Crawford County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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. Aug 21, 2007Flash Flood$62.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain producing thunderstorms affected Crawford County during the late evening hours of August 20th and early morning hours of August 21st. Rainfall rates with the strongest storms exceeded three inches per hour. Trained spotters in Bucyrus measured storm totals of 8.68 inches and 8.5 inches respectively. About 5 inches of this total fell between midnight and 4 am. Runoff from this rain combined with ground already saturated from earlier rains led to catastrophic flooding across portions of Crawford County. Local officials stated that the flooding in the county was the worst ever! A total of 68 homes were destroyed with another 240 homes suffering major structural damage.…

2. Jan 5, 2005Ice Storm, Crawford$8.3 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…

3. Dec 22, 2004Winter Storm, Crawford$4.8 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. Sep 14, 2008High Wind, Crawford$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   High winds associated with the remnants of Hurricane Ike began late in the afternoon of September 14th and then continued through much of the evening. Wind gusts were estimated to be as much as 70 mph. 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. Home and building damage across the county was also extensive. 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 flying debris. This storm hampered travel as…

5. Feb 28, 2011Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain and rapid snow melt led to a rapid rise in the Sandusky River at Bucyrus, which reached a 100 year crest of 10.86 feet. The only official rainfall observation was in Galion where 2.38 was reported. Six to ten inches of heavy snow was on the ground at the onset of the rain. This snow rapidly melted as temperatures warmed into the 50s on the 28th. Up to an additional inch of water equivalent rainfall was released from the melted snow. Several people had be rescued from homes and vehicles as the water came up. About 30 homes in Bucyrus were flooded as the Sandusky River came out of banks. Countyline Road was one of the most affected areas where at least a dozen homes were…

6. Sep 4, 2017Tornado$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF0 tornado touched down in rural Crawford County about three quarters of a mile west of North Robinson. The initial touchdown was in a cornfield west of Olentangy Road about half way between Lower Leesville Road and Crestline Road. The tornado then continued east and moved across the northern half of North Robinson causing extensive damage. The tornado briefly reached EF2 intensity as it moved through the town. Several garages were destroyed and one home was heavily damaged after losing a large section of roof. Other homes along the path sustained lesser amounts of damage, mainly in the form of lost siding or shingles. One home did have a brick chimney toppled. Tree damage in…

7. Apr 17, 2024Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF1 tornado with estimated peak winds of 110 mph occurred in Bucyrus. The tornado began near the bend of Kerstetter Road and West Southern Avenue. The tornado yielded 80 mph winds with damage to the roof of a home on West Southern Avenue. The tornado tracked northeastward and produced scattered damage in the form of broken tree limbs. The tornado continued northeastward across the Sandusky River and intensified with winds up to 100 mph. Several large hardwood trees were uprooted, a garage was destroyed, a small trailer rolled, three chimneys were blown down, several large trees were uprooted, and a shed was destroyed near the intersection of Ridge Avenue and Wise Street. The…

8. Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An intense line of thunderstorms or Derecho moved across Crawford County during the afternoon of June 29th causing extensive damage. Winds were estimated to be as much as 70 mph. A 66 mph wind gust was measured in Bucyrus. The southeast corner of the county was the hardest hit. Over 50 percent of residents in southern Crawford County lost power during this event. Power was not completely restored for several days. Hundreds of trees were downed across the county along with many utility poles forcing the closure of some of roads and streets. Damage to homes and buildings was also extensive. Dozens of homes and buildings lost roofing or siding with many other homes damaged by fallen…

9. Nov 5, 2017Tornado$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF1 tornado touched down in Galion near the intersection of Orange and Grand Streets. Many trees in the area were snapped or uprooted. The tornado continued east northeast across the city and damaged three homes as it crossed Union Street. Two of the homes lost some facia, siding and roofing but the third had a fallen tree damage a wall. A warehouse on Market Street lost a section of roofing. A second warehouse along Columbus Street also lost some roofing material. A few blocks to the east two homes were damaged on South Washington Street. One of the homes had it's roof detached and the second lost some roofing and siding material. The tornado then intensified to EF2 as it…

10. Mar 7, 2008Winter Storm, Crawford$650,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Snow began during the late morning hours of the 7th and continued through the day. By evening, around 4.0 inches of snow fell across the area. The snow continued overnight and intensified by the morning hours of the 8th. Throughout the day on the 8th, snowfall was moderate to heavy at times and wind gusts around 25 mph caused considerable blowing and drifting of snow. By the end of the event, snowfall amounts varied considerably across the area. Snow totals include 13.5 inches in Galion, 18.9 inches in New Washington, and 20.5 inches in Bucyrus. Many accidents were reported during this 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

111°FAug 7, 1918

All-time low

−28°FFeb 10, 1899

Warmest night

80°F3 times, most recently Sep 16, 1931

Coldest day

−11°FJan 19, 1994

Wettest day

8.68 inAug 21, 2007

Snowiest day

16.7 inDec 23, 2004

Hottest year

2024mean 54.9°F

Coldest year

1917mean 46.4°F

Wettest year

193755.48 in

Driest year

193423.66 in

Snowiest season

62.0 in1950-51

Station Bucyrus (USC00331072), 955 ft elevation, 5.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 27, 2026; 96.7% 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 USC00331072.
• 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.