Harrison County

Every recorded tornado

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

Mapped landslides

Mapped by NASA (1).

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.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 17, 2004Flood, Harrison$605,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   At 345 PM EDT on 17th, Rtes 22 and 250 were closed by flooding near Cadiz. By 9 AM on 18th, Scio was still under water. Rte 151 between Scio and Bowerstown closed by flood. 137 structures damaged or destroyed. State Routes 519, 646, and 799 also closed by flood. Total rain: 5.1 inches in New Athens. (IVAN)

2. Sep 14, 2008High Wind, Harrison$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Low pressure from the remains of Hurricane Ike moved across central Ohio to Lake Erie on the evening of September 14th and produced very strong winds into the early morning of September 15th across eastern Ohio, northern West Virginia, and western Pennsylvania. Widespread damage to trees and power lines was reported across the region with power outages and damage to some structures from falling trees. Power was not restored to some rural areas for one week after the storm. At the peak of the storm more than 2 million homes were without power. For a period of about 8 hours, sustained winds during the storm were from 30 to 50 MPH, with gusts well over 60 MPH. The highest reported…

3. Jul 29, 2021Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The path of the tornado began just west of the town of New Athens |where the damage was mainly to soft and hardwood trees. Several |trees were uprooted or snapped. The tornado then continued over |the hill toward the town of New Athens. Several large trees were |uprooted and roof damage was observed on both sides of route 9/Main |Street in town.| |The most notable damage occurred in town just off of Culbertson |Drive and McFarland Road. Several trees were snapped low on the trunks |and additional large trees were uprooted. A home on Culbertson lost several |large sections of roof, with pieces found in a field 1.4 miles away. Pieces |of the roof were also found embedded in the…

4. Jun 28, 1998Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Another round of torrential rains over already saturated ground created flash flooding across the county on the evening of the 28th, continuing through the 30th. Most of the problems in the county were confined to water covering roadways, with the western portion of the county near Freeport and Tippecanoe having the most problems. Several buildings received damage from the flood waters, most of them mobile homes. The county also sustained significant agricultural losses from standing flood water in fields.

5. Jun 4, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Law enforcement reported large trres down and boats blown onto the shore at Tappan Lake.

6. May 23, 2000Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An F2 tornado with maximum winds estimated at 120 MPH passed through a 3-mile section of rural Harrison County. The tornado passed over only one residence as it moved to the east but destroyed several items on the property, including a cinder-block garage, a wooden barn, and several outbuildings. A parked truck was lifted and turned about 90 degrees but was otherwise undamaged. There were several large sections of heavily wooded area along the tornado's path which were completely cleared of trees. No injuries or fatalities were reported.

7. Jun 15, 2004Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   County roads flooded between Bowerstown and Deersville. Water began to recede after 9 PM EDT and was expected to return to normal by midnight. The flash flood damaged roads (such as routes 8 and 39), culverts, camp sites, and boat docks around Tappan Lake. A bridge was washed out on Route 8.

8. Mar 20, 2020Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous areas experienced flooding across Harrison, Carroll, and Tuscarawas county. One and half to three inches of rain occurred in parts of Eastern Ohio. ||Two individuals died in flooded cars near swollen creeks. According to a local newspaper: A woman���s body was found in her vehicle Saturday afternoon after it was washed off Route 800 north of Stillwater in Tuscarawas County and the body of 17-year-old Jack E. Roehrich, of Freeport, was found in his truck partially submerged in flood water near Skull Fork Road in Harrison County. Roehrich's truck was found near a bridge on Skull Fork Road in a ditch that leads to a larger nearby creek. Roehrich left home at…

9. Feb 12, 2009High Wind, Harrison$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A powerful cold front moved across the Ohio Valley on the evening of the 11th as strong low pressure moved north across the Great Lakes. A convective line along the cold front produced widespread damage across eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia, and Garrett county Maryland with thunderstorm wind gusts of 60 to 70 MPH and a peak wind gust of 92 MPH at Allegheny County Airport near Pittsburgh. High winds gusting over 60 MPH behind the front in a strong pressure gradient produced wind damage across the entire region into midday on the 12th. In all across eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia and Garrett county Maryland over one half…

10. Mar 26, 2021High Wind, Harrison$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Many reports of trees down and wire damage were received in the county, with the Freeport area seeing the most damage.

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

99°FAug 27, 1948

All-time low

−10°FJan 7, 2014

Warmest night

77°F2 times, most recently Jun 29, 2024

Coldest day

5°FJan 7, 2014

Wettest day

4.12 inSep 29, 2015

Hottest year

2024mean 56.7°F

Coldest year

2014mean 50.2°F

Wettest year

201857.65 in

Driest year

202429.18 in

Station Wheeling Ohio County Airport (USW00014894), 1,195 ft elevation, 23.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 94.6% 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 USW00014894.
• 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.