Counties with the most tornadoes in Ohio

It's been a busy year for tornadoes in the U.S. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as many as 1,155 twisters have touched down across the country since the start of the year, above the average for this time of year.

A single day can drive up tornado counts. March 31, 2023, accounted for 163 tornadoes across the Midwest and South. Tornado activity usually peaks in the spring and early summer, and the pace of tornadoes usually slows around late summer. A smaller-scale second tornado season emerges in the fall, mostly in the Gulf Coast states.

Stacker used data from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information to find the counties in Ohio that have experienced the most tornadoes since 2000. While data is available going back to 1950, tornado tracking by the National Weather Service became more robust and accurate in the 1990s. Since counties can vary in size, they are ranked by the number of tornadoes per 100 square miles. Counties that experienced less than five tornadoes are not included.

The counties that encounter the most tornadoes aren't all in the infamous Tornado Alley. When adjusted for county area, the top 10 counties that experienced the most tornadoes since 2000 are from nine different states, all in the Southeast with the exception of Cleveland County, Oklahoma.

Research has shown that Tornado Alley is shifting due to warming temperatures fueled by climate change. In the future, the Southeast could become the region that receives the bulk of the country's tornadoes. It's a concerning trend as the South is more populated than the Great Plains and has a higher concentration of mobile homes than other parts of the country, making the storms potentially deadlier and costlier.

As of August 2023, 75 people have died from tornadoes this year, and over 60% of those deaths occurred in mobile homes.

The best way to stay protected during tornadoes is to have multiple ways of receiving storm updates including social media, radio, television, and sirens, and to immediately seek shelter in a basement or interior room without windows when a tornado watch escalates to a warning.

Read on to see which counties experience the most tornadoes in Ohio.

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#50. Madison County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (1.07 per 100 square miles)
- #1,736 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#49. Columbiana County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (1.13 per 100 square miles)
- #1,698 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#48. Ross County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (1.16 per 100 square miles)
- #1,670 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#47. Sandusky County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (1.22 per 100 square miles)
- #1,624 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#46. Jefferson County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (1.22 per 100 square miles)
- #1,622 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#45. Perry County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (1.23 per 100 square miles)
- #1,619 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#44. Hamilton County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (1.23 per 100 square miles)
- #1,613 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#43. Tuscarawas County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (1.23 per 100 square miles)
- #1,611 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#42. Trumbull County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (1.29 per 100 square miles)
- #1,557 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#41. Licking County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (1.32 per 100 square miles)
- #1,543 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#40. Delaware County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (1.35 per 100 square miles)
- #1,517 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#39. Adams County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (1.37 per 100 square miles)
- #1,506 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#38. Lorain County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (1.43 per 100 square miles)
- #1,463 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#37. Paulding County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (1.44 per 100 square miles)
- #1,450 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#36. Seneca County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (1.45 per 100 square miles)
- #1,446 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#35. Vinton County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (1.46 per 100 square miles)
- #1,444 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#34. Wayne County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (1.62 per 100 square miles)
- #1,333 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#33. Portage County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (1.64 per 100 square miles)
- #1,318 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#32. Preble County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (1.65 per 100 square miles)
- #1,311 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#31. Summit County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (1.70 per 100 square miles)
- #1,281 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#30. Lucas County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (1.76 per 100 square miles)
- #1,240 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#29. Carroll County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (1.77 per 100 square miles)
- #1,227 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#28. Richland County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (1.82 per 100 square miles)
- #1,194 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#27. Ashland County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (1.89 per 100 square miles)
- #1,132 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#26. Ottawa County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (1.96 per 100 square miles)
- #1,093 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#25. Highland County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 11 (1.99 per 100 square miles)
- #1,067 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#24. Putnam County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (2.07 per 100 square miles)
- #1,004 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#23. Fayette County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (2.21 per 100 square miles)
- #917 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#22. Warren County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (2.24 per 100 square miles)
- #896 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#21. Franklin County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (2.25 per 100 square miles)
- #884 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#20. Stark County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (2.26 per 100 square miles)
- #879 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#19. Wood County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (2.27 per 100 square miles)
- #872 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#18. Huron County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (2.44 per 100 square miles)
- #756 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#17. Pike County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 11 (2.50 per 100 square miles)
- #730 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#16. Darke County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 15 (2.51 per 100 square miles)
- #726 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#15. Fairfield County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (2.58 per 100 square miles)
- #693 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#14. Mercer County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (2.59 per 100 square miles)
- #686 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#13. Medina County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 11 (2.61 per 100 square miles)
- #676 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#12. Henry County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 11 (2.64 per 100 square miles)
- #653 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#11. Allen County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 11 (2.73 per 100 square miles)
- #621 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

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#10. Pickaway County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (2.79 per 100 square miles)
- #590 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#9. Montgomery County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (2.82 per 100 square miles)
- #581 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#8. Greene County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (2.90 per 100 square miles)
- #545 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#7. Clermont County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (3.10 per 100 square miles)
- #461 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#6. Brown County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 16 (3.27 per 100 square miles)
- #395 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#5. Auglaize County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 15 (3.74 per 100 square miles)
- #279 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 4

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#4. Clinton County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 16 (3.92 per 100 square miles)
- #244 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#3. Clark County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 17 (4.28 per 100 square miles)
- #189 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#2. Miami County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 19 (4.67 per 100 square miles)
- #131 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#1. Van Wert County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 28 (6.84 per 100 square miles)
- #27 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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