Jefferson County

Every recorded tornado

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

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 (11), WV GS (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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jun 29, 1998Flash Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several waves of thunderstorms continued to pass over Jefferson County, with major flooding reported across the region. Numerous homes across the county were damaged, with 50-60 homes in the Glen Robbins area receiving severe damage as the Little Short Creek flooded. It was estimated that around 40 vehicles were destroyed from the flash flood waters.

2. Sep 17, 2004Flood, Jefferson$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   At 215 PM EDT on 17th, there were multiple mud slides on Route 7 from Steubenville to Brilliant from heavy rain and flooding. By 333 PM, there was widespread flooding throughout Jefferson Co. As of 9 AM on 18th, many roads remained closed by flooding and mud slides, including Rte 7. As of 4 PM on 19th, Brilliant, Mingo Jct, and other towns remained flooded. In total, 255 structures were damaged or destroyed. These roads were closed by flooding or mud slides at one time: State Routes 146 through 152; county roads 1 through 43. There was flooding in Empire, Stratton, and Toronto. Sewage treatment plant in Steubenville has damaged. On the Ohio River, New Cumberland WV was above flood…

3. Aug 20, 2014Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A newspaper reported widespread damage from flash flooding, with numerous roads and bridges damaged. County roads 18, 17, 7, 8, 15A, 1 and 74 will need repairs, with a bridge on route 115 destroyed.

4. Jan 19, 1996Flood, Jefferson$960,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flood waters from the Allegheny and the Monongahela Rivers crested in phase at the Point in Pittsburgh. Water from these two mainstem rivers flow into the Ohio River. Major flooding to communities along the Ohio River occurred in Columbiana, Jefferson, Belmont, and Monroe Counties in east-central Ohio. The Ohio River at East Liverpool went above its 14 foot flood stage on the 19th at 10 pm EST. The river crested at 24.8 feet (10.8 feet above flood stage) on the 20th at 7 pm. Crests downstream were not as high, Hannibal, Ohio crested at 39.4 feet (4.4 feet above flood stage) on the 21st at 1 pm. Nonetheless, damages to homes and businesses and their contents, public facilities,…

5. Apr 16, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Emergency management reported large trees down from near the intersection of Highways 43 and 22 to the Jefferson County Airport and east across the city of Steubenville. 3 hangars at the airport were significantly damaged with loss of roofs and structural damage. Trees and power lines were down across much the the Steubenville area.

6. Sep 14, 2008High Wind, Jefferson$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…

7. Jan 4, 2004Flood, Jefferson$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This 2-day flood started with the flooding of County Rd 8 east of Adena, and other roads. By 1 PM, Beach Spring Rd flooded 4 miles north of Martins Ferry. By 325 PM, County Rd 150 near Dillonvale was closed by flooding. By 445 PM, numerous roads were flooded 10 miles west of Steubenville. By 941 PM on the 4th, Route 152 near Dillonvale was closed by flooding; and just west of Rayland and Tiltonsville, numerous roads flooded. As late as 6 AM on 6th, roads were still flooded in southern Jefferson County. During this flood, the following were flooded: county roads 1, 2, 7, 8, 14, 17, 18, 26, 28, 34, 43, 47, 53, 54, 68, 74, and 77;State Routes 150 and 152. County Rd 74 near Adena had…

8. Jan 5, 2005Flood, Jefferson$340,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   By 925 PM on 5th, CR 5 flooded near Mt Pleasant; many other roads were closed by floods and mud slides, including SR 150, 151, 213; and SR 7. Several mud slides closed Rte 7 after 2.5 inches of rain. Roads still flooded by small streams as of noon on 6th, then the Ohio River went above flood stage. As the river rose, 14 barges broke loose and slammed into the Pike Island Dam. On the Ohio River, Steubenville was above flood stage (36 ft), from 7 PM on 6th to 5 PM on 7th; it crested 38.1 ft 5 AM on 7th. On the Ohio River, New Cumberland was above flood stage (36 ft), from 1130 AM on 6th to 10 PM on 7th; it crested 49.1 2 PM on 7th. On the Ohio River, Wellsburg was above flood stage…

9. May 9, 1996Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Some small streams, went out of their banks, flooding some roads and a few basements, in Adena and Dillionvale. Substantial damage occurred to Jug Run Road, just northeast of Dillonvale. Part of the road was washed away. A bridge and some trees were also swept into the creek. Some basements in the area were also flooded.In Wells Township, Salt Run went out of its banks and covered Salt Run Road with up to 6 feet of water. As much as half of the pavement in a few spots was eroded.

10. Jul 29, 2021Tornado$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A ground and aerial drone survey confirmed that a second tornado |formed approximately on the Carroll and Jefferson County line, a |little over two miles north-northwest of Bergholz, Ohio. It is |possible that this second tornado formed inside Carroll County, |but could not be confirmed due to limited access. ||Damage from this tornado was exclusively to trees, although a |residence at the intersection of TR263 and Valleyview Dr suffered |minor exterior damage caused from falling limbs and powerlines. |Drone footage from a densely wooded area northwest of Bergholz |indicated scattered to occasionally numerous downed trees which |were uprooted, snapped and splintered along a…

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

102°FJul 16, 1988

All-time low

−22°F3 times, most recently Jan 19, 1994

Warmest night

78°F3 times, most recently Aug 15, 1995

Coldest day

−3°FJan 19, 1994

Wettest day

6.81 inJul 7, 1943

Snowiest day

15.0 inFeb 7, 2010

Hottest year

1998mean 54.9°F

Coldest year

1958mean 50.1°F

Wettest year

200460.61 in

Driest year

202526.75 in

Snowiest season

79.7 in1950-51

Station Steubenville (USC00338025), 992 ft elevation, 3.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1941 to October 27, 2026; 87.1% 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 USC00338025.
• 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.