Ohio County

Every recorded tornado

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

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

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.

River crests

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.

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 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.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by KY GS (15), NASA (2).

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. Apr 28, 2002Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   On Shrull Lane west of Centertown, a mobile home and several outbuildings were destroyed. There was intermittent damage across extreme western Ohio County. There was structural damage to 16 homes in Hartford. Roofs were off some homes. Mobile homes were picked up and twisted.

2. Mar 1, 1997Flood, Ohio$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Record 24 hour rainfall from early March 1 through early March 2 at most spots on the order of 6 to 12 inches caused widepread flooding with numerous roads water covered and closed and hundreds of rescues from cars trapped in water and people trapped in flooded homes. All of these counties were declared federal disaster areas and received federal aid. Damage estimates include flash flooding damage as well. Many homes and businesses were effected.

3. Jun 25, 2018Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This brief tornado did most of its |damage at treetop level, snapping|the trunks of or uprooting at least |two dozen large, mature oaks and cedars, |and causing limb damage to many others. |In one case, it snapped the 2-foot |diameter trunk of a large cedar less than |5 feet above the ground, but lofted the |tree over nearby utility lines - which |remained intact - and deposited the tree |200 feet to the east. ||The tornado did occasionally reach closer |to the ground, causing significant damage |to two structures. The first was a large |brick ranch home, which had most of the |north half of its roof torn off, and |insulation spread eastward in a narrow |path. One piece of roofing…

4. Nov 18, 2017Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This small tornado was embedded in a fast moving squall line that raced east at 55 mph. The twister first touched down at a home on U.S. Highway 62 just west of Goshen Church Road, tearing off shingles and uprooting a tree. It moved east-southeast, uprooting and snapping trees near the intersection of Hwy 62 and Goshen Church Rd, along with damaging some small outbuildings. ||It next downed a tree on Mine Fork Road that fell between a home and outbuilding, damaging both structures and causing a |minor head injury to the occupant of the shed. Continuing over open fields, it next hit several residences along Hill, Mulberry, and South Mulberry streets before crossing U.S. Highway 231…

5. May 10, 2016Tornado$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado briefly touched down on Spinks Drive just off of Highway 69, initially causing EF-0 damage. The tornado was only on the ground for approximately 200 yards with a path width about 30-40 yards. A basement crawlspace door was blown out along with siding and roof damage at 125 Spinks Dr. There was evidence of isolated straight-line winds with some maple trees on Hamlin Chapel Dr. The tornado touched down for a second time at 41 El Retiro Ln where the path width increased to 50 yards and the winds speed increased to 90-95 mph. Numerous large hardwood trees were snapped and twisted. An outbuilding, previously used to make brooms, next to the house had significant damage when a…

6. Apr 3, 2008Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Rough River at Dundee crested at 28.9 feet around 330 AM EST on April 5. Flood stage at Dundee is 25 feet. Moderate flooding occurs at this level, with the post office flooded and sections of Kentucky Highway 69 covered with water.

7. May 18, 2018Flash Flood$60,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Law enforcement reported State Road 69 was flooded near Matanzas Road. Flood waters entered 4 houses on the 1100 block of State Road 69 just south of Matanzas Road.

8. Jun 28, 2020Flash Flood$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Three cars stalled in high water in Beaver Dam. Several basements in the area were flooded.

9. May 11, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Two trees were blown on to houses. One tree was blown on to a car. Numerous other trees were downed in the area. Signs were bent on Buford Road.

10. Jan 29, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Thunderstorm winds downed numerous trees and power lines. A few homes and vehicles were damaged by falling trees.

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

106°FSep 7, 1954

All-time low

−17°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

80°F4 times, most recently Aug 5, 2010

Coldest day

−6°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

6.24 inAug 1, 1950

Snowiest day

12.0 inJan 17, 1978

Hottest year

1941mean 60.7°F

Coldest year

1979mean 53.9°F

Wettest year

195073.85 in

Driest year

195328.83 in

Station Tell City (USC00128698), 390 ft elevation, 34.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1939 to October 27, 2026; 96.6% 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 USC00128698.
• 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.