Franklin County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Ohio Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Franklin County is about the same as Ohio average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Franklin County is higher than Ohio average and is higher than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #57
| Franklin County | 0.04 |
| 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
| Franklin 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, #29
| Franklin County | 174.65 |
| 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 14,685 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Franklin 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: | 87 | Dense Fog: | 3 | Drought: | 54 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 2,053 | Hail: | 3,456 | Heat: | 64 | Heavy Snow: | 124 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 43 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 251 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 8,082 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 0 | Winter Storm: | 130 | Winter Weather: | 26 |
| Other: | 309 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Franklin County.
Historical Earthquake Events
A total of 1 historical earthquake event that had a recorded magnitude of 3.5 or above found in or near Franklin County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Depth (km) | Latitude | Longitude |
| 37.1 | 1967-04-08 | 4.2 | N/A | 39.6 | -82.5 |
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 67 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Franklin County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 3.8 | 1973-05-10 | 3 | 39°55'N / 83°15'W | 39°55'N / 82°48'W | 23.80 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 3 | 3K | 0 | Franklin |
| 6.9 | 1971-02-22 | 3 | 39°58'N / 82°56'W | 40°02'N / 82°50'W | 6.80 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 7 | 2.5M | 0 | Franklin |
| 8.0 | 1973-05-30 | 2 | 40°03'N / 83°07'W | 2.00 Miles | 17 Yards | 0 | 1 | 2.5M | 0 | Franklin | |
| 10.8 | 1973-05-25 | 2 | 40°03'N / 83°11'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Franklin | |||
| 11.3 | 1970-04-02 | 2 | 40°07'N / 82°55'W | 2.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Franklin | |
| 12.7 | 2006-10-11 | 2 | 39°48'N / 83°06'W | 1.00 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 60K | 0K | Pickaway | |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A tornado briefly touched down in extreme northwest Pickaway County. The damage path extended along a short length of Carson Road, just west of Interstate 71. A barn made of wood and cinder blocks was completely destroyed, with the cinder blocks being carried 200 to 300 yards away. Several pieces of wood were strewn onto neighboring properties, with some pieces impaled into the ground or asphalt. A few homes had significant roof damage and windows blown out. Large trees were snapped or uprooted along the damage path. The damage was mainly F1, with some isolated pockets of low end F2 damage up to 120 mph. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A squall line moved through central Ohio during the evening. Two tornadoes occurred in the Columbus metro area as the squall line moved through. | |||||||||||
| 14.3 | 1973-05-08 | 2 | 40°06'N / 83°07'W | 40°15'N / 82°51'W | 17.30 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Franklin |
| 14.3 | 2006-10-11 | 2 | 40°05'N / 82°47'W | 40°05'N / 82°47'W | 1.00 Mile | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 50.0M | 0K | Franklin |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A tornado touched down and moved through the Upper Albany West subdivision. Sixty-seven homes were damaged, sixteen of those severely and an additional eight completely destroyed. Many of the homes sustained significant roof, siding and window damage. Much of the damage was F1, with some low end F2 damage to around 120 mph. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A squall line moved through central Ohio during the evening. Two tornadoes occurred in the Columbus metro area as the squall line moved through. | |||||||||||
| 14.3 | 1974-04-03 | 2 | 40°05'N / 82°51'W | 40°08'N / 82°46'W | 5.10 Miles | 90 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Franklin |
| 14.3 | 1963-06-05 | 2 | 39°46'N / 83°04'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Pickaway | |||
| 14.5 | 1971-05-16 | 2 | 39°50'N / 82°48'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Fairfield | |||
| 16.8 | 2000-09-20 | 2 | 40°08'N / 82°50'W | 40°11'N / 82°47'W | 5.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 2 | 1.0M | 0 | Delaware |
