Climate and Weather

Ohio's generally mild climate has been a major factor in its rich agricultural heritage. Nevertheless, the Buckeye State annually experiences extreme temperatures, sometimes ranging from below 0 to above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. On less frequent occasions, Ohio has been subjected to severe weather events such as floods, blizzards, and tornadoes, which have resulted in loss of life and property.

There are 23 entries matching this topic. They are listed below in alphabetical order.

1882 Lake Erie Mystery Wave: Large waves arriving from a calm Lake Erie have hit the north coast of Ohio at least twice, in 1882 and 1942. . . .
1886 Xenia Flood: The deadliest flash flood in Ohio history roared through Xenia late on Wednesday, May 12th, 1886, killing 28 people. . . .
1886: Ohio's Deadliest Tornadoes of the 19th Century: May 1886 was a deadly month in Ohio weather. Floods killed 28 people at Xenia on May 12th and two days later, on May 14, 1886, Ohio’s deadliest tornado outbreak of the 19th century occurred. . . .
1907 Southern Ohio Floods: All rivers flowing southward into the Ohio River reached flood stage during March 14-17, 1907. . . .
1910 Ohio Statewide Snowstorm: Snow began in Ohio late on February 16 and continued for two days. Most of Ohio received 10 to 20 inches and winds of 40 mph created drifts 10 feet deep. . . .
1913 Ohio Statewide Flood: The Flood of 1913 is known as the greatest natural disaster in Ohio history. At least 428 people died during the Flood of 1913, and more than twenty thousand homes were totally destroyed. . . .
1915 Cincinnati Windstorm: A vicious wind and rainstorm swept southwestern Ohio on the evening of Wednesday July 7, 1915. The death toll of 38 at Cincinnati is the greatest known in Ohio for a windstorm in which no tornadoes were involved. . . .
1916 Deadly Lake Erie Gales: The deadliest winds known on Lake Erie took the lives of 58 sailors on four vessels on Friday evening, October 20, 1916. . . .
1918 Ohio Statewide Blizzard: This storm was compared to the New Years Blizzard of 1864 and was not matched in Ohio until the Blizzard of 1978. . . .
1920 Western Ohio Tornadoes: The Palm Sunday 1920 tornado outbreak of 30 tornadoes across eight states killed 153 persons, ranking it among the deadliest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history. . . .
1924 Lorain Tornado: The deadliest tornado in Ohio history struck Lorain and Sandusky on Saturday, June 28, 1924. . . .
1934 Ohio Statewide Heat Wave: The summer of 1934 ranks as the hottest in Ohio since temperature records began in 1883. . . .
1950 Great Thanksgiving Snowstorm: The Thanksgiving snowstorm of 1950 was the deepest in Ohio’s history. . . .
1959 Ohio Statewide Flood: Rains of 3 to 6 inches fell on snow covered frozen ground, producing the most destructive flooding in Ohio since March 1913. . . .
1965 Palm Sunday Tornadoes: A wide outbreak of 37 tornadoes killed 256 people, mostly in Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana on Palm Sunday 1965. . . .
1969 Independence Day Flood: The most devastating summer flooding in Ohio history struck north-central Ohio during the state’s stormiest Independence Day. . . .
1977 Ohio Statewide Blizzard: National Weather Service forecasters called for a blizzard warning across Ohio early on Friday, January 28, 1977. . . .
1977 Ohio Statewide Cold Wave: The winters 1976-77 and 1977-78 were the two coldest winters recorded in Ohio. . . .
1978 Ohio Statewide Blizzard: In January and February 1978, a series of three storms hit the United States Midwest or the Northeast. These storms were some of the most severe winter events to occur in recent history, and collectively are known as the Blizzard of 1978. . . .
1985 Northeastern Ohio Tornadoes: An outbreak of 41 tornadoes, including 14 killer tornadoes, struck northeastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, and southern Ontario on Friday, May 31, 1985. . . .
1990 Shadyside Flood: The deadliest flood in Ohio since 1969 occurred in the steep Appalachian valleys of Belmont County late on Thursday, June 14, 1990. . . .
1992: Most Tornadoes in Ohio in One Day: The 28 tornadoes that occurred in Ohio on Sunday, July 12, 1992, went into the record books as the most recorded in a single day. . . .
2008 Ohio Statewide Snowstorm: The statewide snowstorm of 2008 was a record setting event that occurred on Friday, March 7, and Saturday, March 8, 2008. While this event has been called the Blizzard of 2008, technically the storm did not have sustained winds of at least thirty-five miles per hour, a requirement of a blizzard. . . .