NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Fairdale, 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 Fairdale, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 122 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 122
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
38 deaths in all
What the records show for Fairdale
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Fairdale; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 53 mph winds when its centre passed 29 miles away. The record near Fairdale begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 32 miles away. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site, 73% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Fairdale. The strongest of the 122 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 19 miles, and it killed 31 people. Of the 122, 5 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 December 28, 2025. Fairdale has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 93% of the 281 Kentucky cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 147 times since 1961, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Fairdale has more hail reports within 10 miles than 95% of the 281 Kentucky cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Fairdale
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 29 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 Fairdale: 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 Fairdale
By decade
- 2020s31(1 EF3+)
- 2010s27
- 2000s19
- 1990s16(3 EF3+)
- 1980s8
- 1970s14(3 EF3+)
- 1960s7(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 19 mi | 32 mi | 31 / 270 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 19 mi | 37.9 mi | 3 / 81 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 7 mi | 18.5 mi | 3 / 225 |
| May 28, 1996 | F4 | 3 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Apr 2, 2025 | EF3 | 11 mi | 9.68 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F3 | 25 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F3 | 20 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 10, 1969 | F3 | 11 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 14 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF2 | 24 mi | 5.33 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF2 | 17 mi | 11.15 mi | 0 / 32 |
| Jun 22, 2011 | EF2 | 11 mi | 1.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 2011 | EF2 | 7 mi | 1.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 122, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Fairdale
The Storm Prediction Center has 147 hail reports within 10 miles of Fairdale since 1961, made on 89 separate days. Of these, 104 were 1 inch across or larger, and 12 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 3, 1996. The most recent report is from March 19, 2025. April has the most reports, 35.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Fairdale
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Louisville International Airport, KY, 5 miles north of Fairdale at 488 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 28°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 43 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 74 nights a year. Snowfall averages 13.4 inches a year, most of it in January. That 48.4 inches is more than at 28 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (30%). Brooks, 3 miles south, has its own station (Louisville WFO, KY): 53.1 inches a year, 4.7 more than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 28 | 3.4 | 6 | 4.5 |
| Feb | 48 | 31 | 3.4 | 6 | 4.1 |
| Mar | 58 | 39 | 4.6 | 8 | 2.1 |
| Apr | 70 | 49 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.1 |
| May | 78 | 59 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 86 | 67 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 89 | 71 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 88 | 70 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 62 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 71 | 50 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 58 | 39 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.3 |
| Dec | 47 | 32 | 4.1 | 7 | 2.2 |
| Year | 68 | 50 | 48.4 | 80 | 13.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Louisville International Airport, KY (488 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 Fairdale
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 588 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Fairdale: 439 thunderstorm wind reports, 103 flash floods, 27 floods, 11 lightning strikes and 8 heavy rain events. They killed 4 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $5.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 104 mph, on October 24, 2001. June has had the most flash floods, 21 of 103. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 273 have had fewer than Fairdale.
July 19, 2012: lightning strike 6 miles from the centre of Fairdale — 2 killed, $90,000 damage.
April 20, 2000: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Fairdale — 1 killed, $15,000 damage.
September 8, 2018: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Fairdale — 1 killed, $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
Flood insurance policyholders in Fairdale's ZIP code 40118 have filed 264 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1984, and were paid $2.5 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 160 claims (61% of all) and $1.7 million, then February Kentucky Flooding in 2025 with 21. 71% 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, 124 have fewer than Fairdale.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 160 | $1.7 million |
| February Kentucky Flooding2025 | 21 | $239,000 |
Jefferson County, which includes Fairdale, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 12 severe storms, 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). 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 Jefferson County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes; Relatively High for inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for hail; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $341.9 million a year, the highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $212.8 million (62%), 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 Fairdale
- Brooks, KY3 mi
- Louisville, KY7 mi
- Shepherdsville, KY8 mi
- Mt Washington, KY12 mi
- Elizabeth, IN12 mi
- Clarksville, IN14 mi
- Jeffersonville, IN14 mi
- New Albany, IN14 mi
- Lanesville, IN15 mi
- Georgetown, IN18 mi
- Lebanon Junction, KY18 mi
- Floyds Knobs, IN18 mi
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