| Brief Description: A tornado touched down in the southeastern part of the county, along Harlem road and then raced rapidly eastward to the Licking county line. Two high tension power line towers were bent over and 14 houses were either damaged or destroyed. | |||||||||||
| 19.3 | 1973-05-10 | 3 | 39°55'N / 82°48'W | 39°55'N / 82°30'W | 15.80 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Fairfield |
| 19.4 | 1986-03-10 | 2 | 39°43'N / 83°12'W | 39°45'N / 83°13'W | 3.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 10 | 2.5M | 0 | Pickaway |
| 20.2 | 1973-05-10 | 3 | 39°55'N / 83°31'W | 39°55'N / 83°15'W | 14.10 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Madison |
| 21.4 | 1986-03-10 | 2 | 39°43'N / 83°16'W | 39°43'N / 83°13'W | 3.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Madison |
| 21.8 | 1970-09-03 | 3 | 39°39'N / 82°58'W | 39°40'N / 82°55'W | 2.30 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Pickaway |
| 23.3 | 1974-04-03 | 2 | 39°50'N / 83°34'W | 39°56'N / 83°18'W | 15.70 Miles | 180 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Clark |
| 25.0 | 1999-10-13 | 3 | 39°36'N / 82°59'W | 39°37'N / 82°57'W | 3.50 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 6 | 4.0M | 0 | Pickaway |
| Brief Description: A tornado touched down west of Circleville, pulling a small shed off of its foundation and destroying a section of a construction building. after this, the tornado lifted and then touched down in a more developed area in town. It destroyed a building housing two businesses and ripped the roof off of a section of a strip mall, ejecting furniture from inside the structure. A large sign weighing several hundred pounds was ripped from its foundation and blown twenty feet away. A tractor trailer with a load of 18 to 19 tons was blown over and dragged ten feet away from where it landed. The tornado then proceeded to a housing development where several homes were destroyed, several roofs ripped off, and garages either destroyed or moved from their foundations. Trees were twisted and broken off at their bases and carports were also torn from nearby houses. A cold front pushed east from Illinois and Indiana during the afternoon hours and combined with a vigorous upper level disturbance that dropped into the Ohio Valley from the lower Great Lakes region. These factors prompted a squall line to develop ahead of the cold front that moved southeast through the Wilmington Ohio (ILN) county warning area before entering northeast Kentucky and southeast Ohio. | |||||||||||
| 26.4 | 1958-05-22 | 2 | 39°35'N / 82°58'W | 39°37'N / 82°48'W | 9.00 Miles | 30 Yards | 0 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Pickaway |
| 27.5 | 2000-09-20 | 2 | 40°11'N / 82°44'W | 40°16'N / 82°29'W | 16.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 1.0M | 100K | Licking |
| Brief Description: A tornado tracked out of Delaware county across the northwestern part of the county and then continued into Knox county. The storm lifted briefly in spots but maintained a 25 mile track across the three counties, mainly in rural areas. Eleven homes received major damage and 4 received minor damage. Several barns and outbuildings were also destroyed. Twelve buildings at the Buckeye Egg Company were destroyed, trapping one million chickens inside. | |||||||||||
| 27.5 | 1971-02-22 | 2 | 39°37'N / 83°15'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Fayette | |
| 28.0 | 1957-06-11 | 2 | 40°18'N / 82°42'W | 0.50 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Knox | |
| 29.1 | 1973-05-10 | 3 | 40°01'N / 83°36'W | 39°55'N / 83°31'W | 8.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 4 | 3K | 0 | Clark |
| 30.5 | 1965-04-11 | 2 | 40°23'N / 83°15'W | 40°25'N / 83°01'W | 12.30 Miles | 400 Yards | 4 | 35 | 2.5M | 0 | Delaware |
| 31.0 | 1965-04-11 | 2 | 40°22'N / 83°16'W | 40°23'N / 83°15'W | 0 | 5 | 25K | 0 | Union | ||
| 31.5 | 1973-05-10 | 3 | 39°55'N / 82°30'W | 39°55'N / 82°20'W | 8.70 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 1 | 3K | 0 | Perry |
| 32.4 | 1965-11-27 | 2 | 40°02'N / 82°27'W | 40°06'N / 82°22'W | 5.90 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Licking |
| 32.9 | 1965-04-11 | 2 | 40°25'N / 83°01'W | 40°28'N / 82°50'W | 9.90 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 22 | 2.5M | 0 | Morrow |
| 33.5 | 1985-05-31 | 3 | 40°10'N / 82°43'W | 40°14'N / 82°11'W | 27.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 1 | 20 | 25.0M | 0 | Licking |
| 34.2 | 1986-03-10 | 2 | 39°29'N / 83°34'W | 39°42'N / 83°17'W | 22.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 1 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Fayette |
| 35.1 | 1965-11-16 | 2 | 40°12'N / 83°36'W | 0.20 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 4 | 25K | 0 | Champaign | |
