Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 4, 1990

Name: Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 4, 1990
Start: 1990-05-04T13:30
End: 1990-05-04T19:45
Location: Ohio

May 4, 1990 · 5 events in 4 counties and zones

3 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 5
Property damage: $500,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

3 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Butler

When: May 4, 1:30 PM EST
Where: Butler County
Rating: F1
Path length: 1.2 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 39.450, -84.580

Tornado, Butler

When: May 4, 6:50 PM EST
Where: Butler County
Rating: F2
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 150 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 39.500, -84.380

Thunderstorm Wind, Darke

When: May 4, 5:56 PM CST
Where: Darke County
Coordinates: 40.150, -84.600

Thunderstorm Wind, Warren

When: May 4, 7:25 PM CST
Where: Warren County
Coordinates: 39.430, -84.200

Thunderstorm Wind, Clinton

When: May 4, 7:45 PM CST
Where: Clinton County
Coordinates: 39.450, -83.830

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Tornado, Butler	1990-05-04				Direct

What these are

Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Ohio in 1990 Every state in 1990 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Ohio, 1990 Warnings in Ohio, May 1990

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10097277, 10097279, 10097278, 10097280, 10097281.