Massillon

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Stark County, the county that contains Massillon.

Claims by ZIP code

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).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Stark County, the county that contains Massillon.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Stark County, the county that contains Massillon.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jul 27, 2003Flash Flood$52.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms dumped two to four inches of rain on Stark County during the early evening hours with the greatest amounts in the northern and central portions of the county. Rainfall rates peaked at more than two inches per hour and spotters measured nearly 3 inches of rain in Jackson Township between 5 and 7 p.m. For the day, 3.94 inches of rain fell at the Akron-Canton Airport just north of the Stark County line. A maximum of 4.50 inches of rain was measured in Louisville with 4.00 inches at both Massillon and in Lake Township. 3.5 inches of rain was measured at the Canton Water Plant. Some of the worst flooding in the county occurred along the east and west branches of…

2. Apr 28, 2002Tornado$45.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong F2 tornado touched down at 158 pm edt and caused major damage and two minor injuries along a path of just over seven miles. Major damage occurred along the path which was nearly a quarter mile in width at times. The initial touchdown occurred west of the intersection of Arlington Avenue and Windy Lane Street NW near Crystal Springs. From this location, the tornado moved east northeast through residential neighborhoods in Jackson Township. The tornado passed to the north of Lake Cable, crossed Interstate 77 near Portage Street and finally dissipated near a shopping district along State Route 297 in North Canton. The damage path was intermittent along part of its length.…

3. Jul 26, 2008Hail$30.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hail as large as tennis balls fell on portions of the City of Canton and also across the northern half of Canton Township. Hen Egg size hail was reported at the Pro Football Hall of Fame along Interstate 77. The hail lasted several minutes at most locations. Thousands of vehicles and homes were damaged by the hail. The damage appeared to be the most extensive on the south side of Canton.

4. Jul 26, 2008Hail$25.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Golf ball size hail was reported from just east of Massillon to Canton. The hail accumulated to several inches in depth in some areas. Many cars and homes sustained damage from the hail.

5. May 17, 2004Hail$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm producing large hail moved northeast across Stark County and caused significant damage in many areas. Large hail first fell in the Brewster and Beach City areas in southwestern Stark County. Hail as large as golf balls fell for more than five minutes damaging dozens of homes and vehicles in these communities. As the thunderstorm moved northeast, large hail fell over most of Bethlehem and Perry Townships. The Navarre and Massillon areas were especially hard hit as wind driven hail between golf ball and baseball size fell for several minutes. As the parent thunderstorm continued northeast, quarter to tennis ball size hail pounded large sections of Canton, North…

6. Jun 17, 2019Flood$7.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain over the headwaters of the Tuscarwas River were averaged 7.65��� for from June 11 through the 17th, with 3 to 5 inches falling on the 16th and 17th. The Tuscarawas River basin average rainfall for June 11 through June 17th was 7.58��� with 3 to 5��� falling during the 16th and 17th. As a result of concurrent major flooding on the tributary Chippewa Creek and the headwaters of the Tuscarawas River resulted in a flood near the 0.2 percent or 500 year flood level at the confluence in Canal Fulton and Clinton. Downstream of Canal Fulton the Tuscarawas River reached a near 1 percent recurrence flood, or 100 year event in the City of Massillon.||In Canal…

7. Jan 5, 2005Ice Storm, Stark$6.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   For the second time in just over two weeks, a devastating and historic winter storm affected Northern Ohio. Significant ice accumulations occurred over most of the area downing thousands of trees, causing widespread power outages and making travel nearly impossible. Low pressure over Missouri moved rapidly northeast on January 5th. This low moved across eastern Ohio early on January 6th and was responsible for producing a prolonged period of freezing rain. A mixture of rain and snow changed to freezing rain from west to east during the early morning hours of the 5th. Periods of freezing rain then continued for the remainder of the 5th and through the early morning hours of the…

8. Jul 26, 2008Hail$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Golf ball size hail was reported in North Canton. Many vehicles were damaged by the hail.

9. Jan 1, 2005Flood, Stark$4.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain and runoff from snowmelt caused widespread flooding in Stark County the first half of January. January 2005 was the fifth wettest January ever at the Akron-Canton Airport with 5.62 inches of rain for the month. Cooperative observers in Louisville measured 7.05 inches during the month. In addition to this rain, extensive snowpack existed over Stark County at the beginning of the month. Temperatures in the 50s the first three days of the month caused a rapid snowmelt and brought area streams and creeks to bankfull just in time for a significant winter storm on the 5th and 6th. Then, just as things began to return to normal, heavy rains fell on the area on the 11th, 12th…

10. Dec 22, 2004Winter Storm, Stark$3.8 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    A record setting winter storm affected northern Ohio on December 22nd and 23rd and dumped both heavy snow and freezing rain on Knox, Holmes, Wayne and Stark Counties. The impact and damage caused by this storm has been compared to the Blizzard of January 1978. Low pressure developed over eastern Texas early on the 22nd and then moved quickly northeast. The low eventually tracked across eastern Ohio during the morning hours of the 23rd after dumping nearly two feet of snow on portions of Ohio. The snow began around daybreak on the 22nd and then intensified during the afternoon. During the evening, warmer air spread into the area as the low approached from the southwest. This caused…

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

101°F2 times, most recently Jul 7, 2012

All-time low

−25°FJan 19, 1994

Warmest night

77°FJul 20, 2019

Coldest day

−8°FJan 20, 1985

Wettest day

4.84 inJul 19, 2011

Snowiest day

19.7 inApr 4, 1987

Hottest year

2021mean 54.0°F

Coldest year

1958mean 47.4°F

Wettest year

199065.70 in

Driest year

196323.79 in

Snowiest season

82.0 in1977-78

Station Akron Canton Airport (USW00014895), 1,210 ft elevation, 10.2 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 27, 2026; 100.0% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Stark County.

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).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00014895.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.