NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Charlestown, IN
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 Charlestown, Indiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 127 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 127
- EF3 or stronger
- 13
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
35 deaths in all
What the records show for Charlestown
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Charlestown; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 46 miles away. The record near Charlestown begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 53 miles away. Of the 4 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 356 Indiana cities on this site, 37% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Charlestown. The strongest of the 127 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 11 miles, and it killed 6 people. The deadliest, an EF4 on March 2, 2012, killed 11 people. Of the 127, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 77 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 30. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Charlestown has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 78% of the 356 Indiana cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 104 times since 1968, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Charlestown has more hail reports within 10 miles than 83% of the 356 Indiana cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Charlestown
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 46 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 Charlestown: 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 Charlestown
By decade
- 2020s26(1 EF3+)
- 2010s32(2 EF3+)
- 2000s19(1 EF3+)
- 1990s14(4 EF3+)
- 1980s8
- 1970s17(5 EF3+)
- 1960s10
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 11 mi | 68 mi | 6 / 86 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF4 | 7 mi | 46.6 mi | 11 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 8 mi | 35.6 mi | 11 / 190 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 10 mi | 18.5 mi | 3 / 225 |
| May 28, 1996 | F4 | 22 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Sep 26, 1976 | F3 | 23 mi | 14.6 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Apr 1, 1974 | F3 | 23 mi | 3.3 mi | 1 / 20 |
| Apr 2, 2025 | EF3 | 18 mi | 9.68 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 23 mi | 3.26 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 18, 2007 | EF3 | 6 mi | 4.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F3 | 8 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F3 | 9 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 5 |
The strongest 12 of 127, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Charlestown
The Storm Prediction Center has 104 hail reports within 10 miles of Charlestown since 1968, made on 64 separate days. Of these, 81 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on March 2, 2012. The most recent report is from May 16, 2025. May has the most reports, 26.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Charlestown
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Crestwood 4NE, KY, 14 miles southeast of Charlestown at 780 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 41°F and 23°F. May is the wettest at 5.9 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.6 inches; the year adds up to 53.0 inches over 87 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 37 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 105 nights a year. That 53.0 inches is more than at 113 of the 115 Indiana stations used on this site (98%). Memphis, 6 miles west, has its own station (Louisville Mcalpine, KY): 48.0 inches a year, 5.0 less than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 23 | 3.7 | 7 |
| Feb | 45 | 27 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Mar | 56 | 33 | 4.8 | 8 |
| Apr | 68 | 44 | 5.2 | 9 |
| May | 77 | 54 | 5.9 | 10 |
| Jun | 85 | 62 | 5.1 | 9 |
| Jul | 88 | 65 | 4.7 | 8 |
| Aug | 87 | 64 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Sep | 81 | 56 | 3.6 | 5 |
| Oct | 68 | 45 | 4.0 | 5 |
| Nov | 54 | 34 | 3.8 | 7 |
| Dec | 44 | 27 | 4.5 | 8 |
| Year | 66 | 44 | 53.0 | 87 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Crestwood 4NE, KY (780 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 Charlestown
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 273 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Charlestown: 203 thunderstorm wind reports, 44 flash floods, 17 floods, 7 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $999,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on May 1, 2002. July has had the most flash floods, 11 of 44. Of the 337 Indiana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 325 have had fewer than Charlestown.
July 14, 2015: flood 3 miles from the centre of Charlestown — 1 killed, $20,000 damage.
NWS: “The Clark County emergency manager along with several media outlets reported the drowning of a 67 year old male after he reportedly drove through a flooded roadway. Several inches of rain had fallen during the previous night, flooding a portion of Tunnel Mill Road.”
March 14, 2015: flood 8 miles from the centre of Charlestown — 1 killed.
March 15, 2025: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Charlestown — 4 injured.
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 Charlestown's ZIP code 47111 have filed 178 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $4.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 40 claims (22% of all) and $937,000, then Central U.S. April Flooding in 2025 with 21 and Mid-spring storms in 2011 with 21. 55% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 155 Indiana cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 137 have fewer than Charlestown.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 40 | $937,000 |
| Central U.S. April Flooding2025 | 21 | $1.3 million |
| Mid-spring storms2011 | 21 | $274,000 |
| Not a named storm1978 | 16 | $31,000 |
Clark County, which includes Charlestown, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 severe storms, 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on July 22, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Clark County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for hail and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $54.4 million a year, the 9th highest of 92 Indiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $25.3 million (46%), 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 Charlestown
- Goshen, KY5 mi
- Memphis, IN6 mi
- Sellersburg, IN7 mi
- Prospect, KY8 mi
- Henryville, IN9 mi
- Jeffersonville, IN11 mi
- Clarksville, IN12 mi
- Crestwood, KY13 mi
- Pewee Valley, KY14 mi
- New Albany, IN14 mi
- Borden, IN14 mi
- Floyds Knobs, IN15 mi
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