Ohio, 1998

Tornado and Flash Flooding in Ohio, May 7, 1998

May 7, 1998 · NWS ILN · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

2 flash flood, 1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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

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The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
0
Property damage
$60,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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 Cincinnati radar (KILN), 30 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:33 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flash flood, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Greene

When
May 7, 7:35 PM EST to 7:40 PM EST
Where
Greene County, Xenia
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
30 yd
Property damage
$10,000
Coordinates
39.680, -83.930

A tornado briefly touched down ripping a roof off a home and knocking down numerous trees.

Flash Flood, Clark

When
May 7, 8:32 PM EST to 11:30 PM EST
Where
Clark County, Countywide
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$50,000
Coordinates
39.917, -83.784 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

From 2.5 to 5 inches of rain fell across Clark county with much of it falling in only a few hours. Numerous roads were flooded and people were rescued from their vehicles. A man was swept into Buck Creek and killed. The creek was 9 feet higher than normal.

Flash Flood, Greene

When
May 7, 9:15 PM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where
Greene County, Countywide
Coordinates
39.692, -83.890 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Numerous roads closed.

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
Flash Flood, Clark1998-05-0720MaleIn WaterDirect

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.
Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

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: 5641850, 5641851, 5641852.