Lawrence County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
The chance of earthquake damage in Lawrence County is about the same as Ohio average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Lawrence County is much lower than Ohio average and is much lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #21
| Lawrence County | 0.10 |
| Ohio | 0.16 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #1
| Lawrence County | 0.0000 |
| Ohio | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #83
| Lawrence County | 63.03 |
| Ohio | 156.02 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 12,286 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Lawrence County were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 2 | Cold: | 143 | Dense Fog: | 32 | Drought: | 81 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 2,106 | Hail: | 2,857 | Heat: | 106 | Heavy Snow: | 172 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 54 | Landslide: | 1 | Strong Wind: | 164 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 5,962 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 27 | Winter Storm: | 133 | Winter Weather: | 106 |
| Other: | 340 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Lawrence County.
Historical Earthquake Events
A total of 2 historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Lawrence County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Depth (km) | Latitude | Longitude |
| 20.7 | 1983-08-17 | 3.5 | 8 | 38.47 | -82.86 |
| 23.4 | 1979-11-09 | 3.5 | 10 | 38.42 | -82.88 |
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 19 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Lawrence County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 13.1 | 2000-06-15 | 2 | 38°45'N / 82°24'W | 38°46'N / 82°21'W | 2.50 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 100K | 0 | Gallia |
| Brief Description: The tornado touched down near Burnette Road, then moved east across Hannan Trace Road, before dissipating east of Rocky Fork Road. In the vicinity of Hannan Trace Road, the tornado width was 150 yards and destroyed 3 barns. Wooden pieces of the barn, from 1 to 5 feet in length, became projectiles. The wood was scattered about the area, with some pieces wedged into the ground. The storm was rated as an F2 in this area. Elsewhere along its path, the tornado was weaker. Two homes received minor damage. Farm equipment and one truck were also damaged. | |||||||||||
| 14.0 | 1968-04-23 | 5 | 38°47'N / 82°39'W | 38°48'N / 82°35'W | 3.60 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 1 | 0K | 0 | Lawrence |
| 14.7 | 1968-04-23 | 5 | 38°42'N / 82°48'W | 38°47'N / 82°39'W | 9.80 Miles | 400 Yards | 7 | 75 | 2.5M | 0 | Scioto |
| 15.7 | 1968-04-23 | 5 | 38°48'N / 82°35'W | 38°49'N / 82°12'W | 20.60 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 17 | 250K | 0 | Gallia |
| 17.8 | 1965-04-08 | 3 | 38°22'N / 82°39'W | 38°21'N / 82°35'W | 3.30 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Boyd |
| 18.2 | 1965-04-08 | 3 | 38°21'N / 82°35'W | 38°20'N / 82°31'W | 3.60 Miles | 220 Yards | 0 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Wayne |
| 18.7 | 1980-07-12 | 2 | 38°26'N / 82°46'W | 38°21'N / 82°42'W | 6.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Boyd |
| 21.3 | 1980-07-12 | 2 | 38°41'N / 83°03'W | 38°26'N / 82°46'W | 23.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Greenup |
| 21.6 | 2002-05-08 | 2 | 38°52'N / 82°21'W | 38°53'N / 82°17'W | 3.00 Miles | 80 Yards | 0 | 3 | 3.5M | 0 | Gallia |
| Brief Description: A warm frontal boundary interacted with a complex of showers and thunderstorms to form a tornado on the southern flank of the precipitation. Touchdown was along Adamsville Road near Route 35. The roof was ripped off a home, 2 mobile homes were destroyed, along with a pole barn. The tornado then struck both rest areas on Route 35. The rest building on the north side of the highway was severely damaged. At least 2 tractor trailers were flipped over, while others parked in the lot, were damaged. Another mobile home near the rest stop was destroyed. Proceeding just east to Dewey Road, the tornado wiped a modular home off its foundation. A trailer was destroyed at the corner of Kerr and Viney Roads. Down Kerr Road, a home had its roof removed and a mobile home was moved off its foundation. On Fairview Road, another mobile home was damaged. What was amazing and fortunate, in just about all the cases, no one was home when the tornado struck. Three people were injured at the rest stop. | |||||||||||
| 22.9 | 1968-04-23 | 2 | 38°49'N / 82°52'W | 38°51'N / 82°47'W | 4.90 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Scioto |
| 24.6 | 1968-04-23 | 3 | 38°43'N / 82°57'W | 0 | 5 | 2.5M | 0 | Greenup | |||
| 31.0 | 1965-04-08 | 3 | 38°52'N / 82°59'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Scioto | |
| 37.0 | 1956-03-07 | 2 | 38°57'N / 83°04'W | 38°57'N / 83°01'W | 1.90 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Pike |
| 38.0 | 1982-06-16 | 2 | 38°39'N / 83°14'W | 38°41'N / 83°12'W | 2.00 Miles | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Scioto |
| 40.9 | 1967-03-13 | 2 | 38°57'N / 81°54'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Meigs | |||
| 41.3 | 1982-06-16 | 2 | 38°35'N / 83°20'W | 38°39'N / 83°14'W | 7.00 Miles | 30 Yards | 0 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Lewis |
| 44.8 | 1965-04-08 | 2 | 39°08'N / 83°00'W | 1.00 Mile | 30 Yards | 0 | 9 | 250K | 0 | Pike | |
| 45.7 | 1968-04-23 | 4 | 38°48'N / 83°42'W | 38°53'N / 82°55'W | 42.50 Miles | 550 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Adams |
| 48.1 | 2003-05-10 | 3 | 38°35'N / 83°37'W | 38°34'N / 83°12'W | 21.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 17 | 5.0M | 0 | Lewis |
| Brief Description: The tornado touched down to the southeast of Maysville, continuing east-southeast into Lewis County. The greatest damage occurred in the Heron Hill area in western Lewis County. Seventeen people were injured in Lewis County. 21 homes were destroyed, 10 homes sustained major damage and 17 homes received minor damage. Numerous barns, buildings and garages were also damaged or destroyed. The tornado appeared to skip across parts of Mason and Lewis Counties. Tornado damage ended four miles to the southeast of Vanceburg. A warm front stalled along the Ohio River, providing the focus for several clusters of thunderstorms to move across northern Kentucky during the early morning, lasting into the afternoon. Rainfall amounts from the thunderstorms generally ranged from three to five inches. The copious amounts of rain caused creeks and streams to rise out of their banks, and many roads were flooded and impassible. | |||||||||||
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.