Cold in Ohio, February 1 to 5, 1996

Name: Cold in Ohio, February 1 to 5, 1996
Start: 1996-02-01T18:00
End: 1996-02-05T10:00
Location: Ohio

February 1 to 5, 1996 · NWS ILN · 36 events in 36 counties and zones

Arctic high pressure brought the coldest air of the season to the Ohio Valley. Cincinnati broke its record low on the 4th with a temperature of 11 below zero.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 36 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $1.3 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 36

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS ILN wrote it up.

Arctic high pressure brought the coldest air of the season to the Ohio Valley. Cincinnati broke its record low on the 4th with a temperature of 11 below zero. Cincinnati also experienced its record low maximum temperatures of 7 and 6 degrees on the 3rd and 4th respectively. The extreme cold was entrenched for 5 days, freezing and bursting numerous water pipes. There were at least 2 house fires indirectly related to the cold weather, as space heaters, which were thawing frozen water lines, caught on fire. On the 5th, six thousand customers were without power near Portsmouth as overusage caused outages. AAA motor club had an extremely high number of calls during this cold wave when cars would not start.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

36 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Cold/Wind Chill, Paulding

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Paulding forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 41.117, -84.580 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Putnam

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Putnam forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 41.022, -84.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Van Wert

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Van Wert forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 40.855, -84.586 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Allen

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Allen forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 40.772, -84.106 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Hardin

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Hardin forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 40.662, -83.659 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Mercer

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Mercer forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 40.540, -84.629 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Auglaize

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Auglaize forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 40.561, -84.222 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Darke

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Darke forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 40.133, -84.619 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Shelby

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Shelby forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 40.332, -84.205 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Logan

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Logan forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 40.388, -83.766 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Union

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Union forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 40.299, -83.372 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Delaware

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Delaware forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 40.278, -83.005 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Miami

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Miami forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 40.053, -84.229 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Champaign

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Champaign forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 40.138, -83.769 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Clark

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Clark forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 39.917, -83.784 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Madison

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Madison forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 39.894, -83.400 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Franklin

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Franklin forecast zone
Property damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 39.970, -83.009 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Licking

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Licking forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 40.092, -82.483 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Preble

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Preble forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 39.742, -84.648 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Montgomery

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Montgomery forecast zone
Property damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 39.755, -84.291 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Greene

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Greene forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 39.692, -83.890 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Fayette

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Fayette forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 39.560, -83.456 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Pickaway

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Pickaway forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 39.642, -83.024 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Fairfield

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Fairfield forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 39.752, -82.631 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Butler

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Butler forecast zone
Property damage: $30,000
Coordinates: 39.439, -84.576 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Warren

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Warren forecast zone
Property damage: $30,000
Coordinates: 39.428, -84.167 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Clinton

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Clinton forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 39.415, -83.808 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Ross

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Ross forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 39.338, -83.057 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Hocking

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Hocking forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.497, -82.479 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Hamilton

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Hamilton forecast zone
Property damage: $400,000
Coordinates: 39.196, -84.543 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Clermont

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Clermont forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 39.047, -84.152 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Brown

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Brown forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 38.934, -83.867 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Highland

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Highland forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 39.185, -83.601 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Adams

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Adams forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 38.846, -83.472 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Pike

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Pike forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 39.077, -83.067 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Scioto

When: February 1, 6:00 PM EST to February 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Scioto forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 38.804, -82.993 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Cold/Wind Chill: Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Ohio in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in Ohio, February 1996

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: 5537605, 5537606, 5537607, 5537608, 5537609, 5537610, 5537611, 5537612, 5537613, 5537614, 5537615, 5537616, 5537617, 5537618, 5537619, 5537620, 5537621, 5537622, 5537623, 5537624, 5537625, 5537626, 5537627, 5537628, 5537629, 5537630, 5537631, 5537632, 5537633, 5537634, 5537635, 5537636, 5537637, 5537638, 5537639, 5537640.