Ohio, 1996

Winter Storm in Ohio, March 19 to 21, 1996

March 19 to 21, 1996 · NWS ILN · 36 events in 36 counties and zones

On the first day of spring a major winter snow storm struck the region. Low pressure moving ever so slowly across Pennsylvania was responsible for the snow, and this low also brought strong winds with gusts up to 40 mph.

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
1
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
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.

On the first day of spring a major winter snow storm struck the region. Low pressure moving ever so slowly across Pennsylvania was responsible for the snow, and this low also brought strong winds with gusts up to 40 mph. It was a heavy wet snow which ripped down power lines and trees. Highways became snow covered and slippery causing numerous traffic accidents. With temperatures near freezing, the snow amounts were dependent to some degree on minor changes in elevation, with the least amount of snow falling in the low lying areas near the Ohio river. Snow amounts ranged between 4 and 8 inches across most locations. Some areas near the Ohio river only had 2 to 3 inches of snow as the relatively warmer ground resulted in more melting. Over 10,000 customers were without power at times in the Cincinnati metropolitan area as power lines went down. One 38 year old male died of hypothermia in a suburb outside of Cincinnati.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

36 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Paulding

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Paulding forecast zone
Coordinates
41.117, -84.580 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Putnam

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Putnam forecast zone
Coordinates
41.022, -84.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Van Wert

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Van Wert forecast zone
Coordinates
40.855, -84.586 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Allen

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Allen forecast zone
Coordinates
40.772, -84.106 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hardin

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Hardin forecast zone
Coordinates
40.662, -83.659 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Mercer

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Mercer forecast zone
Coordinates
40.540, -84.629 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Auglaize

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Auglaize forecast zone
Coordinates
40.561, -84.222 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Darke

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Darke forecast zone
Coordinates
40.133, -84.619 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Shelby

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Shelby forecast zone
Coordinates
40.332, -84.205 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Logan

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Logan forecast zone
Coordinates
40.388, -83.766 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Union

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Union forecast zone
Coordinates
40.299, -83.372 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Delaware

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Delaware forecast zone
Coordinates
40.278, -83.005 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Miami

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Miami forecast zone
Coordinates
40.053, -84.229 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Champaign

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Champaign forecast zone
Coordinates
40.138, -83.769 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Clark

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Clark forecast zone
Coordinates
39.917, -83.784 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Madison

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Madison forecast zone
Coordinates
39.894, -83.400 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Franklin

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Franklin forecast zone
Coordinates
39.970, -83.009 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Licking

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Licking forecast zone
Coordinates
40.092, -82.483 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Preble

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Preble forecast zone
Coordinates
39.742, -84.648 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Montgomery

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Montgomery forecast zone
Coordinates
39.755, -84.291 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Greene

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Greene forecast zone
Coordinates
39.692, -83.890 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Fayette

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Fayette forecast zone
Coordinates
39.560, -83.456 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Pickaway

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Pickaway forecast zone
Coordinates
39.642, -83.024 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Fairfield

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Fairfield forecast zone
Coordinates
39.752, -82.631 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Butler

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Butler forecast zone
Coordinates
39.439, -84.576 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Warren

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Warren forecast zone
Coordinates
39.428, -84.167 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Clinton

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Clinton forecast zone
Coordinates
39.415, -83.808 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Ross

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Ross forecast zone
Coordinates
39.338, -83.057 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hocking

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Hocking forecast zone
Coordinates
39.497, -82.479 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hamilton

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Hamilton forecast zone
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
39.196, -84.543 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Clermont

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Clermont forecast zone
Coordinates
39.047, -84.152 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Brown

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Brown forecast zone
Coordinates
38.934, -83.867 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Highland

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Highland forecast zone
Coordinates
39.185, -83.601 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Adams

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Adams forecast zone
Coordinates
38.846, -83.472 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Pike

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Pike forecast zone
Coordinates
39.077, -83.067 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Scioto

When
March 19, 4:00 PM EST to March 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Scioto forecast zone
Coordinates
38.804, -82.993 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Winter Storm, Hamilton1996-03-2038MaleOutside/Open AreasDirect

What these are

Winter Storm
A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Ohio in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Ohio, March 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: 5549172, 5549173, 5549174, 5549175, 5549176, 5549177, 5549178, 5549179, 5549180, 5549181, 5549182, 5549183, 5549184, 5549185, 5549186, 5549187, 5549188, 5549189, 5549190, 5549191, 5549192, 5549193, 5549194, 5549195, 5549196, 5549197, 5549198, 5549199, 5549200, 5549201, 5549202, 5549203, 5549204, 5549205, 5549206, 5549207.