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Wood County, Ohio severe weather history spans 512 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 59.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #835 nationally and #23 in Ohio.
512
Recorded events
11
Direct deaths
109
Direct injuries
$147.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Wood County, Ohio severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Wood County, Ohio severe weather history averages 7.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 165 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 61 events fall before 1990 and 451 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Wood County, Ohio record is tornado, responsible for 11 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $132.7M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Wood County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 302 | 0 | $9.9M | 88 | 1957–2026 |
| Hail | 145 | 0 | $2.1M | 4.5 | 1966–2026 |
| Tornado | 28 | 11 | $132.7M | F4 | 1953–2016 |
| Flash Flood | 15 | 0 | $1.6M | 0 | 1996–2006 |
| Flood | 12 | 0 | $517K | 0 | 2007–2021 |
| Lightning | 6 | 0 | $445K | 0 | 1996–2019 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2003 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–1997 |
| Winter Weather | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
Wood County, Ohio severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
27 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 25 touched down inside it and 2 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 |
| 2010-06-05 | EF4 | 7 | 28 | 8.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-10 | EF3 | 6 | 100 | 50.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-05-02 | EF3 | 1 | 22 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-11-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 11.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-07-12 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-07-12 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-07-12 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 7.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1980-04-08 | EF2 | 0 | 7 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-05-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Wood County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 6, 2010 | Tornado | MOLINE | 7 | 28 | $100.0M |
| Jun 9, 1953 | Tornado | 3 | 8 | $0 | |
| May 2, 1983 | Tornado | 1 | 22 | $25.0M | |
| May 18, 1992 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 20 | $0 | |
| Jan 13, 1998 | Winter Weather | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 8 | $0 |
| Apr 8, 1980 | Tornado | 0 | 7 | $250K | |
| Jul 12, 1992 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $250K | |
| Jul 12, 1992 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A severe thunderstorm with winds estimated to be at least 75 mph caused extensive damage at the Wood County Airport in Bowling Green. One hangar was completely destroyed and another was heavily damaged. The two hangars stored around eighteen airplanes, twelve of which were completely destroyed. Two flatbed trailers parked near the airport were thrown into an adjacent playground and destroyed.
A line of severe thunderstorms moved across Wood County and caused widespread damage and power outages. A 101 mph wind gust was measured at the Bowling Green Airport at approximately 3:55 p.m. The airport, located on the northeast side of town, was very hard hit. The terminal building lost a large section of roof with three nearby hangers heavily damaged. A total of 17 aircraft were either damaged or destroyed. Four buildings at the Bowling Green State University were damaged by the strong winds. Signs and a press box on the campus were also toppled. Many other homes and buildings, including a city garage, were damaged. Hundreds of trees and limbs were downed and many streets had to closed because of debris. Dozens of vehicles sustained varying amounts of damage.
Hail as large as softballs and shaped at times like candy bars fell at Tontogany for approximately ten minutes. Damage was extensive with 160 of the 200 homes in the village sustaining damage. Most of the damage was from broken windows, but over 100 hundred homes had holes knocked into exterior walls by hailstones driven by winds estimated at 50 to 60 mph. Most of this damage occurred on west facing walls. Several dozens cars and eight school buses were caught outside and had windows shattered and metal dented. The local high school had several dozen windows broken. The broken windows allowed heavy thunderstorm rains to seep inside. The rain water damaged and destroyed books, computers and other equipment inside. Outside the school, a press box at an athletic field was damaged and a chimney toppled. Valuable stained glass windows in a local church were also broken. Four trucks from the local fire department were caught outside and suffered extensive damage. Several large wheat fields near the village were shredded with a near 100 percent crop loss.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
132,064
Population (ACS)
$228K
Median home value
10
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 |
| Nov 18, 2002 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND TORNADOES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Wood County, Ohio?
512 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 11 direct deaths and $147.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Wood County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 302 recorded events — 59.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Wood County?
27 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 25 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Wood County?
10 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Wood County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Wood County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Wood County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 66 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Wood 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
- Williams County 196
- Wyandot County 230
- Wayne County 485
- Washington County 507
- Warren County 675
- Vinton County 251
Cite this page
“Wood County, Ohio.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/ohio/wood-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.