Tornadoes · United States · Ohio

Tornadoes in Mercer County, Ohio

29 tornadoes have crossed Mercer County since 1950, 15th of the 88 counties in Ohio with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.6 years. They have killed 5 people and injured 147. 1 was 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
29
Deaths
5
Injuries
147
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F4, April 11, 1965

The deadliest in Mercer County

  1. F4 Berne tornado, Indiana and OhioApril 11, 19654 killed, 125 injured
  2. EF3, Mercer County, OhioMay 27, 20191 killed, 8 injured

The strongest

  1. F4 Berne tornado, Indiana and OhioApril 11, 1965F4, 52.5 mi (84 km)
  2. EF3, Mercer County, OhioMay 27, 2019EF3, 10.8 mi (17 km)
  3. EF2, Blackford, Delaware, Jay and Mercer counties, Indiana and OhioNovember 5, 2017EF2, 38.7 mi (62 km)
  4. EF2, Mercer County, OhioMay 7, 2024EF2, 8.1 mi (13 km)
  5. EF2, Mercer and Auglaize counties, OhioMay 7, 2024EF2, 6.4 mi (10 km)
  6. EF2, Mercer County, OhioJune 18, 2021EF2, 5.6 mi (9 km)
  7. EF2, Mercer County, OhioNovember 5, 2017EF2, 5.4 mi (9 km)
  8. EF2, Mercer County, OhioApril 19, 2011EF2, 3.7 mi (6 km)
  9. F2, Mercer County, OhioJuly 12, 1992F2, 3.0 mi (5 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 18 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Mercer County. Each year links to every tornado in Ohio that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20245EF2
20231EF0
20211EF2
2019118EF3
201739EF2
20131EF0
20112EF2
20091EF0
20062F0
19941F1
19922F2
19901F0
19891F1
19861F1
198014F1
19761F1
19732F0
196524126F4

Every tornado that crossed Mercer County

29 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.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 7, 20248:20 PM EDTEF2Mercer6.4300$350,000
May 7, 20247:50 PM EDTEF2Mercer8.1400$50,000
May 4, 20247:38 PM EDTUnratedMercer0.630
March 14, 20247:00 PM EDTEF1Mercer15.91,050$750,000
March 14, 20245:40 PM CDTEF1Mercer to OH9.3450$250,000
March 31, 202312:45 AM EDTEF0Mercer8.4200$100,000
June 18, 20214:12 PM EDTEF2Mercer5.6200$1.0 million
May 27, 201910:02 PM EDTEF3Mercer10.825018$15 million
November 5, 20172:40 PM ESTEF2Mercer5.42008$5.0 million
November 5, 20171:24 PM ESTEF2Blackford to OH38.76001$11 million
July 10, 20178:14 PM EDTEF0Mercer6.3150$10,000
June 12, 201311:35 PM EDTEF0Mercer0.1100$40,000
May 26, 20117:38 PM EDTEF0Mercer0.110
April 19, 201111:39 PM EDTEF2Mercer3.730$340,000
May 27, 20095:10 PM EDTEF0Mercer0.520
August 28, 20069:20 PM EDTF0Mercer0.860$20,000
June 22, 20063:00 PM EDTF0Mercer0.230$20,000
June 28, 19948:36 PM EDTF1Mercer2.640$5,000 to $50,000
July 12, 19926:30 PM EDTF1Mercer0.173$50,000 to $500,000
July 12, 19926:20 PM EDTF2Mercer3.073$50,000 to $500,000
July 24, 19907:30 PM EDTF0Mercer0.523$5,000 to $50,000
May 25, 19899:30 PM CDTF1Adams to OH5.050$50,000 to $500,000
March 10, 19863:20 PM ESTF1Mercer14.073$50,000 to $500,000
June 1, 198011:30 PM EDTF1Mercer1.01504$500,000 to $5 million
March 20, 19768:00 PM ESTF1Mercer3.850$5,000 to $50,000
June 28, 197311:00 AM EDTF0Mercer0.1100$5,000 to $50,000
June 26, 19735:20 PM EDTF0Mercer0.313$5,000 to $50,000
November 26, 196511:10 PM GMT-5F1Mercer4.32001$5,000 to $50,000
April 11, 19657:10 PM GMT-6F4Berne tornado52.5104125$5 million to $50 million

Nearby

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