Dayton, OH Tornado History — 139 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has Dayton, OH had?
Dayton has had 139 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950, including 11 violent (EF3+) tornadoes.
When was the most recent tornado near Dayton?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of Dayton was an EF0 on July 19, 2025.
When is tornado season in Dayton?
May is historically the peak month for tornadoes near Dayton, with 43 on record. Spring through early summer (April–June) generally sees the highest activity across most of the central and southern United States.
At a Glance
Recent Tornado Activity Near Dayton
The last 20 years of confirmed tornadoes within 25 miles — 69 total, averaging 3.5 per year over this window.
Preliminary tornado reports near Dayton since December 29, 2025
These is a preliminary report, not confirmed tornadoes. It has not yet been through an NWS damage survey, and is not counted in the confirmed totals above.
Preliminary reports are revised, merged, and sometimes withdrawn — historically about 23% are consolidated downward once surveys complete. Ratings are omitted until a survey assigns one.
Confirmed records above are complete through December 29, 2025. NOAA publishes the confirmed archive annually, so tornadoes after that date appear here first and move into the totals above once finalized.
Within 25 miles of Dayton. Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center preliminary storm reports, updated daily.
Tornadoes by Decade
Tornadoes by Enhanced Fujita Rating
F0–F5 ratings (pre-2007) are grouped with their EF equivalents. The Enhanced Fujita scale replaced the original Fujita scale in February 2007.
Tornadoes by Month
Casualties on Record Near Dayton
40 fatalities have been recorded within 25 miles of Dayton since 1950, across 4 events. 1,602 injuries have been reported across all events. 1974 was the deadliest year on record.
The deadliest single event was a F5 on April 3, 1974, which caused 36 fatalities along a 31.3-mile track.
Notable Tornadoes Near Dayton
About Tornadoes in Dayton
This overview was written August 10, 2026. The tornado counts and notable-event figures elsewhere on this page reflect the latest data and may differ from this summary.
Spring over the Miami Valley pits Gulf moisture against sharp cold fronts and quickening winds aloft, and Dayton has learned across generations what that clash can build. An F4 tornado carved a 63.1-mile track across the region on April 25, 1961, injuring 7 people. A generation later, during the Super Outbreak of April 3, 1974, an F5 tore through neighboring Xenia along a 31.3-mile path, killing 36 people and injuring 1,150. An F3 arrived out of season on November 22, 1992, injuring 21. On May 28, 2019, the Memorial Day outbreak sent an EF4 with a damage path 1,050 yards across through Dayton's northern suburbs, injuring 166. An EF0 that touched down on July 20, 2025 was brief, but proof the pattern persists.
The ingredients behind that long record are geographic and durable. Western Ohio sits in a corridor where warm-season Gulf moisture surges north with little terrain to slow it, while jet-stream disturbances supply the wind shear that lets thunderstorms rotate; late-autumn frontal clashes, as in 1992, can briefly rebuild the same setup. The chronology elsewhere on this page rests on documentation maintained by the NOAA Storm Prediction Center, stretching from the early 1950s to the 2020s — grandparents, parents, and children in the Miami Valley have each seen this sky at work.