NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Carlisle, 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
6 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Carlisle, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 47 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 47
- 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 Carlisle
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Carlisle; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 1 mile away. The record near Carlisle begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 19 miles away. None of the 6 systems has come since 2000. Carlisle has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 52% of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site. The strongest of the 47 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 20 miles, and it killed 7 people. Of the 47, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 26 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 16. The most recent tornado was on September 22, 2025. Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 75% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Carlisle. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 24 times since 1974, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 92% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Carlisle.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Carlisle
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 1 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 Carlisle: 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 Carlisle
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s10
- 2000s5
- 1990s4
- 1980s6
- 1970s7(3 EF3+)
- 1960s2
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 20 mi | 31.9 mi | 7 / 28 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 23 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 15 mi | 19.3 mi | 0 / 27 |
| Feb 6, 2008 | EF2 | 16 mi | 3.49 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 16, 1982 | F2 | 13 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 16, 1982 | F2 | 18 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 9, 1981 | F2 | 24 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jun 29, 1979 | F2 | 15 mi | 33.8 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F2 | 25 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Jun 15, 1964 | F2 | 4 mi | 49.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 2, 2025 | EF1 | 22 mi | 10.81 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 12, 2024 | EF1 | 25 mi | 0.75 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 47, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Carlisle
The Storm Prediction Center has 24 hail reports within 10 miles of Carlisle since 1974, made on 14 separate days. Of these, 17 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 10, 2011. The most recent report is from March 2, 2012. May has the most reports, 10.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Carlisle
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Cynthiana, KY, 16 miles west of Carlisle at 700 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 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 3.1 inches; the year adds up to 47.7 inches over 85 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 28 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 109 nights a year. That 47.7 inches is more than at 17 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (18%). Sharpsburg, 10 miles southeast, has its own station (Mt Sterling, KY): 48.6 inches a year, 0.9 more than here, and the same July average high, 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 23 | 3.4 | 7 |
| Feb | 46 | 25 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Mar | 55 | 32 | 4.5 | 8 |
| Apr | 67 | 41 | 4.6 | 8 |
| May | 76 | 52 | 5.0 | 9 |
| Jun | 84 | 61 | 4.5 | 8 |
| Jul | 87 | 65 | 4.8 | 7 |
| Aug | 86 | 63 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Sep | 80 | 55 | 3.5 | 5 |
| Oct | 69 | 43 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Nov | 56 | 33 | 3.2 | 7 |
| Dec | 46 | 27 | 4.1 | 7 |
| Year | 66 | 43 | 47.7 | 85 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Cynthiana, KY (700 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 Carlisle
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 152 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Carlisle: 103 thunderstorm wind reports, 24 flash floods, 23 floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 3 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $3.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on February 6, 2008. August has had the most flash floods, 6 of 24. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 147 have had fewer than Carlisle.
May 24, 1996: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Carlisle — 1 killed, 2 injured, $10,000 damage.
July 30, 2021: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Carlisle — 1 killed, $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “Heavy rain caused flash flooding in Carlisle as Brushy Fork Creek quickly left it's banks. Several streets including Main Street were under several feet of water.”
July 27, 2023: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Carlisle — 1 killed.
NWS: “A house was swept away due to flood waters along West Headquarters Road near Hooktown.”
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 Carlisle's ZIP code 40311 have filed 45 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $1.7 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 13% 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, 77 have fewer than Carlisle.
Nicholas County, which includes Carlisle, has been named in 32 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1989, 25 of them major disasters (by incident: 18 severe storms, 3 floods, 3 ice storms, 3 snowstorms). 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 Nicholas County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes, hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $4.5 million a year, the 112th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.2 million (72%), 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 Carlisle
- Sharpsburg, KY10 mi
- Ewing, KY11 mi
- Mount Olivet, KY13 mi
- Paris, KY14 mi
- Cynthiana, KY16 mi
- Flemingsburg, KY18 mi
- Owingsville, KY18 mi
- Mt Sterling, KY19 mi
- Hillsboro, KY20 mi
- Berry, KY25 mi
- Winchester, KY25 mi
- Wallingford, KY25 mi
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