Live
Active alerts for this county
Heat Advisory
Elkhart; Lagrange; Steuben; Noble; De Kalb; Northern La Porte; Eastern St. Joseph; Southern La Porte; Western St. Joseph; Cass; St. Joseph; Branch; Hillsdale; Northern Berrien; Southern Berrien; Williams; Fulton; Defiance; Henry
Williams County, Ohio severe weather history spans 196 recorded events between 1957 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 70.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,465 nationally and #88 in Ohio.
196
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
25
Direct injuries
$31.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Williams County, Ohio severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Williams County, Ohio severe weather history averages 2.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 49 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 34 events fall before 1990 and 162 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Williams County, Ohio record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $27.8M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Williams County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 138 | 1 | $698K | 87 | 1957–2025 |
| Hail | 43 | 0 | $1K | 2 | 1973–2026 |
| Tornado | 9 | 0 | $27.8M | F3 | 1957–2001 |
| Flash Flood | 4 | 0 | $3.0M | 0 | 1996–2010 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $150K | 0 | 2002–2002 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2015–2015 |
Decade by decade
Williams County, Ohio severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
12 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 9 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991-03-27 | EF3 | 1 | 24 | 21.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1961-05-06 | EF3 | 0 | 5 | 33.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1969-08-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-08-25 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 9.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-08-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-07-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-04-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-04-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-05-26 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1986-10-01 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 16.0 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Williams County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 4, 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | EDGERTON | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 28, 1991 | Tornado | 0 | 18 | $25.0M | |
| May 17, 1992 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 3 | $0 | |
| Apr 3, 1988 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 | |
| Jun 24, 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | EDGERTON | 0 | 1 | $200K |
| Aug 25, 1965 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $2.5M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Local newspapers reported that a 18 year old male was killed as a result of strong winds blowing down a 12 foot high interior cinder block wall. The incident happened at a construction site at the Edgerton High School. No details were provided if the wall had been secured or was free standing.
An intense microburst with estimated winds at 100 mph was surveyed in the town of Edgerton. A large portion of the upper story of the old town hall building next to the fire department was blown in with loss of much of the roof. Debris from this structure damaged nearby vehicles and the flea market building across the street including a portion of the south-facing wall getting blown out. One person was injured at this location from falling debris. In addition, a freight container was blown off an intermodal train and there was significant tree damage in town. Wind damage path was about 3 miles long and a quarter of a mile wide.
Local law enforcement officials reported numerous trees down across the county. Many of these were in a swath from Edon northeast to Kunkle. A tree fell onto a house in the town of Kunkle with trees onto several cars in West Unity. Damage is estimated at $75,000.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
36,719
Population (ACS)
$150K
Median home value
8
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 |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
| Sep 19, 2004 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jun 24, 1996 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Williams County, Ohio?
196 events are on record between 1957 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $31.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Williams County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 138 recorded events — 70.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Williams County?
12 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 Williams County?
8 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Williams County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Williams County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Williams County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 44 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Williams 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
- Wayne County 485
- Wood County 512
- Washington County 507
- Wyandot County 230
- Warren County 675
- Vinton County 251
Cite this page
“Williams County, Ohio.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/ohio/williams-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.