Tornadoes · United States · Ohio

Tornadoes in Darke County, Ohio

33 tornadoes have crossed Darke County since 1950, 9th of the 88 counties in Ohio with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.3 years. They have killed 1 person and injured 73. None was rated F4 or 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
33
Deaths
1
Injuries
73
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
EF3, March 14, 2024

The deadliest in Darke County

  1. EF3 Winchester tornado, Indiana and OhioMarch 14, 20241 killed, 39 injured

The strongest

  1. EF3 Winchester tornado, Indiana and OhioMarch 14, 2024EF3, 41.3 mi (67 km)
  2. F3, Darke and Randolph counties, Ohio and IndianaNovember 15, 1955F3, 21.0 mi (34 km)
  3. F3, Randolph and Darke counties, Indiana and OhioJuly 28, 1961F3, 20.2 mi (33 km)
  4. F3, Preble and Darke counties, OhioNovember 22, 1992F3, 20.0 mi (32 km)
  5. EF3, Darke and Miami counties, OhioMay 27, 2019EF3, 10.5 mi (17 km)
  6. F2, Darke and Miami counties, OhioJune 30, 1993F2, 7.0 mi (11 km)
  7. F2, Darke County, OhioJune 30, 1993F2, 5.0 mi (8 km)
  8. F2, Darke County, OhioApril 8, 1980F2, 1.0 mi (2 km)
  9. F2, Darke County, OhioMay 27, 1963F2, 1.0 mi (2 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 24 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Darke County. Each year links to every tornado in Ohio that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20251EF0
20242139EF3
20231EF0
20222EF1
201941EF3
20163EF1
20151EF0
20111EF0
20101EF1
20091EF0
20031F1
19981F0
19932F2
1992221F3
19811F1
19801F2
19781F0
19741F0
19731F0
196512F1
19631F2
196112F3
19581F1
195518F3

Every tornado that crossed Darke County

33 tornadoes, newest first. 2 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files them under that state rather than Ohio.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 25, 20257:32 PM EDTEF0Darke0.125$500
May 7, 20248:24 PM EDTEF1Darke11.7800$500,000
March 14, 20246:50 PM CDTEF3Winchester tornado41.3700139$26 million
March 31, 20231:02 AM EDTEF0Darke5.9200$50,000
June 8, 20225:42 PM EDTEF1Darke2.5125$100,000
March 6, 20224:21 AM ESTEF0Darke2.9100$150,000
May 27, 201910:25 PM EDTEF3Darke10.51,3201$10 million
May 27, 201910:04 PM EDTEF1Darke0.5200$500,000
May 27, 20199:48 PM EDTEF1Darke1.4100$100,000
April 25, 201910:07 PM EDTEF0Darke1.080$9,000
August 20, 20166:15 PM EDTEF0Darke4.750$11,000
March 14, 20162:26 PM EDTEF1Darke2.3150$75,000
March 14, 20162:26 PM EDTEF0Darke0.8100$20,000
December 23, 20155:12 PM ESTEF0Darke0.020$6,000
May 26, 20118:05 PM EDTEF0Darke0.110
October 26, 201011:40 AM EDTEF1Preble4.330$77,000
August 19, 20096:30 PM EDTEF0Darke0.120
September 26, 200311:00 PM EDTF1Darke0.850$100,000
June 15, 19984:40 PM EDTF0Darke0.250$10,000
June 30, 19931:48 PM EDTF2Darke7.020$50,000 to $500,000
June 30, 19931:31 PM EDTF2Darke5.020$5,000 to $50,000
November 22, 19925:00 PM ESTF3Preble20.050021$5 million to $50 million
June 18, 19923:35 PM EDTF0Darke0.110
June 21, 198111:14 AM EDTF1Darke2.3150$50,000 to $500,000
April 8, 19803:25 PM ESTF2Darke1.0100$500,000 to $5 million
July 2, 19786:40 PM EDTF0Darke27.550$5,000 to $50,000
April 1, 19748:50 PM EDTF0Darke0.230$500 to $5,000
June 19, 19739:00 PM EDTF0Darke0.510$50 to $500
May 16, 19657:30 PM GMT-4F1Darke1.01002$5,000 to $50,000
May 27, 19638:00 PM GMT-4F2Darke1.010$5,000 to $50,000
July 28, 19618:30 PM GMT-5F3Randolph to OH20.22002$50,000 to $500,000
June 9, 19586:00 PM GMT-4F1Darke0.110$5,000 to $50,000
November 15, 19557:30 PM GMT-6F3Darke to IN21.04008$500,000 to $5 million

Nearby

Warnings in force in Darke CountyThe forecast for Darke CountyThe live radar over Darke 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.