Adams County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Ohio Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Adams County is about the same as Ohio average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Adams County is lower than Ohio average and is about the same as the national average.
Earthquake Index, #33
| Adams County | 0.06 |
| Ohio | 0.16 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #1
| Adams County | 0.0000 |
| Ohio | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #61
| Adams County | 129.62 |
| Ohio | 156.02 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 14,997 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Adams County were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 3 | Cold: | 149 | Dense Fog: | 47 | Drought: | 85 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 2,521 | Hail: | 3,234 | Heat: | 119 | Heavy Snow: | 173 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 67 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 240 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 7,727 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 3 | Winter Storm: | 167 | Winter Weather: | 121 |
| Other: | 341 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Adams County.
Historical Earthquake Events
A total of 2 historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Adams County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Depth (km) | Latitude | Longitude |
| 41.9 | 1983-08-17 | 3.5 | 8 | 38.47 | -82.86 |
| 43.3 | 1979-11-09 | 3.5 | 10 | 38.42 | -82.88 |
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 44 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Adams County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 2.9 | 1974-04-03 | 3 | 38°49'N / 83°36'W | 38°57'N / 83°22'W | 15.50 Miles | 500 Yards | 1 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Adams |
| 8.9 | 1968-04-23 | 4 | 38°48'N / 83°42'W | 38°53'N / 82°55'W | 42.50 Miles | 550 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Adams |
| 17.1 | 1968-04-23 | 4 | 38°46'N / 83°52'W | 38°48'N / 83°42'W | 9.10 Miles | 550 Yards | 1 | 4 | 2.5M | 0 | Brown |
| 17.9 | 1986-03-10 | 2 | 38°44'N / 83°50'W | 38°48'N / 83°45'W | 6.00 Miles | 143 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Brown |
| 18.0 | 1959-02-10 | 3 | 39°05'N / 83°42'W | 39°05'N / 83°30'W | 10.50 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 6 | 250K | 0 | Highland |
| 18.4 | 1982-06-16 | 2 | 38°39'N / 83°14'W | 38°41'N / 83°12'W | 2.00 Miles | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Scioto |
| 18.6 | 1982-06-16 | 2 | 38°35'N / 83°20'W | 38°39'N / 83°14'W | 7.00 Miles | 30 Yards | 0 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Lewis |
| 18.8 | 2003-05-10 | 3 | 38°35'N / 83°37'W | 38°34'N / 83°12'W | 21.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 17 | 5.0M | 0 | Lewis |
| Brief Description: The tornado touched down to the southeast of Maysville, continuing east-southeast into Lewis County. The greatest damage occurred in the Heron Hill area in western Lewis County. Seventeen people were injured in Lewis County. 21 homes were destroyed, 10 homes sustained major damage and 17 homes received minor damage. Numerous barns, buildings and garages were also damaged or destroyed. The tornado appeared to skip across parts of Mason and Lewis Counties. Tornado damage ended four miles to the southeast of Vanceburg. A warm front stalled along the Ohio River, providing the focus for several clusters of thunderstorms to move across northern Kentucky during the early morning, lasting into the afternoon. Rainfall amounts from the thunderstorms generally ranged from three to five inches. The copious amounts of rain caused creeks and streams to rise out of their banks, and many roads were flooded and impassible. | |||||||||||
| 18.9 | 2003-05-10 | 3 | 38°37'N / 83°43'W | 38°37'N / 83°38'W | 4.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 500K | 0 | Mason |
| Brief Description: The tornado touched down to the southeast of Maysville, continuing east-southeast into Lewis County. The greatest damage occurred in the Heron Hill area in western Lewis County. Seventeen people were injured in Lewis County. 21 homes were destroyed, 10 homes sustained major damage and 17 homes received minor damage. Numerous barns, buildings and garages were also damaged or destroyed. The tornado appeared to skip across parts of Mason and Lewis Counties. Tornado damage ended four miles to the southeast of Vanceburg. A warm front stalled along the Ohio River, providing the focus for several clusters of thunderstorms to move across northern Kentucky during the early morning, lasting into the afternoon. Rainfall amounts from the thunderstorms generally ranged from three to five inches. The copious amounts of rain caused creeks and streams to rise out of their banks, and many roads were flooded and impassible. | |||||||||||
| 20.7 | 1967-05-07 | 3 | 38°36'N / 83°42'W | 2.00 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Mason | |
| 21.8 | 1981-06-09 | 2 | 38°37'N / 83°48'W | 38°37'N / 83°43'W | 4.10 Miles | 20 Yards | 0 | 7 | 2.5M | 0 | Mason |
| 23.2 | 1968-04-23 | 4 | 38°45'N / 83°55'W | 38°46'N / 83°52'W | 2.70 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 2 | 25K | 0 | Edmonson |
| 24.4 | 1956-03-07 | 2 | 38°57'N / 83°04'W | 38°57'N / 83°01'W | 1.90 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Pike |
