Tornadoes · United States · Ohio

1973 tornadoes in Ohio

43 tornadoes touched down in Ohio in 1973, 134 percent above the average of the record for the state. They killed 6 people and injured 140.

1972 1974 The whole country in 1973

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

F040 to 72 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2113 to 157 mph
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
F3158 to 206 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5261 to 318 mph
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Every tornado in Ohio in 1973

May 8 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 8	3:10 PM EDT	F2	Franklin	17.3	67			$50,000 to $500,000
May 8	6:00 PM EDT	F0	Cuyahoga	0.3	27			$500 to $5,000

May 10 5 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 10	5:40 PM EDT	F3	Seneca	50.1	27	6	100	$500,000 to $5 million
May 10	5:41 PM EDT	F2	Wyandot	58.2	267		14	$5,000 to $50,000
May 10	6:15 PM EDT	F2	Ashland	40.4	667		8	$50,000 to $500,000
May 10	6:49 PM EDT	F3	Champaign	89.6	300		8	$500 to $5,000
May 10	8:25 PM EDT	F2	Holmes	6.2	17		1	$50,000 to $500,000

May 19 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 19	6:45 PM EDT	F1	Butler	1.0	77			$5,000 to $50,000

May 25 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
May 25	3:45 PM EDT	F1	Van Wert	0.1	67	$500 to $5,000
May 25	4:30 PM EDT	F1	Hardin	0.1	100	$500 to $5,000
May 25	7:20 PM EDT	F1	Crawford	0.1	133	$50 to $500
May 25	7:30 PM EDT	F2	Franklin	0.1	133	$50,000 to $500,000

May 30 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 30	2:55 PM EDT	F2	Franklin	2.0	17		1	$500,000 to $5 million

June 3 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 3	7:00 PM EDT	F3	Summit	12.9	100		1	$5,000 to $50,000
June 3	8:30 PM EDT	F1	Columbiana	0.5	10			$50 to $500

June 19 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 19	4:36 PM EDT	F0	Union	0.3	100		1	$500 to $5,000
June 19	9:00 PM EDT	F0	Darke	0.5	10			$50 to $500

June 26 7 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
June 26	3:40 PM EDT	F0	Defiance	0.3	33		$50 to $500
June 26	5:20 PM EDT	F0	Mercer	0.3	13		$5,000 to $50,000
June 26	5:50 PM EDT	F0	Allen	0.2	17		$50 to $500
June 26	7:12 PM EDT	F0	Seneca	0.5	33		$500 to $5,000
June 26	7:13 PM EDT	F1	Hancock	2.0	33	1	$5,000 to $50,000
June 26	7:40 PM EDT	F1	Huron	0.5	17		$50 to $500
June 26	8:00 PM EDT	F0	Huron	0.2	10		$50 to $500

June 28 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
June 28	11:00 AM EDT	F0	Mercer	0.1	100	$5,000 to $50,000
June 28	12:00 PM EDT	F0	Shelby	0.1	33	$50 to $500
June 28	4:00 PM EDT	F0	Union	0.3	167	under $50
June 28	6:27 PM EDT	F0	Morrow	0.2	167	under $50

July 3 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 3	5:00 PM EDT	F0	Crawford	0.3	50			$500 to $5,000
July 3	8:00 PM EDT	F1	Butler	0.2	100			$500 to $5,000

July 10 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 10	4:00 PM EDT	F0	Tuscarawas	0.5	10			$50 to $500
July 10	4:30 PM EDT	F1	Washington	0.3	10			$50,000 to $500,000

July 14 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 14	5:00 PM EDT	F1	Preble	0.3	10			$500 to $5,000
July 14	5:00 PM EDT	F0	Butler	0.5	10			$500 to $5,000

July 20 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 20	8:00 PM EDT	F1	Putnam	0.3	10			$5,000 to $50,000

July 26 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
July 26	5:00 PM EDT	F1	Franklin	0.1	10		$50 to $500
July 26	5:00 PM EDT	F1	Columbiana	1.0	17	1	$5,000 to $50,000
July 26	7:00 PM EDT	F1	Brown	0.1	10		$50 to $500

August 12 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 12	4:00 PM EDT	F0	Butler	0.5	70			$500 to $5,000

August 14 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 14	4:15 PM EDT	F2	Muskingum	12.5	33			$5,000 to $50,000

August 20 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 20	11:00 AM EDT	F0	Lorain	0.2	17			$50 to $500

December 26 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
December 26	4:30 PM EST	F1	Butler	0.5	200			$5,000 to $50,000
December 26	6:00 PM EST	F1	Ross	35.7	10		4	$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

Every tornado in Ohio since 1950 Warnings in force in Ohio The live radar over Ohio

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.