Vinton County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. May 10, 2011Flash Flood$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Small streams in the western portion of the county flooded. Streams such as Pike Run, and the Middle Fork of Salt Creek damaged roads, homes and campers. One home was destroyed, 11 homes had major damage, and 42 others had minor damage.

2. Mar 1, 1997Flash Flood$750,000
3. Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Scattered locations throughout the county had trees or large branches blown down. Around 4,000 customers lost electricity. The county middle school was set up as a cooling center and a place to charge cellular phones. Along with residences and businesses, the storm knocked out power and phone lines to the Vinton County Sheriff's Office, the McArthur Police Department, and emergency medical services.

4. Sep 17, 2004Flood, Vinton$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Light rain spread north into southeast Ohio during the afternoon and evening hours of the 16th. The heavier rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ivan developed over Lawrence County before dawn on Friday the 17th, reaching the Athens and Marietta vicinity by 0900E on the 17th. By 1700E the heavy rain was pulling east and northeast, out of southeast Ohio. A rain event of 24 to 30 hours dumped 4 to 6.5 inches of rain. Some specific preliminary totals included Beverly 6.4 inches, McArthur 6 inches, McConnelsville 5.5 inches, Athens and Waterloo 5.1 inches, Marietta and Newport 4.8 inches, Gallipolis 4.3 inches, and Nelsonville 4 inches. Rains were not as heavy over central and northern…

5. Apr 8, 2020Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A brief tornado touchdown occurred along Ohio 124 1.5 miles WNW of Wilkesville. A new double-wide mobile home was shifted off the block foundation and turned in a westerly direction. Another nearby mobile home was blown a few feet off of its foundation in a southerly direction. Clear rotation was also evident in the direction several uprooted trees were laying and in debris scattered across the property.

6. May 2, 2010Flood$175,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The first report of flooding was around midday as the headwaters of Raccoon Creek, including Wiselabout Creek, flooded Route 278. Numerous other creeks overflowed and blocked roads.

7. Jan 4, 2004Flood, Vinton$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong frontal boundary pushed across southeast Ohio late on the 3rd. By dawn on the 4th, the frontal zone stalled just to the south. Late on the 4th and into the 5th, a low pressure wave lifted northeast, along this boundary, and through the Ohio River Valley.Rains of 1.5 to 3.3 inches fell on saturated ground, during about a 36 hour time span. One rain maximum extended northeast from the Scioto River Valley, across the northern half of Perry County, then continued northeast into the Muskingum River Valley. Another maximum of rain extended out of central Vinton County, across central Athens County, and into central and northern Washington County. McArthur measured 3.3 inches of…

8. May 4, 2012Flash Flood$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Streams such as Pretty Run, Salt Creek, Middle Fork of Salt Creek, Raccoon Creek, and Puncheon Fork, flooded and damaged roads. Culverts under some roads were damaged. Private bridges were damaged. Near MacArthur, some residents in a trailer park were evacuated. The American Red Cross gave assistance to 14 families in Vinton County.

9. May 18, 2001Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Streams flooded and blocked roads, including Route 50, in the central and southern portion of the county. Ohio state officials reported 2 homes with minor damage, plus damage to roads, in Richland Township.

10. Feb 18, 2000Flash Flood$75,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Rains of 2 to 4 inches fell in about an 18 hour period. A strong frontal zone was in the vicinity, as low pressure moved up the Ohio Valley. Southerly winds pulled low level moisture north from Tennessee and Kentucky . Surface dew points were in the 55 to 60 degree range south of the frontal boundary. Carpenter of western Meigs County had 4.1 inches, Gallipolis meausred 3.7 inches, Jackson 3.45 inches, Patriot, Salem Center, and Willow wood all had around 3.3 inches, while McArthur had 3.2 inches. A spotter network in Meigs County revealed 3.9 inches at Racine and 3.6 inches at Syracuse.Preliminary damage accessment figures from emergency management officials had 3 homes in Meigs…

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

104°FJul 12, 1914

All-time low

−31°F2 times, most recently Jan 29, 1963

Warmest night

79°FJul 14, 1927

Coldest day

−5°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

4.89 inMar 2, 1997

Snowiest day

13.0 inApr 5, 1987

Hottest year

1955mean 56.0°F

Coldest year

1966mean 49.4°F

Wettest year

201160.49 in

Driest year

198724.92 in

Snowiest season

50.5 in1950-51

Station Jackson 3 Nw (USC00334004), 845 ft elevation, 15.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1914 to October 27, 2026; 95.7% 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 USC00334004.
• 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.