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Erie County, Ohio severe weather history spans 408 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 55.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,223 nationally and #44 in Ohio.
408
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
38
Direct injuries
$45.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Erie County, Ohio severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Erie County, Ohio severe weather history averages 5.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 108 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 58 events fall before 1990 and 350 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Erie County, Ohio record is tornado, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $24.7M in reported property damage. In total, 12 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Erie County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 226 | 0 | $7.7M | 98 | 1968–2025 |
| Hail | 108 | 0 | $1.2M | 2 | 1974–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 26 | 0 | $5.5M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 15 | 2 | $3.6M | F4 | 1953–2023 |
| Flood | 8 | 0 | $24.7M | 0 | 2006–2021 |
| Lightning | 7 | 0 | $447K | 0 | 1996–1998 |
| Waterspout | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2001 |
| Storm Surge/Tide | 6 | 0 | $1.9M | 0 | 1997–1998 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2012 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–1997 |
| Winter Weather | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
| Seiche | 1 | 0 | $0 | 60 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
Erie County, Ohio severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
14 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 9 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953-06-08 | EF4 | 17 | 379 | 118.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2000-09-20 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 2.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1992-07-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-06-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-06-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 9.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2023-08-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-11-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-11-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 12.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1977-06-30 | EF1 | 0 | 3 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-04-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Erie County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 9, 1953 | Tornado | 2 | 23 | $0 | |
| Jan 13, 1998 | Winter Weather | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 8 | $0 |
| Jul 1, 1977 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $25K | |
| Aug 24, 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | SANDUSKY | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 1, 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | SANDUSKY | 0 | 1 | $15K |
| Apr 9, 1998 | Lightning | BERLIN HGTS | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A thunderstorm downburst caused widespread wind damage in the northeast portion of Sandusky. The damage swatg was a half mile wide and approximately 2.25 miles long. Numerous large trees and limbs were brought down across the city with some falling on buildings causing roof damage. Numerous large trees were also downed at Battery Park and the Marina. Approximately 30 power poles were blown over on the causeway to Cedar Point. Some power lines landed on cars trapping 15 to 20 people in their vehicles. Power outages due to the downed lines caused Cedar Point to be closed for the following day. At least one site measured a wind gust to 76 mph. Estimated wind speeds based on damage were 70 to 80 mph in downtown Sandusky and as high and greater than 80 mph on the causeway.
Severe thunderstorm downburst winds caused substantial damage in Perkins Township, just south of the City of Sandusky, during the late evening hours of the 22nd. The damage was concentrated in an area just west of the Sandusky Mall. The thunderstorm winds were estimated to be around 70 mph. Forty to fifty homes in Perkins Township were damaged. A few homes had moderate damage but most of the damage was minor. A house nearly one hundred and fifty years old had its chimney knocked down from the severe winds. Another house had a roof collapse into the living room. A garage at another location collapsed after the roof was completely torn off. Other houses primarily had damage to their roofs. A church had two sections of it's roof torn off, and four windows blown out of it. Fifteen to twenty trees were completely uprooted in the area, and hundreds of other trees were knocked down or sustained major damage from large limbs broken off of them. Along with trees, many areas had power lines that were downed.
Strong thunderstorm winds estimated to 70 miles per hour produced widespread damage in Milan. An estimated one thousand or more trees were downed in the area and the roofs of the town hall and police station were badly damaged.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
74,581
Population (ACS)
$200K
Median home value
14
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jun 30, 2012 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS | EM |
| Jul 2, 2006 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
| Jan 11, 2005 | Snowstorm | SNOW | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Erie County, Ohio?
408 events are on record between 1953 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $45.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Erie County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 226 recorded events — 55.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Erie County?
14 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 9 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Erie County?
14 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Erie County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Erie County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Erie County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 61 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Erie County, Ohio severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Delaware County 428
- Fairfield County 503
- Defiance County 231
- Fayette County 291
- Darke County 452
- Franklin County 1,024
Cite this page
“Erie County, Ohio.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/ohio/erie-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.