Ross County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Ross 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 (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. Sep 14, 2008High Wind, Ross$8.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong winds of 40 to 50 miles per hour were sustained for several hours. A gust to 62 mph was recorded in Chillicothe. Widespread damage occurred across the region, from trees being blown down on powerlines, to significant crop losses and structural damage.

2. May 18, 2001Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rainfall for most of the afternoon hours caused widespread flooding across the county. Thirty six roads were closed across the county. Several culverts were washed away across the county. Three people were rescued from high water on Buckskin Creek.

3. Jan 6, 1996Winter Storm, Ross$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…

4. Oct 16, 2021Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado initially caused damage to trees east of South Salem Cemetery and within Sunset Park. The highest intensity occurred shortly after touch down with two structures destroyed along Stewart Street. One structure, which was bolted to a concrete foundation, was lofted onto Stewart Street. The other structure had nearly all of the exterior walls collapsed. The roof was lofted and pieces were found littered along the tornado track through the town. Snapped power poles also occurred along Stewart Street. The tornado then moved southeast over Main Street with significant tree and minor structure damage observed. The tornado continued to cause tree damage and minor structure…

5. Mar 2, 1997Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rainfall occurred for the second night in a row causing area creeks and streams to rise out of their banks. Numerous roads were covered by high water. Several evacuations occurred as 32 homes were damaged by the flooding.

6. May 11, 2014Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A storm survey concluded that a microburst occurred in the area and damaged or destroyed numerous grain bins, outbuildings, power poles, and trees. A house also lost part of a roof.

7. Apr 11, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A silo at the Valley Grain Facility sustained significant damage as a result of a possible microburst. Part of the silo was blown down, causing additional structural damage to several other buildings in the complex.

8. Oct 4, 2006Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several homes were volunatrily evacuated along Paint Creek from Bainbridge to Bourneville due to rising water. Three automobiles were trapped in flood waters, requiring a water rescue from one of the vehicles near Chillicothe.

9. Oct 16, 2021Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado appears to have touched down near Vollmar Road. Numerous trees were knocked down in a field between Vollmar Road and Albright Mill Road and additional hardwood trees and limbs were blown down at two residences along Albright Mill Road. The roof of one of the residences also sustained damage, where part of the roof was lifted off and blown across the road. A back porch was also destroyed. Damage in this area was estimated be near 85 mph, which corresponds to a high end EF0 tornado.||Additional tree damage occurred to the east of Albright Mill Road, primarily on Egypt Pike and Cattail Road. The tornado is believed to have ended on or just east of Cattail Road as no…

10. Mar 3, 2023Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Widespread tree and powerline damage was reported from Chillicothe to about 6 miles southeast of Chillicothe. Several buildings also had shingles blown off and a semi was blown over on U.S. 35.

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

107°FJul 28, 1930

All-time low

−31°FJan 18, 1994

Warmest night

83°FJul 8, 1897

Coldest day

−5°F2 times, most recently Jan 18, 1994

Wettest day

4.71 inSep 10, 2026

Snowiest day

14.0 inJan 6, 1910

Hottest year

1931mean 57.5°F

Coldest year

1960mean 49.8°F

Wettest year

201861.60 in

Driest year

198723.62 in

Snowiest season

43.3 in1917-18

Station Waverly (USC00338830), 572 ft elevation, 16.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 27, 2026; 96.8% 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 USC00338830.
• 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.