NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Dry Ridge, 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
3 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Dry Ridge, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 62 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 62
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
22 deaths in all
What the records show for Dry Ridge
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Dry Ridge; 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 Dry Ridge begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 60 miles away. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site, 73% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Dry Ridge. The strongest of the 62 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 23 miles, and it killed 3 people. The deadliest, an F4 on April 23, 1968, killed 6 people. Of the 62, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 25 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 21. The most recent tornado was on July 20, 2025. Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 62% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Dry Ridge. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 46 times since 1960, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 60% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Dry Ridge.
Compare Dry Ridge's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Dry Ridge
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 6 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 Dry Ridge: 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 Dry Ridge
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s13(2 EF3+)
- 2000s1
- 1990s10(1 EF3+)
- 1980s8
- 1970s10(2 EF3+)
- 1960s5(1 EF3+)
- 1950s4(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 23 mi | 20.8 mi | 3 / 210 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F4 | 15 mi | 78.7 mi | 6 / 364 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF4 | 7 mi | 9.85 mi | 4 / 8 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 22 mi | 79.4 mi | 4 / 122 |
| Nov 22, 1992 | F4 | 16 mi | 26.7 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 19 mi | 20.41 mi | 3 / 13 |
| Feb 10, 1959 | F3 | 20 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF2 | 10 mi | 5.4 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 8, 1996 | F2 | 16 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 12, 1986 | F2 | 9 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 1980 | F2 | 18 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 29, 1979 | F2 | 25 mi | 33.8 mi | 0 / 7 |
The strongest 12 of 62, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Dry Ridge
The Storm Prediction Center has 46 hail reports within 10 miles of Dry Ridge since 1960, made on 37 separate days. Of these, 20 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 3 days, most recently March 14, 2024. The most recent report is from March 14, 2024. April has the most reports, 15.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Dry Ridge
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Williamstown, KY, 6 miles southeast of Dry Ridge at 969 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 42°F and 25°F. June is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 45.9 inches over 83 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 23 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 91 nights a year. Snowfall averages 16.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 45.9 inches is more than at 6 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (6%). Walton, 13 miles north, has its own station (Cincinnati Northern Ky Airport, KY): 45.3 inches a year, 0.6 less than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42 | 25 | 3.1 | 7 | 6.7 |
| Feb | 47 | 28 | 3.3 | 6 | 4.1 |
| Mar | 56 | 35 | 4.3 | 8 | 1.7 |
| Apr | 68 | 45 | 4.1 | 9 | 0.1 |
| May | 77 | 55 | 4.9 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 63 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 66 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 65 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 58 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 47 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 56 | 37 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.4 |
| Dec | 46 | 29 | 3.5 | 8 | 2.8 |
| Year | 67 | 46 | 45.9 | 83 | 16.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Williamstown, KY (969 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 Dry Ridge
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 160 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Dry Ridge: 124 thunderstorm wind reports, 18 floods, 15 flash floods and 3 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $818,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 82 mph, on June 15, 2010. May has had the most flash floods, 6 of 15. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 59 have had fewer than Dry Ridge.
July 1, 2023: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Dry Ridge — 1 injured, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “A home was damaged and one person suffered minor injuries.”
August 29, 2022: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Dry Ridge — $100,000 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
Grant County, which includes Dry Ridge, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1996, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on April 10, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Grant County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes, hail and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $6.9 million a year, the 90th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.3 million (33%), 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.