Ohio, 1999

Tornadoes and Hail in Ohio, October 13, 1999

October 13, 1999 · NWS ILN · 25 events in 19 counties and zones

A cold front pushed east from Illinois and Indiana during the afternoon hours and combined with a vigorous upper level disturbance that dropped into the Ohio Valley from the lower Great Lakes region. These factors prompted a squall line to develop ahead of the cold front that moved southeast through the Wilmington Ohio (ILN) county warning area before entering northeast Kentucky and southeast…

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
8
Property damage
$4.2 million
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
25

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.

A cold front pushed east from Illinois and Indiana during the afternoon hours and combined with a vigorous upper level disturbance that dropped into the Ohio Valley from the lower Great Lakes region. These factors prompted a squall line to develop ahead of the cold front that moved southeast through the Wilmington Ohio (ILN) county warning area before entering northeast Kentucky and southeast Ohio.

The radar

The Cincinnati radar (KILN), 107 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:15 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

16 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 3 tornado, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Shelby

When
October 13, 2:15 PM EST to 2:20 PM EST
Where
Shelby County, Countywide
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage
$4,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.330, -84.220

Several trees were knocked down in the eastern part of the county.

Thunderstorm Wind, Logan

When
October 13, 2:20 PM EST to 2:25 PM EST
Where
Logan County, Lewistown
Measured
54 kt (62 mph)
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.420, -83.880

Thunderstorm winds knocked down trees. Trees were also knocked down near Lakeview and East Liberty.

Hail, Montgomery

When
October 13, 2:30 PM EST to 2:32 PM EST
Where
Montgomery County, Kettering
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.730, -84.180

Thunderstorm Wind, Montgomery

When
October 13, 2:39 PM EST to 2:42 PM EST
Where
Montgomery County, New Lebanon
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.750, -84.380

Trees and power lines knocked down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Union

When
October 13, 2:50 PM EST to 2:56 PM EST
Where
Union County, Richwood
Measured
51 kt (59 mph)
Property damage
$3,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.430, -83.300

A barn was damaged and several trees were knocked down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Clark

When
October 13, 2:55 PM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where
Clark County, 4 mi NE of Springfield
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.950, -83.750

Trees and powerlines were knocked down in the Northridge section of Springfield.

Hail, Greene

When
October 13, 2:57 PM EST to 2:59 PM EST
Where
Greene County, Jamestown
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.650, -83.730

Thunderstorm Wind, Greene

When
October 13, 3:02 PM EST to 3:10 PM EST
Where
Greene County, Xenia
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage
$4,000
Reported by
DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates
39.680, -83.930

Trees were knocked down in town along with several trees downed in the eastern third of the county.

Hail, Hamilton

When
October 13, 3:15 PM EST
Where
Hamilton County, 3 mi N of Cincinnati
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.170, -84.550

Report taken from the Spring Grove section of Cincinnati.

Thunderstorm Wind, Hamilton

When
October 13, 3:25 PM EST to 3:30 PM EST
Where
Hamilton County, Hyde Park
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.150, -84.450

Trees and powerlines were knocked down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Fayette

When
October 13, 3:30 PM EST to 3:35 PM EST
Where
Fayette County, Bloomingburg
Measured
57 kt (66 mph)
Injuries
2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$50,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.600, -83.400

A downburst from a thunderstorm blew a mobile home on its side causing minor injuries to the two occupants. Trees and utility poles were also uprooted and knocked across main roads and railroad tracks.

Thunderstorm Wind, Madison

When
October 13, 3:30 PM EST to 3:40 PM EST
Where
Madison County, London
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage
$4,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.880, -83.450

Numerous trees were knocked down.

Lightning, Franklin

When
October 13, 3:31 PM EST
Where
Franklin County, Westerville
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.970, -83.009 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A lightning strike created a house fire, causing extensive damage to one residence.

Thunderstorm Wind, Delaware

When
October 13, 3:31 PM EST to 3:40 PM EST
Where
Delaware County, Countywide
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage
$3,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.300, -83.000

Trees and powerlines were knocked down in several places across the county.

