Tornadoes · United States · Ohio

Tornadoes in Brown County, Ohio

31 tornadoes have crossed Brown County since 1950, 3 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 10th of the 88 counties in Ohio with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.5 years. They have killed 10 people and injured 411. 2 were rated F4 or EF4 and above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    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.

  4. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    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.

  7. 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.

Now

Tornadoes
31
Deaths
10
Injuries
411
F4 and above
2
Worst on record
F4, April 23, 1968

The deadliest in Brown County

The strongest

Every year with a tornado

The 22 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Brown County. Each year links to every tornado in Ohio that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20263EF1
20251EF0
20222EF1
20203EF0
20191EF0
20182EF1
20161EF0
20122313EF3
20111EF1
20101EF1
20071EF0
20051F0
20041F1
20001F0
19921F1
19861F2
197811F0
19771F0
19741F1
19731F1
196827397F4
19612F1

Every tornado that crossed Brown County

31 tornadoes, newest first. 4 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files them under that state rather than Ohio. The 3 at the top are this year's, from the surveying office rather than SPC's published database, and their ratings are marked as preliminary.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 21, 20263:21 PM EDTEF0Brown1.790
August 11, 20263:56 PM EDTEF0Brown6.4200
August 11, 20264:16 PM EDTEF1Brown7.1350
April 2, 20251:17 AM EDTEF0Clinton7.9250$43,000
July 6, 20223:17 PM EDTEF1Brown3.3250$500,000
June 8, 20227:07 PM EDTEF0Brown2.180$40,000
April 8, 202011:01 PM EDTEF0Clinton0.950$5,000
April 8, 202010:56 PM EDTEF0Brown2.450$15,000
April 8, 202010:50 PM EDTEF0Clermont8.8200$40,000
June 24, 20194:13 PM CDTEF0Mason to OH5.775$60,000
May 21, 201810:04 PM EDTEF0Brown1.975$10,000
February 24, 201812:13 AM ESTEF1Brown4.9300$65,000
August 17, 201611:16 AM EDTEF0Brown1.0100$30,000
March 2, 20123:39 PM CSTEF1Limestone to KY, OH2.6150
March 2, 20124:39 PM ESTEF3Campbell to OH20.4440313$9.2 million
June 27, 20117:54 PM EDTEF1Brown1.6100$90,000
May 21, 20106:44 PM EDTEF1Brown4.350$110,000
April 26, 20076:55 PM EDTEF0Brown0.550$50,000
November 6, 20057:20 AM ESTF0Brown0.125$10,000
May 27, 20048:20 PM EDTF1Brown2.0167$100,000
July 4, 20007:26 PM EDTF0Brown0.150
November 22, 19925:15 PM ESTF1Brown1.060$500,000 to $5 million
March 10, 19864:54 PM ESTF2Brown6.0143$500,000 to $5 million
July 2, 19787:45 PM EDTF0Brown0.7331$5,000 to $50,000
April 2, 19774:30 PM ESTF0Brown1.0220$5,000 to $50,000
April 3, 19749:30 PM EDTF1Brown4.1100
July 26, 19737:00 PM EDTF1Brown0.110$50 to $500
April 23, 19681:56 PM GMT-5F4Clermont24.1300133$500,000 to $5 million
April 23, 196812:41 PM GMT-6F4Pendleton to OH78.75506364$5 million to $50 million
May 8, 19613:00 PM GMT-4F1Brown20.0100$500 to $5,000
March 6, 19618:00 AM GMT-5F1Brown0.110$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Brown CountyThe forecast for Brown CountyThe live radar over Brown CountyEvery county in 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.