Tornadoes In Ohio

     Between January 1, 1950 and December 31, 2005, a total of 879 tornadoes were officially reported in the State of Ohio.  The busiest decade for these storms was the 1970's when 202 tornadoes were logged, and 55 of these touched down in 1973.  However, the year with the greatest number of tornadoes in the Buckeye State was 1992 when 63 twisters roared through Ohio.  But the year with the greatest number of tornado deaths was 1965 when 62 people were killed by twisters in the state.  Not too far behind was 1974 when 42 people died - all during the April 3 Superoutbreak.

     From 1950 through 1959, 71 tornadoes were officially recorded in Ohio along with 21 tornado deaths and 463 injuries.  Of those 71 tornadoes, 12 (about 17%) were rated at F3 or greater.  However, those 12 tornadoes caused all but one of the deaths and 422 of the injuries.  Total property damages from all tornadoes in Ohio between the years of 1950 and 1959 totaled $17,926,000, but only $6,000,000 (about one-third) of this total was caused by tornadoes of F3 or greater ranking.

     Between 1960 and 1969, 148 tornadoes touched down in Ohio with 32 of these (just over 21 %) being ranked F3 or higher.  A total of 82 people were killed and 1325 people were injured by twisters during this ten year period with 70 of the deaths (just over 85%) and 1108 of the injuries (just under 84%) being caused by the 32 F3 or greater tornadoes.  Property damages during the 1960-1969 period from tornadoes came to $138,793,000.  Of this amount, $110,276,000, or a little over 79% of the entire damage total, was a result of the 32 F3 and greater tornadoes.

     Ohio was hit by 202 tornadoes from 1970 through 1979.  These caused 49 deaths and 1642 injuries along with a total of $333,119,000 in damages.  Of the 202 tornadoes during this period, 24 (not quite 12%) were rated at F3 or greater.  However, these 24 violent tornadoes caused 48 of the 49 deaths and 1518 of the 1642 injuries.  In addition, they resulted in just under 81% ($268,393,000) of the property damage amount.

     During the decade of the 1980's Ohio was visited by 165 tornadoes which resulted in 20 deaths, 610 injuries and $1,039,000,000 property damage.  F3 or stronger tornadoes totaled 12 (a little more than 7% of the total tornadoes) but accounted for 17 of those 20 deaths (85%), 403 injuries (about 66%) and $880,275,000 (almost 85%) in property damage.

     In the period from 1990 through 1999, there were 197 tornadoes reported in Ohio, and these resulted in 6 deaths, 210 injuries and $354,724,000 property damage.  The F3 or greater tornadoes totaled 13 (less than 7%), but they caused all but two of the deaths and almost 65% (136) of the injuries.  These violent tornadoes also resulted in $270,500,000 of the total damages (just over 76%).

     Thus far in the 21st century (from January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2005), Ohio has had 96 tornadoes which caused 6 deaths, 143 injuries and $190,168,000 in property damage.  There have been 8 (a little more than 8%) tornadoes of F3 strength or greater.  They caused all 6 deaths, 121 injuries (almost 85% of all injuries) and $59,330,000 property damage (a little more than 31% of total damage).

      Of the 879 tornadoes of all strengths reported in the State of Ohio from 1950 through 2005, 101 (a little more than 11%) caused damage rated F3 or above.  Total deaths in the state from 1950 through 2005 were 184 and 165 of these (almost 90%) were the result of the F3 and stronger tornadoes.  The F3 and stronger tornadoes resulted in more than 84% (3,708) of the 4,393 injuries during the 1950-2005 period.  Property damages of $2,073,838,000 were incurred in Ohio from 1950 through 2005, and almost 77% of this amount ($1,594,774,000) was due to tornadoes which caused damage rated at F3 or greater.