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Licking County, Ohio severe weather history spans 573 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 58.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #657 nationally and #16 in Ohio.
573
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
37
Direct injuries
$137.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Licking County, Ohio severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Licking County, Ohio severe weather history averages 8.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 214 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 61 events fall before 1990 and 512 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Licking County, Ohio record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $100.1M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Licking County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 333 | 3 | $3.0M | 89 | 1956–2026 |
| Hail | 122 | 0 | $100.1M | 2.75 | 1963–2026 |
| Flood | 47 | 0 | $68K | 0 | 2007–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 36 | 0 | $3.1M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Tornado | 29 | 1 | $31.5M | F3 | 1958–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2016 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $40K | 0 | 1997–1997 |
Decade by decade
Licking County, Ohio severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
32 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 27 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985-05-31 | EF3 | 1 | 20 | 29.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-10 | EF3 | 0 | 8 | 89.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-02-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 14.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2011-04-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-09-20 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 21.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1998-08-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-11-27 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 5.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1958-07-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1958-07-22 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 12.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-03-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 35.4 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Licking County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 4, 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | JOHNSTOWN | 2 | 4 | $110K |
| May 31, 1985 | Tornado | 1 | 20 | $25.0M | |
| Sep 25, 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Newark | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 1, 1980 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $2.5M | |
| Aug 10, 1988 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 4 | $0 | |
| Oct 4, 2006 | Hail | PATASKALA | 0 | 1 | $100.0M |
| Jun 6, 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hartford and | 0 | 1 | $500K |
| Nov 27, 1965 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A microburst hit an egg facility causing the collapse of three large barns and damaging another. This resulted in the fatalities of two men working in one of the collapsed structures. A large rooftop air conditioning unit was also pushed off the roof of an adjacent administrative building. Around the area there were several trees down and numerous broken limbs. In addition to the fatalities, four injuries were also reported.
,,,,,,,,Lightning Winds of 60 mph were reported in Newark. Large hail fell in Hebron where lightning killed a 46-year-old man as he attempted to untie a dog from under a tree to get it to shelter from the hail storm. A 33-year-old woman at the scene was also struck and injured. The dog was unharmed.
Large hail to golf ball size fell for an extended period of time across the far western portion of the county, causing widespread significant damage. Thirty to forty mobile homes and numerous vehicles were severely damaged. A few subdivisions in the Pataskala area had homes that sustained extensive roof and siding damage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
181,837
Population (ACS)
$275K
Median home value
20
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 2024 | Tornado | TORNADOES | DR |
| Mar 31, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Aug 20, 2012 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Jun 30, 2012 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS | EM |
| Oct 24, 2008 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WIND STORM ASSOCIATED WITH TROPICAL DEPRESSION IKE | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Licking County, Ohio?
573 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 4 direct deaths and $137.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Licking County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 333 recorded events — 58.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Licking County?
32 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 27 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Licking County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Licking County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Licking County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Licking County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 79 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Licking 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
- Lawrence County 412
- Logan County 380
- Lake County 387
- Lorain County 766
- Knox County 368
- Lucas County 589
Cite this page
“Licking County, Ohio.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/ohio/licking-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.