Ohio, 1998

Tornado and Hail in Ohio, May 31, 1998

May 31, 1998 · NWS IWX · 17 events in 5 counties and zones

11 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind, 1 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
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$35,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
17

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.

The radar

The Northern Indiana radar (KIWX), 80 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:00 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Defiance

When
May 31, 1:00 PM EST
Where
Defiance County, Hicksville
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
41.300, -84.750

Hail, Defiance

When
May 31, 1:14 PM EST
Where
Defiance County, Hicksville
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
41.300, -84.750

Thunderstorm Wind, Henry

When
May 31, 1:15 PM EST
Where
Henry County, Napoleon
Measured
60 kt (69 mph)
Property damage
$35,000
Coordinates
41.380, -84.130

Hail, Defiance

When
May 31, 1:16 PM EST
Where
Defiance County, Hicksville
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
41.300, -84.750

Hail, Defiance

When
May 31, 1:29 PM EST
Where
Defiance County, Hicksville
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
41.300, -84.750

Thunderstorm Wind, Defiance

When
May 31, 1:34 PM EST
Where
Defiance County, Hicksville
Measured
60 kt (69 mph)
Coordinates
41.300, -84.750

Hail, Defiance

When
May 31, 1:46 PM EST
Where
Defiance County, Defiance
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
41.280, -84.350

Tornado, Putnam

When
May 31, 2:04 PM EST
Where
Putnam County, Continental
Rating
F0
Coordinates
41.100, -84.270

Hail, Putnam

When
May 31, 2:05 PM EST
Where
Putnam County, Miller City
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
41.100, -84.130

Thunderstorm Wind, Defiance

When
May 31, 2:09 PM EST
Where
Defiance County, Hicksville
Measured
70 kt (81 mph)
Coordinates
41.300, -84.750

Hail, Putnam

When
May 31, 2:09 PM EST
Where
Putnam County, Prentiss
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
41.150, -84.020

Hail, Putnam

When
May 31, 2:14 PM EST
Where
Putnam County, Leipsic
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
41.100, -84.000

Thunderstorm Wind, Van Wert

When
May 31, 2:54 PM EST
Where
Van Wert County, Monticello
Measured
60 kt (69 mph)
Coordinates
40.700, -84.420

Hail, Allen

When
May 31, 3:02 PM EST
Where
Allen County, Lima
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
40.750, -84.100

Hail, Allen

When
May 31, 3:07 PM EST
Where
Allen County, Elida
Measured
0.88 in hail
Coordinates
40.780, -84.200

Thunderstorm Wind, Van Wert

When
May 31, 3:18 PM EST
Where
Van Wert County, Venedocia
Measured
60 kt (69 mph)
Coordinates
40.780, -84.450

Hail, Allen

When
May 31, 3:19 PM EST
Where
Allen County, Beaverdam
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
40.830, -83.970

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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.
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.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Ohio in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Ohio, 1998Warnings in Ohio, May 1998

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: 5642704, 5642690, 5642703, 5642691, 5642692, 5642693, 5642694, 5642695, 5642705, 5642696, 5642706, 5642697, 5642698, 5642699, 5642700, 5642701, 5642702.