NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Butler, 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
4 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Butler, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 65 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 65
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
19 deaths in all
What the records show for Butler
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Butler; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 36 miles away. The record near Butler begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 49 miles away. None of the 4 systems has come since 2000. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site, 56% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Butler. The highest rating among the 65 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on March 2, 2012, came within 7 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 23, 1968, killed 6 people. Of the 65, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 29 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 21. The most recent tornado was on September 22, 2025. Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 60% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Butler. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 45 times since 1968, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 62% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Butler.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Butler
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 36 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 Butler: 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 Butler
By decade
- 2020s12
- 2010s14(2 EF3+)
- 2000s3
- 1990s9(1 EF3+)
- 1980s7
- 1970s7(1 EF3+)
- 1960s9(3 EF3+)
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 1968 | F4 | 8 mi | 78.7 mi | 6 / 364 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF4 | 7 mi | 9.85 mi | 4 / 8 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F4 | 21 mi | 24.1 mi | 1 / 33 |
| Aug 9, 1969 | F3 | 25 mi | 22.2 mi | 4 / 247 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 3 mi | 20.41 mi | 3 / 13 |
| Jul 2, 1997 | F3 | 9 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 22 mi | 19.3 mi | 0 / 27 |
| May 8, 1996 | F2 | 2 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F2 | 10 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1986 | F2 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 1980 | F2 | 21 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Sep 29, 1973 | F2 | 24 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 65, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Butler
The Storm Prediction Center has 45 hail reports within 10 miles of Butler since 1968, made on 38 separate days. Of these, 18 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on April 23, 1968. The most recent report is from April 14, 2025. May has the most reports, 9.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Butler
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Chilo Meldahl Locks & Dam, OH, 9 miles east of Butler at 480 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 41°F and 23°F. May is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 42.2 inches over 75 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 24 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 104 nights a year. That 42.2 inches is more than at 0 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (0%). De Mossville, 6 miles west, has its own station (Williamstown, KY): 45.9 inches a year, 3.7 more than here, and the same July average high, 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 23 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Feb | 46 | 25 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Mar | 55 | 32 | 4.3 | 8 |
| Apr | 66 | 41 | 4.1 | 7 |
| May | 75 | 52 | 4.6 | 9 |
| Jun | 83 | 61 | 4.0 | 7 |
| Jul | 87 | 65 | 4.1 | 7 |
| Aug | 86 | 64 | 3.2 | 5 |
| Sep | 81 | 57 | 2.8 | 4 |
| Oct | 69 | 45 | 2.7 | 5 |
| Nov | 56 | 35 | 2.8 | 6 |
| Dec | 45 | 28 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Year | 66 | 44 | 42.2 | 75 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Chilo Meldahl Locks & Dam, OH (480 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 Butler
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 214 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Butler: 158 thunderstorm wind reports, 35 floods, 19 flash floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on January 3, 2000. June has had the most flash floods, 7 of 19. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 96 have had fewer than Butler.
April 7, 2025: flood 2 miles from the centre of Butler — 1 killed.
NWS: “A man died of a heart attack while launching his canoe into the flooded Licking River.”
November 9, 2000: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Butler — 1 injured, $50,000 damage.
January 3, 2000: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Butler — $200,000 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 Butler's ZIP code 41006 have filed 20 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1989, and were paid $506,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 17 claims (85% of all) and $456,000. Of the 143 Kentucky cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 41 have fewer than Butler.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 17 | $456,000 |
Pendleton County, which includes Butler, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 severe storms, 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on April 24, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Pendleton County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes and inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes, hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $9.2 million a year, the 71st highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.1 million (66%), 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.
Cities near Butler
- De Mossville, KY6 mi
- California, KY8 mi
- Morning View, KY9 mi
- Moscow, OH9 mi
- Falmouth, KY10 mi
- Alexandria, KY11 mi
- New Richmond, OH12 mi
- Felicity, OH13 mi
- Crittenden, KY14 mi
- Independence, KY15 mi
- Brooksville, KY16 mi
- Melbourne, KY16 mi
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