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Delaware County, Ohio severe weather history spans 428 recorded events between 1958 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 61.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,140 nationally and #37 in Ohio.
428
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
43
Direct injuries
$72.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Delaware County, Ohio severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Delaware County, Ohio severe weather history averages 6.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 140 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 47 events fall before 1990 and 381 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Delaware County, Ohio record is tornado, responsible for 4 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $65.0M 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 Delaware County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 262 | 0 | $1.6M | 66 | 1966–2025 |
| Hail | 92 | 0 | $65.0M | 2 | 1963–2026 |
| Flood | 35 | 0 | $9K | 0 | 2007–2021 |
| Flash Flood | 18 | 0 | $409K | 0 | 1996–2020 |
| Tornado | 14 | 4 | $5.2M | F2 | 1958–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 5 | 0 | $1K | 0 | 2011–2013 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $640K | 0 | 1996–1996 |
Decade by decade
Delaware County, Ohio severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
17 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965-04-11 | EF2 | 4 | 62 | 22.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-03-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 19.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2000-09-20 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 21.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-04-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-05-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 17.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-03-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 35.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-04-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-04-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 9.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1970-05-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-05-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Delaware County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 12, 1965 | Tornado | 4 | 35 | $2.5M | |
| Jul 22, 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | TROYTON | 0 | 3 | $5K |
| Sep 21, 2000 | Tornado | HARLEM | 0 | 2 | $1.0M |
| Sep 16, 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | POWELL | 0 | 1 | $40K |
| Jul 8, 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Delaware | 0 | 1 | $5K |
| Aug 14, 1958 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Hail up to the size of golf balls affected the north side of the Columbus metro area and southern Delaware county. Hail was extensive from Dublin, through Worthington and Powell, to Westerville. Trees and shrubs were stripped of their foliage and cars and homes sustained significant hail damage. The hail covered the ground in some locations up to six inches deep in Worthington in northern Franklin county and near the Polaris Mall in southern Delaware county.
A tornado touched down in the southeastern part of the county, along Harlem road and then raced rapidly eastward to the Licking county line. Two high tension power line towers were bent over and 14 houses were either damaged or destroyed.
As much as five inches of rain caused severe flooding in and around Delaware. 154 homes were damaged, many in subdivisions along State Route 257 northwest of Powell. 34 mobile homes in the Shroyers Mobile Home Park just north of Delaware sustained damage when the Olentangy River rose out of its banks, and forced a few evacuations. Numerous roads and bridges were damaged by high water and culvert washouts.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
226,834
Population (ACS)
$446K
Median home value
15
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 30, 2012 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS | EM |
| Oct 24, 2008 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WIND STORM ASSOCIATED WITH TROPICAL DEPRESSION IKE | DR |
| Apr 24, 2008 | Snowstorm | RECORD SNOW AND NEAR RECORD SNOW | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Delaware 115
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Delaware County, Ohio?
428 events are on record between 1958 and 2026, causing 4 direct deaths and $72.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Delaware County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 262 recorded events — 61.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Delaware County?
17 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 12 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Delaware County?
15 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Delaware County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Delaware County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Delaware County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 79 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Delaware 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
- Defiance County 231
- Erie County 408
- Darke County 452
- Fairfield County 503
- Cuyahoga County 1,054
- Fayette County 291
Cite this page
“Delaware County, Ohio.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/ohio/delaware-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.