| 35.4 | 1974-04-03 | 5 | 39°47'N / 83°43'W | 39°55'N / 83°36'W | 10.90 Miles | 533 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Clark |
| 36.4 | 1958-07-22 | 2 | 40°05'N / 82°25'W | 40°04'N / 82°15'W | 8.60 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Licking |
| 37.0 | 1998-08-25 | 2 | 40°14'N / 82°29'W | 40°10'N / 82°16'W | 10.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 300K | 0 | Licking |
| Brief Description: A tornado knocked down numerous trees, destroyed 2 barns, and caused significant damage to 4 homes. | |||||||||||
| 37.1 | 1981-06-13 | 2 | 39°53'N / 82°19'W | 2.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Perry | |
| 37.2 | 1960-08-21 | 2 | 40°30'N / 83°11'W | 40°30'N / 83°05'W | 4.50 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Marion |
| 38.4 | 1979-08-08 | 2 | 40°31'N / 83°08'W | 1.20 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Marion | |
| 38.8 | 2002-11-10 | 3 | 40°21'N / 83°33'W | 40°21'N / 83°33'W | 2.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 30K | 0 | Logan |
| Brief Description: The tornado touched down across the extreme eastern part of the county and moved northeast, continuing into Union County. Two semi trailers and a shed roof were damaged. | |||||||||||
| 38.8 | 2010-09-16 | 2 | 39°45'N / 82°24'W | 39°45'N / 82°16'W | 7.00 Miles | 800 Yards | 0 | 1 | 500K | 0K | Perry |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This tornado originiated in Fairfield County, but got stronger in western Perry County. The damage path widened as it crossed several north to south oriented roads. A convergent damage pattern was evident. Large trees were snapped along Avalon Road. A greater swath of tree and structural damage was along Otterbein Road. The damage path widened to as much as 800 yards, though the southern portion of the path was dominant. The tornado unleashed it worst winds as it continued east to encounter Palomino Road and County Township Road 138. At this stage, there was aproximately a 1 mile long and 100 yard wide path of EF2 strength winds, estimated at 110 to 120 mph. A manufactured home on Palomino Road was missing 95 percent of it roof covering and 40 to 50 percent of the roof supports and interior ceilings were missing. The woman inside was injured when a hallway door struck her in the back. There were at least 2 eyewitnesses to the actual tornado. Almost a mile east on County Township Road 138 a cluster of houses was heavily damaged. The worst damage was a newer 2 story single family home, but seemed to be of the manufactured home quality. Its roof and garage were completely blown off and thrown away. The tornado began to weaken as it headed across County Road 25. The tornado further weakened during its final 1.5 miles, ending near the intersection of County Roads 122, 123, and 134. About 8 homes were destroyed in this tornado. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A cold front, in tandem with strong mid and upper level forcing, produced a severe weather outbreak in southeast Ohio into extreme western West Virginia during the late afternoon and evening of Thursday the 16th. The setup featured a 45 knot mid level flow and a 95 knot upper level jet. Matter of fact, a larger area of showers, associated with a warm front, had moved across southeast Ohio and West Virginia during the morning and midday hours. This kept the surface based instability at a minimum. However, new cells formed further west during the mid afternoon over western Ohio. It was this new cluster of convection that would intensify due to the strong mid and upper level dynamics. Several of the new cells formed and intensified on the southern or southwestern flank of the overall larger area of showers and thunderstorms. This area of convection stretched further to the northeast into eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. This allowed an unimpeded low level moisture inflow into the new development. Surface dew points ahead of the cold front reached into the mid 60s. Most of the severe thunderstorms exhibited strong rotation, resulting in the spawning of 5 tornadoes. Four of these 5 tornadoes were in Ohio. One of the 4 Ohio tornadoes crossed from Fairfield County into western Perry County. Another 1 of the 4 crossed from Perry into northwestern Morgan County. One tornado patch was solely in western Athens County. The damage continued another 10 miles in Athens County from a strong rear flank downdraft. Finally, the last of the 4 tornadoes in Ohio crossed the Ohio River from northeastern Meigs County into southern Wood County in West Virginia. From storm surveys, this was the strongest tornado. The last tornado path in this outbreak was solely in western West Virginia. Luckily, there were no fatalities in southeastern Ohio. However, there was one death on the West Virginia side of the Ohio River. | |||||||||||
