NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ashland, KY
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
7 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Ashland, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 30 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 7
- Tornadoes
- 30
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
7 deaths in all
What the records show for Ashland
None of the 7 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Ashland; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 23 miles away. The record near Ashland begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 42 miles away. None of the 7 systems has come since 2000. Ashland has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 74% of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site. The strongest of the 30 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 23, 1968; its path came within 18 miles, and it killed 7 people. Of the 30, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 15 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 10. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2024. Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 86% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Ashland. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 122 times since 1962, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Ashland has more hail reports within 10 miles than 92% of the 281 Kentucky cities.
Compare Ashland's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Ashland
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 18 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Ashland: 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 Ashland
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s3
- 2000s3
- 1990s5
- 1980s5
- 1970s2
- 1960s3(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 1968 | F5 | 18 mi | 34 mi | 7 / 93 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F3 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 8, 1965 | F3 | 6 mi | 6.9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF2 | 12 mi | 1.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 4, 2016 | EF2 | 25 mi | 2.63 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 15, 2000 | F2 | 25 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1980 | F2 | 6 mi | 29.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 18 mi | 4.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 21 mi | 0.44 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 13 mi | 0.55 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 13 mi | 1.09 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 1 mi | 1.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 30, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Ashland
The Storm Prediction Center has 122 hail reports within 10 miles of Ashland since 1962, made on 61 separate days. Of these, 61 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on July 23, 1962. The most recent report is from April 14, 2025. June has the most reports, 33.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Ashland
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ashland, KY, 3 miles east of Ashland at 560 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 23°F. May is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and October and November the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 46.9 inches over 89 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 35 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 125 nights a year. That 46.9 inches is more than at 12 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (13%). South Point, OH, 6 miles east, has its own station (S Pt, OH): 49.7 inches a year, 2.8 more than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 23 | 3.5 | 8 |
| Feb | 44 | 24 | 3.7 | 8 |
| Mar | 54 | 32 | 4.4 | 9 |
| Apr | 67 | 41 | 3.9 | 8 |
| May | 75 | 51 | 4.9 | 9 |
| Jun | 83 | 61 | 4.5 | 9 |
| Jul | 85 | 65 | 4.6 | 8 |
| Aug | 84 | 63 | 3.9 | 6 |
| Sep | 78 | 56 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Oct | 67 | 43 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Nov | 54 | 32 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Dec | 44 | 27 | 4.2 | 8 |
| Year | 65 | 43 | 46.9 | 89 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ashland, KY (560 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Ashland
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 442 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Ashland: 309 thunderstorm wind reports, 64 floods, 57 flash floods, 7 lightning strikes and 5 heavy rain events. They killed 2 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $12.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 105 mph, on March 1, 2017. July has had the most flash floods, 17 of 57. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 257 have had fewer than Ashland.
December 16, 2019: flood 10 miles from the centre of Ashland — 1 killed, $25,000 damage.
August 16, 2007: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Ashland — 1 killed, $5,000 damage.
July 20, 2008: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Ashland — 1 injured, $15,000 damage.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Ashland's 2 ZIP codes have filed 363 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $5.4 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 45 claims (12% of all) and $619,000, then Mid-spring storms in 2011 with 27. The year with the most claims was 2002, with 49. 23% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 143 Kentucky cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 130 have fewer than Ashland.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 45 | $619,000 |
| Mid-spring storms2011 | 27 | $291,000 |
Boyd County, which includes Ashland, has been named in 33 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 26 of them major disasters (by incident: 16 severe storms, 6 floods, 3 ice storms, 3 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on February 24, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Boyd County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for heat waves; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $29.5 million a year, the 16th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $18.8 million (64%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.