Butler County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 14, 2008High Wind, Butler$41.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong winds of 40 to 50 miles per hour were sustained for several hours. A gust to 65 mph was recorded in Trenton. Widespread damage occurred across the region, from trees being blown down on powerlines, to significant crop losses and structural damage.

2. Jul 17, 2001Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several state, county and township roads incurred culvert and/or beam damage. 159 dwellings and one nursing home with damage across county. A stream was out of its banks at the intersection of State Routes 73 and 177. Total estimate of public assistance is 1,465,350.

3. Jan 5, 1997Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A three mile path received extensive damage. Numerous buildings were damaged with a trucking company building being nearly destroyed. A trailer was thrown into a fence and several tractor trailers were overturned. High school bleachers were blown 50 feet which caused damage. Several homes received minor roof damage. Numerous trees were downed with a few electrical poles being snapped.

4. Jun 15, 2003Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Twenty five homes in the Cedar Grove subdivision in New Miami were evacuated when Four Mile and Seven Mile Creeks came out of their banks. In Fairfield, up to 50 homes were evacuated when Pleasant Run Creek rose out of its banks. Cars were trapped in high water throughout Fairfield, with a total of 300 homes sustaining damage from the flooding.

5. May 19, 1998Lightning$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms moved through Butler county causing 2 house fires. Both houses were nearly completely destroyed.

6. Feb 27, 2023Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado first touched down near the intersection of Jacksonburg Road and Oxford Middletown Road, where some minor roof and tree damage was observed. Damage was more pronounced at properties along Middletown Eaton Road. Several homes had fascia and shingles removed. One house even lost some plywood underneath the shingles.||The strongest winds occurred at a property on Elk Creek Road, just north of the bridge over Elk Creek. A home on the east side of the road had the roof removed from the second story, with the back wall also failing in the process. This is where the tornado is likely to have been at its maximum intensity, with the degree of damage and structural damage to the…

7. Jan 6, 1996Winter Storm, Butler$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Blizzard of '96 developed near the Gulf Coast and moved up the East Coast. This massive system produced the greatest total and 24 hour snowfall at Greater Cincinnati\Northern Kentucky airport. This one storm brought 14.3 inches of snowfall to the airport which normally receives 23 inches for an entire season. The heaviest snow fell near the Ohio river in the extreme south. The worst blizzard conditions occurred over West Central areas as dry and powdery snow was blown around by high winds causing whiteouts. Some areas had more than 30 continuous hours of snowfall, and many people in Southern Ohio felt this was the worst winter storm since the Blizzard of '78. In Fayette…

8. Jun 1, 1997Flash Flood$450,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Many county roads were flooded by persistent heavy rainfall. The New London Road bridge was washed out.

9. Mar 30, 2025Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornadic damage was first observed near Hamilton Eaton Road, just north of New Miami, Ohio and traveled northeast. The tornado caused substantial roof and siding damage to several mobile homes and moved at least two others from their foundation. There were also numerous trees either uprooted or with their tops snapped through this area. The tornado then continued along Trenton Road and Hawkins Road, where additional tree damage was noted. From there, the tornado crossed Wayne Madison Road, where several power poles were snapped. ||Additional damage to outbuildings was noted along Woodsdale Road. The tornado then moved across the Great Miami River and caused damage to several homes…

10. May 7, 2024Tornado$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The tornado started in Reily Township along Bunker Hill Woods Road where one outbuilding was destroyed and significant damage occurred to the roof and garage of a single family home. Winds in this area were estimated to be around 110 mph. ||Trees were snapped and another outbuilding was destroyed along Pierson Road. Additional tree and structure damage was noted along Stillwell Beckett Road. The tornado continued to move east and downed some trees at the Indian Ridge Golf Club. Some trees were also downed along Eagle View Court and Lanes Mill Road just east of the golf course before the tornado ended.

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

105°FJul 7, 2012

All-time low

−20°FFeb 24, 2015

Warmest night

78°FJul 11, 2011

Coldest day

9°FFeb 19, 2015

Wettest day

3.99 inJul 17, 2001

Hottest year

2024mean 57.8°F

Coldest year

2014mean 51.6°F

Wettest year

201160.21 in

Driest year

199923.85 in

Station Hamilton Butler County Regional Airport (USW00053855), 606 ft elevation, 3.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1997 to October 26, 2026; 97.0% 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 USW00053855.
• 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.