Salem

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 Columbiana County, the county that contains Salem.

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 Columbiana County, the county that contains Salem.

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 Columbiana County, the county that contains Salem.

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.

Mapped landslides

Landslides mapped in Columbiana County.

Mapped by NASA (1).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Aug 27, 2004Flash Flood$3.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding began 11 PM EDT, when State Rte 45 flooded in Salem Twp, 4 miles southwest of Leetonia. Rushing waters washed out a bridge and left a hole 65 ft by 125 ft. By 1115 PM EDT, significant flash flooding had spread to Lisbon. Six inches of rain fell, from 10 PM 27th to 4 AM EDT 28th; total rain 7.2 inches. Peak of flash flood was at 1230 to 1 AM EDT 28th. One man was trapped inside his home, when flood waters carried him and the home into Mill Site Creek about 1230 AM. His house broke apart when it was slammed against a bridge. He was later rescued from a tree. These streets flooded: Caldwell, Mill, Pritchard Ave, Moore, McKinley, East Chestnut. By 4 AM EDT 28th, significant…

2. Oct 6, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tree was reported down along Depot and Winona Road.

3. Oct 6, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tree was reported down along Lippincot Road.

4. Sep 14, 2008High Wind, Columbiana$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Low pressure from the remains of Hurricane Ike moved across central Ohio to Lake Erie on the evening of September 14th and produced very strong winds into the early morning of September 15th across eastern Ohio, northern West Virginia, and western Pennsylvania. Widespread damage to trees and power lines was reported across the region with power outages and damage to some structures from falling trees. Power was not restored to some rural areas for one week after the storm. At the peak of the storm more than 2 million homes were without power. For a period of about 8 hours, sustained winds during the storm were from 30 to 50 MPH, with gusts well over 60 MPH. The highest reported…

5. Aug 9, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An NWS storm survey found a microburst hit Salem with maximum winds estimated at 85 MPH with maximum width about 200 yards. A roof was ripped off a gas station with minor damage to a supermarket. A truck was overturned and a car was pushed on top of another. Numerous trees and power lines were knocked down with several large signs damaged.

6. Jul 1, 2023Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extensive home damage in East Liverpool was seen as a result of flood waters.

7. Sep 17, 2004Flood, Columbiana$475,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   At 4 PM EDT on 17th, mud slides and floods closed numerous roads near East Liverpool. 508 PM, Will Creek flooded Rte 518 near Summitville. 119 structures damaged or destroyed. Total rain: 7 inches in southeastern part of county. (IVAN)

8. Jan 19, 1996Flood, Columbiana$440,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flood waters from the Allegheny and the Monongahela Rivers crested in phase at the Point in Pittsburgh. Water from these two mainstem rivers flow into the Ohio River. Major flooding to communities along the Ohio River occurred in Columbiana, Jefferson, Belmont, and Monroe Counties in east-central Ohio. The Ohio River at East Liverpool went above its 14 foot flood stage on the 19th at 10 pm EST. The river crested at 24.8 feet (10.8 feet above flood stage) on the 20th at 7 pm. Crests downstream were not as high, Hannibal, Ohio crested at 39.4 feet (4.4 feet above flood stage) on the 21st at 1 pm. Nonetheless, damages to homes and businesses and their contents, public facilities,…

9. Sep 8, 2004Flood, Columbiana$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   By 615 PM EDT, roads were flooded countywide. By 730 PM, Mill Creek began to flood the Lisbon area; and West Point reported 6" of rain. By 915 PM on 8th, Rte 30 from Hanoverton to Kensington was closed by flood; and SR 154 near Elkton is covered by 3 ft of water. Total rain: West Point 8 inches; Union 4.3; Salem 4.1. (FRANCES)

10. Jul 1, 2023Flash Flood$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A road was washed out in the 900 block of Valley Avenue. Dry Run came out of its banks, with multiple homes inundated.

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

103°FJul 10, 1936

All-time low

−22°FJan 19, 1994

Warmest night

81°FAug 17, 1938

Coldest day

−6°FJan 19, 1994

Wettest day

4.65 inJul 21, 2003

Snowiest day

17.2 inJan 24, 1948

Hottest year

2024mean 53.4°F

Coldest year

1980mean 46.2°F

Wettest year

201154.01 in

Driest year

196323.79 in

Snowiest season

118.7 in2010-11

Station Youngstown-warren Regional Airport (USW00014852), 1,167 ft elevation, 25.9 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1934 to October 27, 2026; 99.9% 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 Columbiana 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 USW00014852.
• 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.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• 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.