40
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
11
Direct injuries
$58.7M
Property damage
Tornado in Franklin County, Ohio: 40 recorded events between 1954 and 2025. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #620 nationally and #2 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Franklin County, Ohio: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Franklin County is the 1970s, when 10 of the county's 40 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Franklin County archive, tornado makes up 3.9% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #620 for this hazard and #2 within Ohio, putting it in the 78.6 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Feb is the peak month for tornado in Franklin County with 6 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973-05-10 | EF3 | 89.6 mi | 300 yd | Crossed in |
| 1971-02-22 | EF3 | 6.8 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 2024-02-28 | EF2 | 14.0 mi | 300 yd | Touched down here |
| 2006-10-11 | EF2 | 0.5 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 1974-04-03 | EF2 | 5.1 mi | 90 yd | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-30 | EF2 | 2.0 mi | 17 yd | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-08 | EF2 | 17.3 mi | 67 yd | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-25 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 133 yd | Touched down here |
| 1970-04-02 | EF2 | 2.0 mi | 440 yd | Touched down here |
| 2024-02-28 | EF1 | 12.3 mi | 250 yd | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 22, 1971 | F3 | 0 | 7 | $2.5M | |
| May 11, 1973 | F3 | 0 | 3 | $3K | |
| May 30, 1973 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $2.5M |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 2025 | COLUMBUS SO COLUMBUS | EF0 | $85K |
| Feb 28, 2024 | BLACKLICK | EF2 | $300K |
| Feb 28, 2024 | GROVEPORT | EF0 | $50K |
| Feb 28, 2024 | WRIGHTSVILLE | EF0 | $25K |
| Feb 28, 2024 | MUDSOCK | EF1 | $100K |
| Feb 28, 2024 | DARBY DAN ARPT | EF0 | $50K |
| Sep 26, 2018 | HANFORD | EF1 | $750K |
| Apr 3, 2018 | GROVE CITY | EF1 | $120K |
| Jun 4, 2016 | COLUMBUS | EF0 | $100K |
| Nov 1, 2013 | COLUMBUS SO COLUMBUS | EF0 | $300K |
Other hazards here
More from Franklin County
- Thunderstorm Wind 546
- Hail 284
- Flood 74
- Flash Flood 67
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado touched down and moved through the Upper Albany West subdivision. Sixty-seven homes were damaged, sixteen of those severely and an additional eight completely destroyed. Many of the homes sustained significant roof, siding and window damage. Much of the damage was F1, with some low end F2 damage to around 120 mph.
The tornado began in the Havens Corners area near Blacklick Elementary School and quickly strengthened as it moved through the Havenswood neighborhood, where it produced tree and minor structural damage indicative of winds between 85 mph and 100 mph. The tornado continued to rapidly strengthen as it approached McOwen Road, where considerable tree damage was observed and numerous stands of soft and hard wood trees were uprooted or completely snapped off. A shipping container was also tossed and a home suffered extensive roof loss along with the loss of one exterior wall. In this area, winds were estimated to be around 120 mph. The tornado began weakening slightly as it crossed into Licking County at 0553EST, near the intersection of Dixon and McOwen Roads. The tornado continued east-northeast across western Licking County and ended at 0603EST, about 2 miles west southwest of Granville.
The tornado touched down and moved through a manufactured home community just north of Interstate 270 in southern Columbus. The tornado was on the ground for about a quarter of a mile before it lifted. During that time, 3 mobile homes were destroyed, 4 sustained major damage, and 23 sustained minor damage. The damage that occurred to some of the homes included partial roofs being torn off the buildings, and the units being shifted off of their foundations. Based on the damage surveyed, the maximum wind speed of this tornado was estimated to be 85 miles per hour.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Franklin County, Ohio?
40 tornado events are recorded in Franklin County between 1954 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Franklin County?
The strongest tornado on record in Franklin County measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Franklin County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Tornado in Franklin County, Ohio.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/ohio/franklin-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.