Tornadoes · United States · Ohio

Tornadoes in Scioto County, Ohio

18 tornadoes have crossed Scioto County since 1950, 46th of the 88 counties in Ohio with a tornado on record, an average of one every 4.2 years. They have killed 13 people and injured 462. 2 were rated F4 or EF4 and above, 1 at the top of the scale.

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
18
Deaths
13
Injuries
462
F4 and above
2
Worst on record
F5, April 23, 1968

The deadliest in Scioto County

The strongest

Every year with a tornado

The 12 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Scioto County. Each year links to every tornado in Ohio that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20141EF0
20122EF0
20051F1
20001F1
19962F1
19941F1
19933F1
19901F1
198213F2
198011F1
1968313458F5
19651F3

Every tornado that crossed Scioto County

18 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
June 4, 201411:55 AM EDTEF0Scioto1.2300$100,000
March 2, 20125:46 PM ESTEF0Pike4.1200$35,000
March 2, 20125:46 PM ESTEF0Scioto2.0100$170,000
May 19, 20053:15 PM EDTF1Scioto2.050$20,000
August 9, 20007:50 PM EDTF1Scioto2.050$300,000
May 8, 19967:45 PM EDTF0Scioto0.550$10,000
May 4, 19965:30 PM EDTF1Scioto15.0100$30,000
April 15, 199412:15 PM EDTF1Scioto0.230$50,000 to $500,000
June 30, 19934:50 PM EDTF1Scioto8.040$50,000 to $500,000
June 30, 19934:40 PM EDTF1Scioto4.030$5,000 to $50,000
February 21, 19934:15 PM ESTF1Scioto5.073$50,000 to $500,000
May 16, 19903:45 PM EDTF1Scioto2.5100$50,000 to $500,000
June 16, 19821:00 PM CDTF2Lewis to OH9.0303$50,000 to $500,000
April 8, 19804:55 PM ESTF1Scioto2.01001$50,000 to $500,000
April 23, 19684:05 PM GMT-5F5Wheelersburg–Gallipolis tornado34.0400793$500,000 to $5 million
April 23, 19683:30 PM GMT-5F2Scioto4.91001$50,000 to $500,000
April 23, 196812:41 PM GMT-6F4Pendleton to OH78.75506364$5 million to $50 million
April 8, 19659:30 PM GMT-5F3Scioto2.0100$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

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