Live
Active alerts for this county
Heat Advisory
Wayne; Fayette; Union; Franklin; Ripley; Dearborn; Ohio; Switzerland; Carroll; Gallatin; Boone; Kenton; Campbell; Owen; Grant; Pendleton; Bracken; Robertson; Mason; Lewis; Hardin; Mercer; Auglaize; Darke; Shelby; Logan; Union; Delaware; Miami; Champaign; Clark; Madison; Franklin; Licking; Preble; Montgomery; Greene; Fayette; Pickaway; Fairfield; Butler; Warren; Clinton; Ross; Hocking; Hamilton; Clermont; Brown; Highland; Adams; Pike; Scioto
Darke County, Ohio severe weather history spans 452 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 55.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,056 nationally and #32 in Ohio.
452
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
29
Direct injuries
$35.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Darke County, Ohio severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Darke County, Ohio severe weather history averages 6.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 157 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 68 events fall before 1990 and 384 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $32.9M 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 Darke County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 252 | 0 | $1.8M | 78 | 1958–2026 |
| Hail | 98 | 0 | $32K | 2.75 | 1961–2026 |
| Flood | 37 | 0 | $40K | 0 | 2006–2025 |
| Tornado | 31 | 0 | $32.9M | F3 | 1955–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 30 | 0 | $199K | 0 | 1997–2020 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $20K | 0 | 2002–2010 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $1K | 0 | 2011–2015 |
Decade by decade
Darke County, Ohio severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
35 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 31 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-03-14 | EF3 | 1 | 39 | 41.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2019-05-27 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 10.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-11-22 | EF3 | 0 | 21 | 20.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1961-07-28 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 20.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1955-11-15 | EF3 | 0 | 8 | 21.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-06-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-06-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-04-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1963-05-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1955-03-11 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 15.6 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Darke County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 22, 1992 | Tornado | 0 | 21 | $25.0M | |
| Mar 15, 2024 | Tornado | HILL GROVE | 0 | 2 | $500K |
| May 16, 1965 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| Jul 29, 1961 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250K | |
| Jun 27, 2002 | Lightning | UNION CITY | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Nov 16, 1955 | 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
A tornado briefly touched down in and near the village of New Madison. Much of the damage was consistent with EF0 wind speeds, as numerous large tree branches were damaged and minor roof damage occurred to structures. There was some damage indicative of EF1 winds of around 90 mph, namely large sections of roof uplifted at a lumber yard barn storage building. Elsewhere through the village, there was brick damage to the front facade of a downtown business, in addition to broken windows and some uplift of roof material. Much of this damage was more indicative of EF0 winds.
The tornado developed at 1850EST in Randolph County, Indiana, just south of Farmland. The tornado traveled east across Randolph County and entered Darke County, Ohio, at 1920EST, about 2.5 miles west-southwest of Hill Grove. ||As the tornado moved east across Darke County, it produced EF-1 damage at several locations, with winds estimated to be as high as 110 MPH. Some of the roads with the greatest impact in Darke County were Fisher Dangler Road, Fox Road, and Horatio Harris Creek Road. Several homes had partial roof removal, with debris scattered into tree lines and across adjacent fields. Two injuries were reported in Greenville Township.||The tornado entered Miami County at 1952EST as it crossed State Route 721, just north of Grandview Drive. The tornado ended along State Route 48, near the intersection with Klinger Road at 2000EST.
The tornado touched down in open farm fields to the west of Schnorf-Jones Road and immediately intensified and hit a farm, heavily damaging barns and outbuildings. The tornado continued east and crossed Red River-West Grove Road, where another farm was struck. At this location, a house received roof damage and several barns were damaged. The tornado lifted in a field east of Highway 49. Several people witnessed the tornado on the ground in this area, including video footage of debris being lifted from the ground.||Damage at the first farmstead was consistent with wind speeds of around 100 mph, or EF-1 damage. The second farmstead sustained damage consistent with wind speeds of around 75 mph.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
51,594
Population (ACS)
$173K
Median home value
13
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 |
| Jun 18, 2019 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDE | DR |
| Jun 30, 2012 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS | EM |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Darke County, Ohio?
452 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $35.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Darke County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 252 recorded events — 55.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Darke County?
35 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 31 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Darke County?
13 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Darke County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Darke County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Darke County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 53 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Darke 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
- Cuyahoga County 1,054
- Defiance County 231
- Crawford County 344
- Delaware County 428
- Coshocton County 445
- Erie County 408
Cite this page
“Darke County, Ohio.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/ohio/darke-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.