Norwalk

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 Huron County, the county that contains Norwalk.

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.

The drought index is for Huron County, the county that contains Norwalk.

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.

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. Jun 22, 2006Flood$12.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding continued to worsen in Huron County on June 22nd even after the heavy rains had ended. The City of Norwalk was especially hard hit as flooding from Norwalk Creek affected much of the city. Flood waters on Water and Elm Streets rose to as much as 12 feet in depth on the 22nd. Evacuations continued throughout the day as water levels climbed. Additional rainfall during the aftenoon further aggravated conditions. Water levels finally receded on the 23rd revealing the devastation the flooding caused throughout the county. Over a dozen homes in the county were classified as being destroyed with another 35 to 40 with major damage. Close to 200 homes were classified as having…

2. Jun 21, 2006Flash Flood$8.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms dumped torrential rains on Huron County during the late evening hours of June 21st and early morning hours of the 22nd. Widespread and devastating flash flooding occurred as a result of this rain. Damage in the county was the worst since the storms of July 4th, 1969. Between 5 and 9 inches of rain fell on much of the county. Cooperative observers in Norwalk measured a storm total of 5.70 inches with a spotter report just south of town of 6.66 inches. Other reports included 6.0 inches in New London and 4.20 inches in Fitchville. Most of this rain fell in a three to four hour period. Runoff from this rain caused area streams and rivers to quickly rise. By 3 a.m.…

3. Dec 22, 2004Winter Storm, Huron$5.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A record setting winter storm affected northern Ohio on December 22nd and 23rd. 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 around midday. Heavy snow with visibilities of a quarter mile or less then persisted into the early morning hours of the 23rd. Snowfall rates much of this time ranged from one to two inches per hour. Winds…

4. Jan 5, 2005Ice Storm, Huron$4.4 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…

5. Sep 14, 2008High Wind, Huron$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   High winds associated with the remnants of Hurricane Ike began during the early evening hours of September 14th and continued through late evening. Peak wind gusts were estimated to be around 60 mph with the strongest winds occurring between 6 and 8 pm. Damage in the county was extensive with thousands of trees and many utility poles downed. Widespread power outages occurred as well with some customers without power for several days. Many homes and buildings were damaged across the county. The damage ranged from a few shingles torn off to significant structural damage caused by fallen trees landing on roofs. Numerous vehicles were damaged by fallen trees and limbs and also from…

6. Aug 25, 1998Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy thunderstorm rain caused widespread flooding. The towns of Willard, Greenwich and New London in the southern portion of the county sustained the most damage with fifty to sixty homes flooded; some were total losses. Up to 1000 basements were flooded. Roads were flooded, some washed out in places, and four people had to be rescued from stranded vehicles.

7. Nov 10, 2002Tornado$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The same thunderstorm that produced the deadly Seneca County tornado spawned another tornado in northwestern Huron County. This tornado touched down near the intersection of Young Road and State Route 4 southeast of Bellevue and northwest of Hunts Corners. The tornado moved northeast for around seven and a half miles before entering Erie County north of Monroeville near the intersection of Section Line Road and State Route 113. The tornado caused some damage in Lyme Township. The township hall and garage located on Young Road near Section Line Road were severely damaged. Trucks and other heavy equipment stored in the garage were destroyed. As the tornado continued northeast it…

8. Aug 21, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorm downburst with winds estimated at 70 mph caused considerable damage. The section of Bellevue in Huron County was the hardest hit part of the city. Around 150 trees were downed on the northeast side of Bellvue with damage reported on every street. Fifty homes and many cars were damaged in this area. Over two dozen streets were blocked by fallen trees and limbs. A construction trailer was overturned and destroyed. The winds were strong enough to move several parked railroad cars over 200 feet.

9. Feb 28, 2011Flood$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   More than 127 sites on Huron County roads needed repairs after flood waters caused erosion damage. Along with severe roadside erosion, many culverts and small bridges were washed out from the flooding.

10. Mar 7, 2008Winter Storm, Huron$750,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Snow began during the late morning hours of the 7th and continued through the day. The snow tapered off a bit during the evening hours, then picked up again overnight into the 8th. Snow was moderate to heavy at times during the morning and early afternoon hours of the 8th, and then tapered off late that afternoon. By the end of the event, trained spotters in Norwalk measured 12.0 and 14.0 inches, and 17.3 in New London. Winds gusting to around 25 mph at times caused considerable blowing and drifting of snow. Many accidents occurred during the storm.

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

108°FJul 24, 1934

All-time low

−25°FFeb 20, 1929

Warmest night

79°F2 times, most recently Jul 7, 2012

Coldest day

−8°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

9.02 inJul 5, 1969

Snowiest day

14.0 in2 times, most recently Feb 14, 2007

Hottest year

1921mean 53.9°F

Coldest year

1895mean 45.3°F

Wettest year

201154.74 in

Driest year

196320.87 in

Snowiest season

82.6 in1909-10

Station Norwalk Wwtp (USC00336118), 670 ft elevation, 1.3 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1894 to August 31, 2026; 97.8% 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 Huron 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 USC00336118.
• 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.