| 25.0 | 1960-06-22 | 2 | 39°06'N / 83°48'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Highland | |||
| 25.8 | 1965-04-08 | 2 | 39°11'N / 83°46'W | 39°11'N / 83°34'W | 10.50 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Highland |
| 26.4 | 1965-04-08 | 3 | 38°52'N / 82°59'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Scioto | |
| 29.5 | 1968-04-23 | 3 | 38°43'N / 82°57'W | 0 | 5 | 2.5M | 0 | Greenup | |||
| 29.6 | 1968-04-23 | 2 | 38°43'N / 84°00'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Bracken | |||
| 30.0 | 1982-06-16 | 2 | 38°24'N / 83°48'W | 38°30'N / 83°38'W | 10.00 Miles | 30 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Fleming |
| 32.5 | 1965-04-08 | 2 | 39°08'N / 83°00'W | 1.00 Mile | 30 Yards | 0 | 9 | 250K | 0 | Pike | |
| 32.9 | 1968-04-23 | 4 | 38°42'N / 84°13'W | 38°45'N / 83°55'W | 16.40 Miles | 300 Yards | 1 | 8 | 250K | 0 | Bracken |
| 33.4 | 1956-07-19 | 2 | 38°42'N / 84°16'W | 38°42'N / 83°52'W | 21.40 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Pendleton |
| 34.9 | 1968-04-23 | 2 | 38°49'N / 82°52'W | 38°51'N / 82°47'W | 4.90 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Scioto |
| 35.0 | 1997-07-02 | 3 | 38°51'N / 84°11'W | 38°49'N / 84°04'W | 12.00 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.0M | 0 | Clermont |
| Brief Description: A multiple vortex tornado tracked across the southern part of the county. The tornado damaged or destroyed 56 mobile homes and 27 single family homes. Several barns and sheds were destroyed and numerous trees were downed. No serious injuries or deaths occurred with this tornado. A low pressure system with an unusually strong mid and upper level jet streak was moving across the Great Lakes with an associated cold front moving across the upper Ohio valley. Thunderstorms developed across Indiana and moved into West-Central Ohio around mid-afternoon with a distinct bow echo causing wind damage from near to Lima to southeast of Columbus. On the southern edge of the first line of storms, a supercell developed over Central Indiana. This storm evolved into a bow echo and swept across the Dayton metro area causing extensive wind damage and a brief tornado in Greene county. Another supercell developed near Cincinnati and moved southeastward along the Ohio River. This storm produced the F3 tornado in Clermont county. | |||||||||||
| 35.1 | 1970-04-02 | 2 | 39°21'N / 83°30'W | 1.00 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Highland | |
| 35.6 | 1964-06-15 | 2 | 38°24'N / 83°56'W | 38°25'N / 83°44'W | 10.90 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Fleming |
| 36.2 | 1980-07-12 | 2 | 38°41'N / 83°03'W | 38°26'N / 82°46'W | 23.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Greenup |
| 36.3 | 1961-04-25 | 2 | 39°19'N / 83°50'W | 39°22'N / 83°32'W | 16.20 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Highland |
| 37.4 | 1990-06-02 | 2 | 38°52'N / 84°11'W | 38°55'N / 84°09'W | 4.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Clermont |
| 40.0 | 1961-04-25 | 2 | 39°18'N / 84°00'W | 39°19'N / 83°50'W | 8.80 Miles | 50 Yards | 2 | 4 | 250K | 0 | Clinton |
| 40.0 | 1968-04-23 | 4 | 39°12'N / 84°00'W | 39°22'N / 83°55'W | 12.20 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 1 | 2.5M | 0 | Brown |
| 40.2 | 1968-04-23 | 4 | 39°22'N / 83°55'W | 39°17'N / 83°52'W | 6.10 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 3 | 2.5M | 0 | Clinton |
| 40.9 | 1968-04-23 | 5 | 38°42'N / 82°48'W | 38°47'N / 82°39'W | 9.80 Miles | 400 Yards | 7 | 75 | 2.5M | 0 | Scioto |
| 41.3 | 1968-04-23 | 4 | 39°06'N / 84°16'W | 39°12'N / 84°00'W | 15.80 Miles | 100 Yards | 1 | 29 | 2.5M | 0 | Clermont |
| 44.1 | 1962-05-26 | 2 | 39°18'N / 82°54'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Ross | |||
| 44.2 | 1974-04-03 | 3 | 38°29'N / 84°11'W | 38°31'N / 84°09'W | 2.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Robertson |
| 44.5 | 1969-08-09 | 3 | 39°10'N / 84°18'W | 39°07'N / 84°07'W | 10.30 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 7 | 250K | 0 | Clermont |
| 45.3 | 1968-04-23 | 4 | 38°40'N / 84°22'W | 38°42'N / 84°13'W | 8.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 4 | 350 | 25.0M | 0 | Pendleton |
| 45.5 | 1965-11-16 | 3 | 39°30'N / 83°29'W | 39°30'N / 83°24'W | 3.80 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 4 | 250K | 0 | Fayette |
| 46.0 | 1990-09-14 | 2 | 39°29'N / 83°34'W | 39°32'N / 83°26'W | 7.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Fayette |
| 46.3 | 1968-04-23 | 5 | 38°47'N / 82°39'W | 38°48'N / 82°35'W | 3.60 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 1 | 0K | 0 | Lawrence |
| 47.5 | 1986-03-10 | 2 | 39°27'N / 83°50'W | 39°31'N / 83°45'W | 6.00 Miles | 73 Yards | 0 | 10 | 2.5M | 0 | Clinton |
| 47.7 | 1990-09-14 | 2 | 39°30'N / 83°59'W | 39°29'N / 83°34'W | 22.50 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 2 | 2.5M | 0 | Clinton |
| 48.2 | 1996-05-08 | 2 | 38°47'N / 84°22'W | 38°47'N / 84°22'W | 2.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 2 | 75K | 0 | Pendleton |
| Brief Description: Tornado hit just south of Butler, near US 27 ripping apart a two story brick home and destroying two barns. A car was severely damaged and numerous trees and utility lines were downed. | |||||||||||
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.