Fayette County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 14, 2008High Wind, Fayette$3.3 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 crop losses and structural damage.

2. Jan 6, 1996Winter Storm, Fayette$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…

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

   The tornado appears to have first formed along State Route 734 to the east of West Lancaster Road NW, where minor tree damage was noted. The tornado strengthened to low end EF1 as it crossed Jeffersonville-West Lancaster Road. One outbuilding was destroyed while two other buildings experienced significant removal of roof covering. Several hardwood trees were also snapped. Debris was observed in a field for over 1/2 mile east of Jeffersonville-West Lancaster Road. ||Damage to numerous power poles was noted near the Jefferson Industrial Park and nearby metal roof panels of a service station were removed. Some of the last damage was noted in Jefferson Crossing, where numerous RVs…

4. Jun 23, 2016Tornado$110,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The first sign of tornadic damage was observed near the corner of|Palmer Road NW and Harmony Road. Siding was removed from multiple|sides of a two story home, particularly on the southeast facing|side. Large tree limbs were also knocked down near this residence.||Damage continued to the southeast along Harmony Road and onto|Burnett Perrill Road. Damage primarily affected hardwood trees,|and several large branches were snapped from the trees. The|orientation of the trees exhibited a convergent pattern to the|damage. Siding was also removed from a garage at a residence on|Burnett Perrill Road.||Near the intersection of Burnett Perrill Road and Jasper-Coil|Road, numerous evergreen…

5. May 23, 2000Hail$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Large hail fell causing damage at several local car dealerships. Around 200 vehicles received some damage.

6. Mar 14, 2019Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Multiple trees and power poles were downed across the county, several barns were damaged, and a few houses had siding damage.

7. Dec 22, 2004Winter Storm, Fayette$96,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A surface and upper level low pressure center tracked northeast across the Ohio Valley on Wednesday, December 22nd and exited the region on the 23rd. A swath of heavy snow cut through southeast Indiana and into the Miami Valley of Ohio. 24 hour storm totals in this narrow band exceeded 2 feet in Preble and Darke counties. Snowfall totals of 20 inches or more were found along a line generally running from Eaton to Greenville, Piqua, Sidney, and Bellefontaine. Along and west of the I-71 corridor between Cincinnati and Columbus...over 8 inches of snow fell. East of this line, warm air infiltrated the lower layers of the atmosphere and brought periods of freezing rain and sleet during…

8. Oct 26, 2010Tornado$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Along the path of the tornado, several trees were snapped and several structures lost parts or all of their roofs. The heaviest damage occurred to a large storage facility which suffered major roof loss and total collapse of the northern half of the structure. On the western edge of Washington Court House there was roof damage to two businesses in addition to tree damage. This damage is consistent with winds around 85 miles per hour.

9. May 27, 2004Tornado$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down near Ghormley and traveled east into western Ross County. Three barns were severely damaged, with one man suffering injuries from being trapped in one of the damaged barns.

10. May 3, 2022Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Around 10 travel campers were overturned at an RV lot.

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

101°F2 times, most recently Jul 7, 2012

All-time low

−14°F2 times, most recently Jan 31, 2026

Warmest night

77°FJul 30, 1999

Coldest day

3°FJan 30, 1966

Wettest day

4.24 inAug 14, 1968

Snowiest day

11.0 inMar 22, 1968

Hottest year

2024mean 56.9°F

Coldest year

1958mean 49.8°F

Wettest year

195758.11 in

Driest year

199926.43 in

Station Cincinnati (USW00013841), 1,170 ft elevation, 22.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1949 to October 26, 2026; 94.7% 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 USW00013841.
• 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.