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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bedford, OH

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

6 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Bedford, Ohio since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 77 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
6

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
77

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
8

58 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Bedford

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Bedford, Ohio, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2012SandyOct 3167 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 3
2003IsabelSep 1958 miTropical storm (39 mph)Category 5
1995OpalOct 611 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 4
1989HugoSep 2248 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 5
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 2261 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 2910 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Bedford: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Bedford

By decade

  • 2020s19
  • 2010s12
  • 2000s4
  • 1990s13(2 EF3+)
  • 1980s4(2 EF3+)
  • 1970s11(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s10(2 EF3+)
  • 1950s4(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Bedford, Ohio
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
May 31, 1985F524 mi47 mi18 / 310
Apr 11, 1965F416 mi22 mi18 / 200
Jun 8, 1953F413 mi118 mi17 / 379
May 2, 1983F33 mi12 mi1 / 25
Jul 12, 1992F316 mi8 mi0 / 0
Jul 12, 1992F321 mi7 mi0 / 4
Jun 3, 1973F314 mi12.9 mi0 / 1
Sep 29, 1966F34 mi4.5 mi0 / 20
Aug 20, 1962F214 mi0.5 mi4 / 20
Aug 24, 2023EF224 mi0.69 mi0 / 0
Aug 24, 2023EF23 mi1.52 mi0 / 0
Nov 10, 2002F24 mi10.1 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 77, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Bedford while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

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