NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Corbin, 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 Corbin, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 34 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 7
- Tornadoes
- 34
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
33 deaths in all
What the records show for Corbin
None of the 7 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Corbin; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 47 mph winds when its centre passed 64 miles away. The record near Corbin begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 43 miles away. Of the 7 systems, one has come since 2000. Corbin has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 74% of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site. The strongest of the 34 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF4 on May 16, 2025; its path came within 9 miles, and it killed 18 people. Of the 34, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 14 have come since 2000. April and June have had the most tornadoes, 9 each. Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 83% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Corbin. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 92 times since 1959, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Corbin has more hail reports within 10 miles than 86% of the 281 Kentucky cities.
Compare Corbin's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Corbin
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 18 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Corbin: 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 Corbin
By decade
- 2020s3(1 EF3+)
- 2010s2
- 2000s9
- 1990s6
- 1980s3
- 1970s7(3 EF3+)
- 1960s2(2 EF3+)
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 2025 | EF4 | 9 mi | 60.08 mi | 18 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 17 mi | 22.3 mi | 7 / 40 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 23 mi | 13.9 mi | 2 / 45 |
| Jun 29, 1973 | F3 | 13 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Mar 12, 1967 | F3 | 19 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 12, 1967 | F3 | 18 mi | 23.6 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF2 | 18 mi | 7.15 mi | 6 / 40 |
| Jun 2, 2001 | F2 | 13 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 10 |
| May 18, 1995 | F2 | 16 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 1984 | F2 | 13 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F2 | 11 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F2 | 2 mi | 19.8 mi | 0 / 22 |
The strongest 12 of 34, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Corbin
The Storm Prediction Center has 92 hail reports within 10 miles of Corbin since 1959, made on 53 separate days. Of these, 53 were 1 inch across or larger, and 7 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.5 inches, fell on April 28, 1959. The most recent report is from May 8, 2025. May has the most reports, 26.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Corbin
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is London Corbin Airport, KY, 10 miles north of Corbin at 1,188 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 45°F and 27°F. July is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.3 inches; the year adds up to 51.4 inches over 90 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 20 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 89 nights a year. That 51.4 inches is more than at 54 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (58%). Gray, 7 miles east, has its own station (Barbourville, KY): 53.9 inches a year, 2.5 more than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45 | 27 | 3.9 | 7 |
| Feb | 50 | 30 | 4.0 | 8 |
| Mar | 58 | 36 | 4.6 | 8 |
| Apr | 69 | 45 | 4.7 | 8 |
| May | 77 | 54 | 5.0 | 8 |
| Jun | 84 | 62 | 5.1 | 9 |
| Jul | 86 | 66 | 5.2 | 9 |
| Aug | 86 | 65 | 4.0 | 7 |
| Sep | 80 | 58 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Oct | 70 | 45 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Nov | 58 | 36 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Dec | 49 | 30 | 4.5 | 8 |
| Year | 68 | 46 | 51.4 | 90 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at London Corbin Airport, KY (1,188 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 Corbin
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 303 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Corbin: 226 thunderstorm wind reports, 39 flash floods, 33 floods and 5 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $1.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on April 2, 2024. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 223 have had fewer than Corbin.
August 19, 2001: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Corbin — 2 injured, $5,000 damage.
July 1, 2013: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Corbin — 2 injured.
NWS: “A tree was blown down onto a moving car on Rachael Road with two non-life threatening injuries reported.”
April 4, 2011: thunderstorm wind in Corbin — 1 injured, $1,000 damage.
NWS: “A tree fell down on a vehicle. The driver was 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 Corbin's ZIP code 40701 have filed 17 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1991, and were paid $154,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 12% 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, 27 have fewer than Corbin.
Whitley County, which includes Corbin, has been named in 38 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 30 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 severe storms, 9 floods, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on May 29, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Whitley County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $18.0 million a year, the 33rd highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $10.9 million (61%), 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.