Switzerland County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Switzerland County: 0.
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.

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.

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 county boundary (or inside the county).
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.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 3, 2022Flash Flood$18.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Eight to 10 inches of rain over a few hour period caused significant flash flooding over portions of western Switzerland County. Numerous creeks and streams were out of their banks. The hardest hit areas were in the vicinity of Bennington and along Indian Creek, where several county bridges were heavily damaged and a couple of bridges were washed out. Significant damage occurred to numerous homes along Indian Creek with trees also downed by the flowing water and roadways along the creek washed out in places.

2. Mar 2, 1997Flood, Switzerland$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain fell across the Ohio valley on the 1st and 2nd with some areas upstream over Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky receiving up to 12 inches. The Ohio river rose rapidly and reached a crest of 60.7 feet at 300 pm on the 6th at Markland Dam, which is just across the river in Kentucky. Many towns were flooded and hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes for several days.

3. Sep 14, 2008High Wind, Switzerland$1.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong winds of 40 to 50 miles per hour were sustained for several hours. Gusts over 60 mph were common. Widespread damage occurred across the region, from trees being blown down on powerlines to significant structural damage.

4. Mar 14, 2024Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado first developed in Jefferson County, Indiana, at 1258EST, on the north side of Hanover. The tornado moved east across the Ohio River into Trimble County, Kentucky, and then into Carroll County, Kentucky, before crossing the Ohio River again and moving back into Jefferson County, Indiana. The tornado continued east and entered Switzerland County at 1318EST. ||While in Switzerland County, the tornado damaged three barns along Green Valley Road. All the barns sustained significant roof panel damage. Some trees were also uprooted and numerous other trees were topped and snapped. The tornado continued east and caused widespread tree damage on the north hillside along State…

5. Jan 24, 1996Flood, Switzerland$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   On the 23rd, many areas received around an inch of rainfall which pushed the Whitewater river back into flood. The river crested at Alpine at 12.3 feet where the flood stage is 12 feet. The worst flooding occurred on the Ohio river. Markland Dam which is downstream from Cincinnati, crested at 51.8 feet and flood stage is 51 feet. However, points between Markland and Cincinnati suffered from significant flooding.

6. Jun 18, 2026Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The first sign of tornadic damage was just east of Patton Hollow Road where numerous trees were damaged. The tornado continued southeast, with notable damage at two properties located off of East State Route 56. Several large, hardwood trees were uprooted and/or snapped at the base. Additionally, both of these homes observed a substantial loss of roofing materials, as well as damage to their wooden porches. ||The tornado crossed the Ohio River, moving into Carroll County, Kentucky at 0246EST, about 2.2 miles east-northeast of Lamb. The tornado moved southeast and eventually ended at 0256EST, along Ghent Eagle S., Briar Fork, and Indian Creek Roads, about two miles west of Sanders.

7. Jan 6, 1996Winter Storm, Switzerland$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This massive storm system developed in the Gulf Coast and moved up the East Coast. The heaviest snow fell across Southeast Indiana where up to a foot of snow occurred near the Kentucky border. Farther north, around 6 inches fell in Wayne county. Strong winds caused significant blowing and drifting snow, especially to the north where the snow was lighter and more powdery.

8. Apr 20, 2011Tornado$90,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down near State Route 250 and Antioch Road. The tornado traveled to the northeast across Devers Road and toward North Branch Road before lifting near North Branch Road. Three barns were destroyed and two roofs were blown off of residences due to the tornado.

9. Mar 28, 1997Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Barn blown down.

10. Aug 6, 2022Flash Flood$30,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A portion of Lower Grants Creek Road was washed out near Oatman Hill Road.

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

104°F2 times, most recently Jul 7, 2012

All-time low

−25°FJan 18, 1977

Warmest night

79°FJul 30, 1999

Coldest day

−4°F2 times, most recently Jan 20, 1985

Wettest day

5.21 inMar 9, 1964

Snowiest day

11.8 inFeb 4, 1998

Hottest year

2024mean 57.9°F

Coldest year

1963mean 51.1°F

Wettest year

201173.28 in

Driest year

196327.99 in

Snowiest season

53.9 in1977-78

Station Cincinnati/northern Kentucky I (USW00093814), 861 ft elevation, 24.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USW00093814.
• 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.