07/06/2026
What you will come to learn about me, (Matt), is that I love data.
The National Weather Service has developed a database with history pertaining to tornados, hail and wind all across the country. I did some browsing and wanted to share some of this data with you!
Starting out with the big picture, you can see that we have recorded 37 tornados since records began. The "official" tornado record in the United States began in 1950 when information was collected and tabulated at the National Severe Storms Forecast Center (NSSFC) in Kansas City, Missouri. Naturally, Van Wert had to get in on the action and recorded 2 tornados. An EF2 (on today's scale) made a path from Wren-Landeck to 127. An EF1 was recorded near Jubilee Park. Over the 76 year period, Van Wert has recorded 2 EFU (Unknown wind speed), 15 EF0 (65-85mph), 14 EF1 (86-110mph), 3 EF2 (111-135mph), 3 EF2 (136-165mph), and 3 EF4 (166-200mph).
The infamous tornado outbreak on Palm Sunday of 1965 brought about an EF4 that left a path through southern Van Wert County. 4 fatalities and 125 injuries were recorded, making this the deadliest tornado for the county.
2002 is likely to be remembered by most Van Wert residents and took place in a rare time of year. That particular tornado sustained itself for 52.8 miles, stretching across 4 counties in Ohio and showing a max width of 880 yards.
December is the only month of the year that Van Wert has not recorded a tornado. July, as you can see, remains one of the months that holds the lowest number of tornados recorded at only 3.
Last but not least, the prime time for tornados in this area has been between 5pm and 6pm with 8 recorded in that timeframe accounting for 21.6% of our tornados.
What else do you see that strikes your eye?
Here is the link to the database for anyone interested:
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/ac8e52b8ddd94ddfa7ace14808b34a20/page/National-Tornado-Archive