Hail, Clermont

When
October 13, 3:33 PM EST to 3:35 PM EST
Where
Clermont County, Milford
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.170, -84.280

Tornado, Fayette

When
October 13, 3:36 PM EST to 3:39 PM EST
Where
Fayette County, Pancoastburg
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Property damage
$30,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.620, -83.270

A brief touchdown flipped over several pontoon boats, destroying at least one. Several utility poles and trees were knocked down along with well-anchored signs being ripped off of a local business.

Thunderstorm Wind, Franklin

When
October 13, 3:39 PM EST to 3:44 PM EST
Where
Franklin County, Columbus
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.030, -83.000

Trees and powerlines were knocked down in the Blendon Township area northeast of the city.

Thunderstorm Wind, Ross

When
October 13, 3:53 PM EST to 3:56 PM EST
Where
Ross County, 1 mi W of Lyndon
Measured
53 kt (61 mph)
Property damage
$15,000
Reported by
FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates
39.350, -83.330

A barn was blown down on equipment that was housed inside of it. A grain bin was blown off of its foundation at the same location. A garage was destroyed, as well as siding and roofing being peeled off of a residence.

Tornado, Pickaway

When
October 13, 4:00 PM EST to 4:10 PM EST
Where
Pickaway County, Circleville to 2 mi N of Circleville
Rating
F3
Path length
3.5 mi
Path width
440 yd
Injuries
6 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$4.0 million
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
39.600, -82.980

A tornado touched down west of Circleville, pulling a small shed off of its foundation and destroying a section of a construction building. after this, the tornado lifted and then touched down in a more developed area in town. It destroyed a building housing two businesses and ripped the roof off of a section of a strip mall, ejecting furniture from inside the structure. A large sign weighing several hundred pounds was ripped from its foundation and blown twenty feet away. A tractor trailer with a load of 18 to 19 tons was blown over and dragged ten feet away from where it landed. The tornado then proceeded to a housing development where several homes were destroyed, several roofs ripped off, and garages either destroyed or moved from their foundations. Trees were twisted and broken off at their bases and carports were also torn from nearby houses.

Tornado, Ross

When
October 13, 4:10 PM EST to 4:13 PM EST
Where
Ross County, Bourneville
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
39.280, -83.170

A brief touchdown knocked several trees down, felling one into a house.

Thunderstorm Wind, Fairfield

When
October 13, 4:15 PM EST to 4:25 PM EST
Where
Fairfield County, Countywide
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage
$4,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.730, -82.570

Trees were knocked down across the county.

Thunderstorm Wind, Brown

When
October 13, 4:20 PM EST to 4:25 PM EST
Where
Brown County, Georgetown
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage
$4,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
38.870, -83.900

Trees and powerlines were knocked down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Highland

When
October 13, 4:40 PM EST to 4:45 PM EST
Where
Highland County, Greenfield to Highland
Measured
55 kt (63 mph)
Property damage
$25,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.350, -83.380

The side of the Greenfield Fire Department garage was blown out. Several trees were also knocked down in the Hillsboro area.

Thunderstorm Wind, Adams

When
October 13, 4:49 PM EST to 4:59 PM EST
Where
Adams County, Youngsville
Measured
53 kt (61 mph)
Property damage
$12,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
38.920, -83.570

Several trees were knocked down. One landed on a car, another fell across a road causing a semi to jackknife.

Hail, Scioto

When
October 13, 5:25 PM EST to 5:28 PM EST
Where
Scioto County, 2 mi W of Portsmouth
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
38.730, -83.020

Trees and powerlines were also knocked down by thunderstorm winds.

What these are

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.
Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Lightning
A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
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 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Ohio, 1999Warnings in Ohio, October 1999

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5723427, 5722291, 5723429, 5722289, 5722288, 5723430, 5723428, 5723431, 5723432, 5723433, 5722404, 5723434, 5722290, 5722406, 5723436, 5722405, 5723435, 5722407, 5722803, 5722408, 5723439, 5723437, 5723438, 5723440, 5723441.