NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Campbellsville, 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 Campbellsville, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 76 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 7
- Tornadoes
- 76
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
11 deaths in all
What the records show for Campbellsville
None of the 7 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Campbellsville; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 53 mph winds when its centre passed 25 miles away. The record near Campbellsville begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 11 miles away. Of the 7 systems, one has come since 2000. Campbellsville has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 74% of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site. The highest rating among the 76 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 3, 1974, came within 5 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 27, 1971, killed 6 people. Of the 76, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 45 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 18. The most recent tornado was on December 18, 2025. Campbellsville has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 50% of the 281 Kentucky cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 69 times since 1964, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Campbellsville has more hail reports within 10 miles than 73% of the 281 Kentucky cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Campbellsville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Campbellsville: 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 Campbellsville
By decade
- 2020s12(1 EF3+)
- 2010s20
- 2000s13
- 1990s13(4 EF3+)
- 1980s3
- 1970s8(3 EF3+)
- 1960s5
- 1950s2(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 1971 | F4 | 16 mi | 14.1 mi | 6 / 58 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 5 mi | 20.2 mi | 0 / 56 |
| Dec 11, 2021 | EF3 | 4 mi | 14.54 mi | 1 / 31 |
| Mar 28, 1997 | F3 | 23 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 14 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 24 mi | 21.1 mi | 1 / 98 |
| Apr 16, 1998 | F3 | 15 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 28, 1997 | F3 | 24 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Mar 28, 1997 | F3 | 22 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 22, 1952 | F3 | 21 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 18 |
| Mar 28, 1997 | F2 | 13 mi | 10 mi | 1 / 6 |
| Nov 26, 1965 | F2 | 25 mi | 5.4 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Dec 11, 2021 | EF2 | 9 mi | 23.82 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 76, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Campbellsville
The Storm Prediction Center has 69 hail reports within 10 miles of Campbellsville since 1964, made on 50 separate days. Of these, 50 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on March 31, 1993. The most recent report is from May 16, 2025. May has the most reports, 25.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Campbellsville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Greensburg, KY, 11 miles southwest of Campbellsville at 585 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 45°F and 26°F. May is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 3.2 inches; the year adds up to 51.7 inches over 85 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 41 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 104 nights a year. That 51.7 inches is more than at 61 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (66%). Lebanon, 15 miles northeast, has its own station (Bradfordsville, KY): 52.6 inches a year, 0.9 more than here, and the same July average high, 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45 | 26 | 3.9 | 7 |
| Feb | 49 | 28 | 4.2 | 7 |
| Mar | 59 | 34 | 4.8 | 8 |
| Apr | 70 | 43 | 4.8 | 8 |
| May | 78 | 54 | 5.1 | 8 |
| Jun | 85 | 63 | 4.7 | 8 |
| Jul | 88 | 67 | 4.9 | 8 |
| Aug | 88 | 65 | 3.2 | 5 |
| Sep | 82 | 57 | 4.0 | 5 |
| Oct | 71 | 44 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Nov | 59 | 34 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Dec | 48 | 29 | 4.7 | 8 |
| Year | 69 | 45 | 51.7 | 85 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Greensburg, KY (585 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 Campbellsville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 230 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Campbellsville: 184 thunderstorm wind reports, 34 flash floods, 9 floods, 2 lightning strikes and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 10, and the NWS estimated $3.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 201 mph, on September 12, 1996. May has had the most flash floods, 9 of 34. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 198 have had fewer than Campbellsville.
May 18, 2006: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Campbellsville — 5 injured, $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Five people were injured when a movie gallery and a nearby restaurant were heavily damaged by thunderstorm winds.”
May 11, 2003: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Campbellsville — 4 injured, $40,000 damage.
NWS: “Occupants of a mobile home were injured when it was turned over by thunderstorm winds.”
May 25, 1998: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Campbellsville — 1 injured, $10,000 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
Taylor County, which includes Campbellsville, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 severe storms, 4 snowstorms, 3 ice storms, 3 tornadoes). 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 Taylor County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $10.2 million a year, the 61st highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.2 million (41%), 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 Campbellsville
- Greensburg, KY13 mi
- Lebanon, KY15 mi
- Columbia, KY18 mi
- Loretto, KY20 mi
- Magnolia, KY20 mi
- Dunnville, KY23 mi
- Liberty, KY23 mi
- New Haven, KY23 mi
- Hodgenville, KY24 mi
- Springfield, KY24 mi
- Hardyville, KY24 mi
- Russell Springs, KY27 mi
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