Ohio now fifth in nation for tornadoes in 2024 as season rolls along

Cincinnati Enquirer

Ohio led the nation for tornadoes a few weeks ago, but has since dropped, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The Buckeye State is now fifth with 49 twisters. Texas has claimed the top spot with 67, followed by Iowa (60), Kansas (55) and Nebraska (54). Oklahoma trails Ohio at No. 6 with 48 twisters. And the tornado totals for Ohio do not reflect any confirmed out of strong storms Tuesday night.

Tornado season in Ohio off to a strong start in 2024

Ohio has endured several strong storms that spawned twisters so far this year, including several that popped up before tornado season officially began in April. Here's a look at some of them:

In February, the National Weather Service confirmed nine tornadoes throughout the state. One damaged a hanger at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton.
In March, tornadoes killed three in Logan County and prompted state of emergency declarations for 11 counties.
And in April, the NWS confirmed another eight tornadoes across the state between two separate storms.

When is tornado season in Ohio?

In Ohio, tornado season peaks between April and June, according to the National Weather Service.

Kristen Cassady, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio, said previously that it is typical for severe weather frequency to ramp up in Ohio at the beginning of March, though March is not a peak tornado season month.

“We typically do see severe weather events including tornadoes in the month of March, even though there is a slightly higher frequency climatologically in April and May,” Cassady said. “March is still one of the primary months for tornadoes in the Ohio Valley.”

Ohio sees record number of tornadoes for the first three months of 2024

Through early April, Ohio had 22 tornadoes touch down, according to Brandon Peloquin, a warning coordination meteorologist at the NWS office in Wilmington, the most for this early in the year. The previous record was 12 tornadoes in 1986, WBNS TV-10 reports. The average number of tornadoes in a single year for Ohio is 21, Peloquin said previously.

What is Ohio's record for most tornadoes in a year?

The worst year for tornadoes in Ohio was 1992, when 62 twisters touched down, Peloquin said previously.

The strongest that year was an EF4 tornado that hit Van Wert County in Western Ohio on Feb. 18. With wind speeds of 166 to 200 mph, the tornado was on the ground for 2.8 miles and caused six injuries but no fatalities. It destroyed a house, a mobile home and two cars, and damaged nine homes, according to Tornado Talk.

National Weather Service data shows different total

Adding the five tornadoes confirmed by the NWS in late April to the 22 reported in early April, Ohio's total for the year so far, per NWS data, is 27 tornadoes. That obviously differs from NOAA data.

Peloquin said some databases may show a higher number because tornadoes that cross county lines may be counted multiple times. As an example, he said a single continuous tornado that moves from Auglaize County into Logan County is just one tornado but may be counted in some databases as two since it affected two counties.