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The ZIP codes with the most tornado tracks

1,229 of 1,233 Ohio ZIP codes have a figure; the median one has 4 tracks since 1950.

Open this topic on the map Disasters by ZIP code

Ohio sits at the eastern edge of the country's tornado belt. Its tornadoes cluster in spring, though the record holds them in every season, and a single track can cross several ZIP codes in a few minutes. For every tornado since 1950 the NOAA Storm Prediction Center has logged the straight line from touchdown to lift-off, which is what this counts.

This ranks the 25 Ohio ZIP codes with the most of those tracks passing within five miles of the ZIP code's population center, most first. Five miles is near, not a hit: a tornado that lifted a mile outside the line still counts, and a large or long ZIP code collects more tracks than a compact one. The number says where tornadoes have been, not where the next one goes.

Across the state

One dot per ZIP code, colored the way the map colors this topic; larger dots are more populous ZIP codes.

No tornado track within 5 miles since 1950 (78) 1 or 2 tracks (324) 3 to 5 (486) 6 to 10 (324) 11 or more (17) No data (4)

The 25 most-crossed ZIP codes

Highest first; every ZIP code links to its own page.

  1. 45898 · Willshire Township and WillshireVan Wert County16 tracks since 1950
  2. 45337 · Union Township and LauraMiami County15 tracks since 1950
  3. 45361 · PotsdamMiami County14 tracks since 1950
  4. 45891 · Van WertVan Wert County14 tracks since 1950
  5. 45065 · South LebanonWarren County13 tracks since 1950
  6. 45371 · Tipp CityMiami County13 tracks since 1950
  7. 45034 · Deerfield Township and Kings MillsWarren County12 tracks since 1950
  8. 45152 · Hamilton Township and MorrowWarren County12 tracks since 1950
  9. 45339 · Union Township and Ludlow FallsMiami County12 tracks since 1950
  10. 45358 · PitsburgDarke County12 tracks since 1950
  11. 45384 · Xenia Township and WilberforceGreene County12 tracks since 1950
  12. 45039 · Hamilton Township and MainevilleWarren County11 tracks since 1950
  13. 45042 · MiddletownButler County11 tracks since 1950
  14. 45148 · Jefferson Township and MidlandClinton County11 tracks since 1950
  15. 45344 · Bethel Township and New CarlisleClark County11 tracks since 1950
  16. 45373 · TroyMiami County11 tracks since 1950
  17. 45895 · WapakonetaAuglaize County11 tracks since 1950
  18. 43002 · Columbus and AmlinFranklin County10 tracks since 1950
  19. 44062 · Middlefield Township and MiddlefieldGeauga County10 tracks since 1950
  20. 44212 · BrunswickMedina County10 tracks since 1950
  21. 44215 · Lafayette Township and Chippewa LakeMedina County10 tracks since 1950
  22. 44280 · Liverpool Township and Valley CityMedina County10 tracks since 1950
  23. 44847 · MonroevilleHuron County10 tracks since 1950
  24. 44850 · New Haven Township and New HavenHuron County10 tracks since 1950
  25. 45044 · MiddletownButler County10 tracks since 1950

15 ZIP codes share the last value listed (10 tracks since 1950); the 8 shown come first by ZIP code.

How this was measured

Three records of what has actually happened: every tornado track in the Storm Prediction Center's database since 1950 that passes within 5 miles of the ZIP's population center (a track is the straight line from touchdown to lift-off, so a tornado that lifted a mile away counts), every federal disaster or emergency declaration FEMA has issued for the ZIP's county, from Ohio's first in 1956, including statewide ones, and every earthquake of magnitude 2 or more the USGS has cataloged within 25 miles since 1970. Tornado ratings are the Fujita scale before 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after. The card also totals NOAA's Storm Events log for the county since 2016: hail, damaging wind, flash floods, lightning and the rest, with the largest hail, the strongest measured gust and the costliest single event. A county line tallies every tornado, severe thunderstorm, flood, winter storm and heat warning the National Weather Service has issued since 2015. FEMA's mitigation grant history for the county and the properties bought out, elevated or given safe rooms in the ZIP are listed. FEMA's household registrations after each declared disaster show who actually applied for help.

1,229 of 1,233 ZIP codes have a figure; ZIP codes without one are left off the list, not counted as zero. Ties are broken by ZIP code.

Every ZIP code's own page carries the full detail behind its figure, and the Disasters topic page ranks the whole state.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database 1950-2025 (tracks within 5 miles of each ZIP's population-weighted center), OpenFEMA disaster declarations by county since 1956, USGS earthquake catalog M2+ since 1970 within 25 miles; NOAA Storm Events database 2016 to 2026, county-based reports (hail, wind, flooding, lightning) by county; National Weather Service watches, warnings and advisories by county since 2015 from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet VTEC archive; OpenFEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance projects and mitigated properties (v4 API, September 2026); OpenFEMA housing assistance registrations by ZIP (owners and renters, v2).

NOAA SPC tornado data · OpenFEMA · USGS earthquakes · NOAA storm events · IEM warning archive

The figures behind this page are open data: the open JSON, CC BY 4.0 for the compilation. Report a correction.

Cite this page as:

Cracked Buckeye (Open Shower Co), "The ZIP codes with the most tornado tracks", https://crackedbuckeye.com/stories/tornado-tracks/, built 2026-09-16, accessed [date].

One figure from it:

Cracked Buckeye (Open Shower Co), "The ZIP codes with the most tornado tracks", https://crackedbuckeye.com/stories/tornado-tracks/, built 2026-09-16, accessed [date]; Disasters from NOAA SPC tornado data.

How to cite · Report a correction · Built 2026-09-16