| 39.0 | 1973-05-10 | 3 | 40°14'N / 83°50'W | 40°01'N / 83°36'W | 19.20 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Champaign |
| 39.0 | 1981-06-13 | 3 | 40°30'N / 82°54'W | 40°33'N / 82°51'W | 3.80 Miles | 350 Yards | 4 | 56 | 25.0M | 0 | Morrow |
| 39.6 | 2002-11-10 | 3 | 40°23'N / 83°32'W | 40°26'N / 83°27'W | 7.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 2 | 500K | 0 | Union |
| Brief Description: The tornado moved into the northwest part of the county from Logan County, tracking northeast across rural areas. Nine homes were damaged, four of which were completely destroyed. Half a dozen barn and sheds were destroyed. A 400-foot metal hi-tension cellular tower was toppled and destroyed and numerous cars were totalled. The worst damage occurred to a modular home along Newton-Perkins Road. Two individuals in the home were severely injured. | |||||||||||
| 39.7 | 1989-11-15 | 2 | 40°26'N / 82°56'W | 40°36'N / 82°37'W | 21.00 Miles | 73 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Morrow |
| 39.8 | 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 |
| 40.1 | 1971-05-06 | 2 | 40°31'N / 83°12'W | 40°34'N / 83°04'W | 7.40 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Marion |
| 40.3 | 1970-05-13 | 2 | 40°33'N / 82°56'W | 0 | 5 | 3K | 0 | Morrow | |||
| 40.5 | 1970-05-14 | 2 | 40°30'N / 82°45'W | 40°32'N / 82°43'W | 3.00 Miles | 700 Yards | 0 | 7 | 250K | 0 | Morrow |
| 40.6 | 1970-04-02 | 2 | 40°24'N / 82°29'W | 2.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Knox | |
| 40.6 | 1982-03-31 | 2 | 40°24'N / 82°29'W | 1.00 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 4 | 250K | 0 | Knox | |
| 41.2 | 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 |
| 42.8 | 1958-06-13 | 2 | 40°06'N / 83°50'W | 40°09'N / 83°45'W | 5.10 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Champaign |
| 43.9 | 1982-04-03 | 2 | 40°30'N / 82°33'W | 0.80 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 9 | 250K | 0 | Knox | |
| 45.0 | 1956-02-25 | 2 | 39°44'N / 83°48'W | 0.30 Mile | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Greene | |
| 45.8 | 1963-04-19 | 2 | 39°49'N / 83°51'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Greene | |||
| 46.3 | 1970-05-14 | 2 | 40°17'N / 83°47'W | 3.00 Miles | 350 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Logan | |
| 46.6 | 1962-05-26 | 2 | 39°18'N / 82°54'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Ross | |||
| 47.0 | 1958-07-22 | 2 | 40°04'N / 82°15'W | 40°07'N / 82°01'W | 12.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 3 | 0K | 0 | Muskingum |
| 47.1 | 1990-06-22 | 2 | 40°36'N / 82°40'W | 40°35'N / 82°37'W | 3.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 1 | 2.5M | 0 | Morrow |
| 47.2 | 1997-07-02 | 2 | 39°41'N / 83°49'W | 39°41'N / 83°49'W | 0.20 Mile | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 50K | 0 | Greene |
| Brief Description: A brief tornado developed in the apex of a bow echo that moved across the county. A house was blown off its foundation and moved 35 feet away. 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. | |||||||||||
| 48.4 | 1985-05-31 | 3 | 40°14'N / 82°11'W | 40°14'N / 82°08'W | 2.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Coshocton |
| 48.5 | 2000-05-23 | 2 | 40°40'N / 82°54'W | 40°40'N / 82°54'W | 3.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 200K | 0 | Marion |
| Brief Description: A tornado touched down near Lyons Road approximately four miles west of the Town of Martel. The observed damage path was approximately three miles in length and was oriented west to east. The width of the path varied between 100 and 200 yards. Five homes were damaged and two mobile homes destroyed. One of the mobile homes was found wrapped around a large tree. | |||||||||||
| 48.9 | 1980-07-05 | 2 | 40°40'N / 82°51'W | 0.20 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Morrow | |
| 49.3 | 1973-05-10 | 2 | 40°42'N / 83°07'W | 40°40'N / 82°51'W | 13.90 Miles | 267 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Marion |
| 49.4 | 1989-11-15 | 2 | 40°36'N / 82°37'W | 40°38'N / 82°36'W | 2.00 Miles | 73 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Richland |
| 49.8 | 1974-04-03 | 5 | 39°38'N / 84°03'W | 39°47'N / 83°43'W | 20.40 Miles | 533 Yards | 36 | 1150 | 250.0M | 0 | Greene |
| 50.0 | 1989-04-25 | 2 | 39°41'N / 83°56'W | 39°45'N / 83°51'W | 5.00 Miles | 123 Yards | 0 | 16 | 2.5M | 0 | Greene |
* 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.