Cold/Wind Chill in Ohio

Events

361

Deaths

17

Injuries

1

Damage

$5.0 million

• Cold in Ohio, February 1 to 17, 20217 deaths · 1 eventCold temperatures moved into Northeast Ohio during the first half of February 2021. These colder temperatures featured several nights with lows in the single digits and wind chills below zero.
• Cold in Ohio, January 10 to 19, 19974 deaths · $195,000 · 30 eventsLow temperatures were in the single digits or below zero across all of Northern Ohio, causing frozen and ruptured water pipes. With wind chills of 40 to 50 below zero, many schools were forced to close.
• Cold in Ohio, February 2 to 5, 19961 death · $3.4 million · 30 eventsBitter cold arctic air was over the area with overnight low temperatures averaging between zero and 10 below and daytime high temperatures in the single digits.
• Extreme Cold and Cold in Ohio, February 1 to 11, 20261 death · 1 injured · 10 eventsA period of extremely cold temperatures that began in late January spilled into the first week of February amid a cold airmass dominating the bulk of the country.
• Cold in Ohio, December 3, 19961 death · 1 eventAn 86 year old white female died of hypothermia in her home.
• Cold in Ohio, January 9, 19971 death · 1 eventA 97 year old white female died of hypothermia in her home.
• Cold in Ohio, January 15 to 16, 20241 death · 1 eventCold temperatures blasted into the Ohio River Valley in the wake of a cold front on January 15th. A southern stream disturbance grazing parts of the Appalachians brought light snow showers to parts of southeast Ohio, but only resulted in light accumulations at best.
• Cold in Ohio, January 11, 20261 death · 1 eventA fatality was partially attributed to cold temperatures on the 11th.
• Cold in Ohio, February 1 to 5, 1996$1.3 million · 36 eventsArctic 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.
• Flooding and Heavy Snow in Ohio, March 4 to 7, 2015$460,000 · 23 eventsA warm front lifted north through southeast Ohio on the 3rd with a quarter to a half inch of rain. Late afternoon and evening temperatures rose into the 40s and 50s. Winds and dew points also increased. This combination helped accelerate the melting of the leftover snow pack.
• Cold in Ohio, February 4 to 5, 1996$80,000 · 9 eventsA fresh snow cover combined with an arctic cold wave to droptemperatures well below zero on 2 consecutive mornings.The coldest readings were around minus 20 on both morningsfrom rural areas away from the rivers. Waterloo of LawrenceCounty, for example, had 22 degrees below zero.
• Winter Weather and Strong Wind in Ohio, December 23 to 24, 202233 eventsA low pressure system rapidly intensified December 22nd to December 23rd as the center of the low moved from the Midwest across the Great Lakes. A flash freeze, strong wind gusts, and dangerously cold temperatures were recorded across the region.
• Extreme Cold and Cold in Ohio, March 27, 201229 eventsRecord warm temperatures occurred across northern Ohio during the middle portion of March. Daily temperatures averaged as much as 30 degrees above normal during that period. All of the major climate locations reported high temperatures in the 80s for several days.
• Cold in Ohio, January 16 to 20, 1997$16,000 · 9 eventsMinimum temperatures of 5 above zero to 5 below zero werecommon. The coldest reading from preliminary data wasminus 12 in rural western Gallia County near Patriot.These readings are typical for the coldest temperaturesof a nonsevere winter.
• Cold in Ohio, January 8, 201514 eventsAn area of very strong arctic High Pressure drifted south across the Northern Plains on January 7th and 8th. This ushered very cold air into the upper Ohio Valley. Northwest winds of 10 to 20 mph accompanied the cold air and they combined to create very dangerous wind chills.
• Extreme Cold and Cold in Ohio, January 20 to 22, 202511 eventsFollowing the snow event ending January 20th, an anomalously deep trough settled over North America through the 22nd. Temperatures plunged well below normal by the morning of the 21st, with lows in the zero to 10 below range, and wind chill in the -10F to -20F range.
• Heavy Snow and Cold in Ohio, January 21 to 22, 201410 eventsAs colder air was filtering south, a strong mid level disturbance moved up the Ohio River. Only a weak low pressure system was reflected at the surface, which passed to the south. Snow developed in southwestern Ohio by 0000E on the 21st.
• Cold in Ohio, May 13 to 14, 19969 eventsMinimum readings in the upper 20s and lower 30s were commonaround dawn on both the 13th and the 14th. The coldest was29 degrees at Athens and New Lexington.
• Cold in Ohio, March 10, 19969 eventsRecord cold for the date was widespread. Sunrise temperatureswere on the order of 5 to 10 above zero.
• Cold in Ohio, May 11, 19979 eventsTemperatures in the lower 30s and frost were widespread across southeast Ohio. Athens had 29 degrees for the coldest. New Lexington felt 30 degrees, while McConnelsville and Waterloo registered 31 degrees near dawn.
• Cold in Ohio, May 23, 19979 eventsDawn temperatures were in the mid 30s for much of southeast Ohio.
• Cold in Ohio, April 1 to 30, 19979 eventsThe monthly average temperature was about 4 degrees cooler than an average April across southeast Ohio. The coolest temperatures came on the 9th, 10th, 14th, and 15th of the month. Dawn readings were mostly in the upper teens and 20s then.
• Cold in Ohio, October 23, 19979 eventsDawn temperatures ranged from around 20 degrees in outlying rural areas, to the upper 20s near the Ohio River.
• Cold in Ohio, September 4 to 5, 19979 eventsAfter the passage of a cold front on the 3rd, dawn temperatures on the 4th and 5th dropped into the 40 to 45 degree range across southeast Ohio. The coolest on the 4th was 40 degrees from both Waterloo of Lawrence County and Carpenter of Meigs County.
• Cold in Ohio, November 1 to 30, 19979 eventsThe monthly average temperature was 2 to 4 degrees below normal, making it the third consecutive November that was unusually cold.

Cold/Wind Chill everywhereEvery kind of event in Ohio

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.