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Highland County, Ohio severe weather history spans 425 recorded events between 1958 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 61.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,152 nationally and #40 in Ohio.
425
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
7
Direct injuries
$5.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Highland County, Ohio severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Highland County, Ohio severe weather history averages 6.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 162 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 37 events fall before 1990 and 388 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $2.9M 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 Highland County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 263 | 0 | $1.4M | 70 | 1958–2025 |
| Hail | 63 | 0 | $67K | 2.75 | 1969–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 48 | 0 | $603K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 23 | 0 | $32K | 0 | 2008–2026 |
| Tornado | 22 | 0 | $2.9M | F3 | 1958–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 5 | 0 | $402K | 0 | 1997–2014 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $25K | 0 | 1996–1996 |
Decade by decade
Highland County, Ohio severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
25 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993-06-30 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 15.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-02-10 | EF3 | 0 | 6 | 10.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-04-25 | EF2 | 2 | 4 | 25.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1970-04-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-04-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-06-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-03-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 14.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-10-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-03-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-05-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Highland County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 10, 1959 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $250K | |
| Mar 23, 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | EAST DANVILLE | 0 | 1 | $10K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This short-lived tornado is believed to have touched down near Panhandle Road, just west of Wolfe Road. One house on Panhandle Road had siding damage on the east-facing wall. A shed behind another home was largely demolished, with debris strewn about a quarter mile into the field to the north-northeast.||A few homes on Wolfe Road had roof and siding damage. One home even had damage to the siding on both the east and north facing walls. Some minor tree damage was observed near a bend in Wolfe Road with no additional damage observed further to the north.
Damage associated with the tornado began east of U.S. 62 and consisted of uprooted trees and large snapped limbs. The first structural damage was observed north of Selph Road near Lewis Lane, where a large portion of roof covering was removed from an outbuilding. Additional tree damage was observed along Lewis Lane. Due to no road availability, there was a length of unreachable damage likely stretching around 1 mile between Lewis Lane and Kincaid Road to the east. A structure on the east side of Kincaid Road sustained side wall damage associated with a garage door failure. The tornado continued east, crossing State Route 138 and causing tree damage and additional minor structural damage. The most intense damage occurred along Morrow Road where numerous trees were snapped and uprooted and several outbuildings received considerable damage. The tornado weakened quickly with the final observed damage near Fall Creek.
The tornado touched down in the vicinity of Highway 32 and Klein Road in Brown County. The tornado crossed into Highland County just west of Sicily Road. The tornado lifted in Highland County near Highway 321, southeast of Buford. The worst damage occurred to a residence on Sicily Road in Highland County. A section of roofing was removed from part of the home, the front porch supports were lifted and removed, numerous trees were uprooted near the residence, and a piece of wood was driven into decking material. Several other barns and outbuildings were destroyed or heavily damaged along the path. Based on the damage caused by this tornado, wind speeds were estimated at 100 miles per hour. The tornado was in Brown County from 0544 PM EST until 0545 PM EST. The tornado continued in Highland County from 0545 PM EST until 0553 PM EST.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
43,517
Population (ACS)
$169K
Median home value
12
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Aug 20, 2012 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Jun 30, 2012 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS | EM |
| Oct 24, 2008 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WIND STORM ASSOCIATED WITH TROPICAL DEPRESSION IKE | DR |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Highland County, Ohio?
425 events are on record between 1958 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $5.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Highland County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 263 recorded events — 61.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Highland County?
25 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 20 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Highland County?
12 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Highland County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Highland County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Highland County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 43 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Highland 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
- Henry County 260
- Hocking County 305
- Harrison County 270
- Holmes County 364
- Hardin County 243
- Huron County 494
Cite this page
“Highland County, Ohio.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/ohio/highland-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.