146
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$13.4M
Property damage
Flash Flood in Hamilton County, Ohio: 146 recorded events between 1996 and 2024. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #77 nationally and #1 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flash Flood in Hamilton County, Ohio: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flash flood in Hamilton County is the 2010s, when 86 of the county's 146 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 Hamilton County archive, flash flood makes up 15.9% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #77 for this hazard and #1 within Ohio, putting it in the 97.5 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for flash flood in Hamilton County with 34 recorded events, while Oct 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.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 18, 2001 | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 3 | 0 | $3.6M |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 2024 | CALIFORNIA | 0 | $10K |
| May 8, 2024 | MT ST JOSEPH | 0 | $10K |
| May 8, 2024 | CHEVIOT | 0 | $10K |
| May 8, 2024 | DELHI HILLS | 0 | $10K |
| May 8, 2024 | DAYTON | 0 | $5K |
| May 8, 2024 | IDLEWILD | 0 | $500K |
| May 8, 2024 | CHEVIOT | 0 | $5K |
| May 8, 2024 | ARLINGTON HGTS | 0 | $0 |
| May 8, 2024 | HARRISON | 0 | $10K |
| Apr 2, 2024 | CINCINNATI | 0 | $30K |
Other hazards here
More from Hamilton County
- Thunderstorm Wind 451
- Hail 210
- Flood 62
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
389 dwellings sustained damage due to flooding. Several businesses were flooded along Mill Creek in Sharonville. Two people, a young woman, 21, and her father, 48, died in their flooded basement in Fairfax, when Little Duck Creek flooded in their neighborhood. A young woman, 16, was swept away while attempting to escape a vehicle which had become trapped in high water on a bridge. Total estimate of public assistance is 3,565,315.
Three occupied basement apartments in Norwood reported at least six feet of water in them and were categorized as destroyed. Seventeen other properties (in Norwood, Cincinnati, and St. Bernard) had major damage, mostly to lower level units, which had two to seven feet of water in them. Eight of them were located on Paddock Road and two more on Tennessee Avenue. At these locations, furnaces, water heaters and mechanical equipment were lost. Many windows were broken and carpet, furniture and personal belongings were ruined.||Six businesses were affected to varying degrees. One business is still closed, while the other 5 were closed temporarily. Over 650 structures suffered some type of minor damage, many lost their furnace, water heater, and/or washer/dryer. ||Norwood Schools, Roger Bacon High School, St. Bernard Schools and Hyde Park Play School were closed due to flooding, but no long-term damage was reported.
Three to four inches of rain fell across much of Hamilton County in about a two hour period during the late evening hours. This caused widespread areas of high water with water flowing across several roadways. Many homes and apartment complexes were flooded across the west and north sides of Cincinnati. Several high water rescues were also needed.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flash flood events are on record in Hamilton County, Ohio?
146 flash flood events are recorded in Hamilton County between 1996 and 2024, causing 3 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flash flood recorded in Hamilton County?
The strongest flash flood on record in Hamilton County measured 0.
Where does the flash flood data for Hamilton 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
“Flash Flood in Hamilton County, Ohio.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/ohio/hamilton-county/flash-flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.