed 7 miles away. The record near Yellow Springs begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 56 miles away. Of the 605 Ohio cities on this site, 82% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Yellow Springs. The strongest of the 116 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 4 miles, and it killed 36 people. Of the 116, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 64 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 41. The most recent tornado was on July 19, 2025. Yellow Springs has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 93% of the 605 Ohio cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 141 times since 1958, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Yellow Springs has more hail reports within 10 miles than 86% of the 605 Ohio cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Yellow Springs
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Yellow Springs: 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 Yellow Springs
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s39(4 EF3+)
- 2000s10(1 EF3+)
- 1990s15
- 1980s12
- 1970s10(1 EF3+)
- 1960s11(2 EF3+)
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 4 mi | 31.3 mi | 36 / 1150 |
| Sep 20, 2000 | F4 | 5 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 100 |
| May 27, 2019 | EF4 | 12 mi | 18.17 mi | 0 / 166 |
| May 27, 2019 | EF3 | 4 mi | 9.92 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 2019 | EF3 | 23 mi | 10.49 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 14, 2014 | EF3 | 7 mi | 8.93 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1969 | F3 | 16 mi | 54.5 mi | 0 / 25 |
| May 8, 1969 | F3 | 13 mi | 1.9 mi | 0 / 25 |
| Feb 28, 2024 | EF2 | 7 mi | 21.11 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 8, 2022 | EF2 | 18 mi | 13.75 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 2019 | EF2 | 12 mi | 7.57 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 2, 1997 | F2 | 9 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 116, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Yellow Springs
The Storm Prediction Center has 141 hail reports within 10 miles of Yellow Springs since 1958, made on 92 separate days. Of these, 80 were 1 inch across or larger, and 10 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on April 9, 2001. The most recent report is from April 4, 2025. May has the most reports, 44.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Yellow Springs
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Springfield Wtp, OH, 13 miles north of Yellow Springs at 951 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 36°F and 19°F. May and July are the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.1 inches; the year adds up to 40.3 inches over 79 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 12 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 126 nights a year. That 40.3 inches is more than at 40 of the 129 Ohio stations used on this site (31%). Cedarville, 6 miles southeast, has its own station (Xenia 6 SSE, OH): 43.4 inches a year, 3.1 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | 19 | 2.7 | 6 |
| Feb | 40 | 20 | 2.1 | 5 |
| Mar | 50 | 28 | 2.9 | 6 |
| Apr | 63 | 38 | 4.0 | 8 |
| May | 73 | 49 | 4.6 | 9 |
| Jun | 81 | 59 | 4.5 | 9 |
| Jul | 84 | 62 | 4.6 | 8 |
| Aug | 83 | 60 | 3.3 | 5 |
| Sep | 78 | 52 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Oct | 65 | 41 | 2.8 | 6 |
| Nov | 52 | 31 | 2.8 | 6 |
| Dec | 41 | 24 | 2.6 | 6 |
| Year | 62 | 40 | 40.3 | 79 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Springfield Wtp, OH (951 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 Yellow Springs
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 361 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Yellow Springs: 268 thunderstorm wind reports, 61 floods, 24 flash floods and 8 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on March 28, 1997. May has had the most flash floods, 7 of 24. Of the 597 Ohio cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 468 have had fewer than Yellow Springs.
January 5, 1997: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Yellow Springs — 1 injured, $75,000 damage.
January 1, 2005: flood 9 miles from the centre of Yellow Springs — $425,000 damage.
May 22, 2014: flood 9 miles from the centre of Yellow Springs — $200,000 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
Greene County, which includes Yellow Springs, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Greene County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $41.6 million a year, the 18th highest of 88 Ohio counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $19.5 million (47%), 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 Yellow Springs
- Enon, OH5 mi
- Cedarville, OH6 mi
- Fairborn, OH7 mi
- Xenia, OH8 mi
- Medway, OH9 mi
- Springfield, OH10 mi
- Beavercreek, OH11 mi
- New Carlisle, OH12 mi
- Huber Heights, OH13 mi
- South Charleston, OH13 mi
- Jamestown, OH14 mi
- Bellbrook, OH15 mi
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