NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Franklin, 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
5 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Franklin, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 111 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 111
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
40 deaths in all
What the records show for Franklin
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Franklin; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 55 mph winds when its centre passed 25 miles away. The record near Franklin begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 68 miles away. Of the 5 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site, 48% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Franklin. The strongest of the 111 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 27, 1970; its path came within 13 miles, and it killed 3 people. The deadliest, an EF3 on December 11, 2021, killed 16 people. Of the 111, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 57 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 28. The most recent tornado was on May 16, 2025. Franklin has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 87% of the 281 Kentucky cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 35 times since 1971, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 85% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Franklin.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Franklin
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Franklin: 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 Franklin
By decade
- 2020s18(3 EF3+)
- 2010s22
- 2000s17(1 EF3+)
- 1990s22(1 EF3+)
- 1980s12
- 1970s8(2 EF3+)
- 1960s4
- 1950s8(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 1970 | F4 | 13 mi | 42.6 mi | 3 / 85 |
| Dec 11, 2021 | EF3 | 14 mi | 29.26 mi | 16 / 63 |
| Apr 7, 2006 | F3 | 24 mi | 22.7 mi | 7 / 128 |
| Dec 9, 2023 | EF3 | 10 mi | 47.22 mi | 4 / 62 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 3 mi | 31.1 mi | 3 / 57 |
| Apr 16, 1998 | F3 | 15 mi | 48 mi | 2 / 9 |
| Dec 11, 2021 | EF3 | 19 mi | 28.02 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Feb 27, 1956 | F3 | 15 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Dec 9, 2023 | EF2 | 25 mi | 34.77 mi | 3 / 22 |
| Feb 24, 2018 | EF2 | 13 mi | 12.88 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Mar 22, 1991 | F2 | 17 mi | 39 mi | 1 / 12 |
| Dec 9, 2023 | EF2 | 19 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 4 |
The strongest 12 of 111, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Franklin
The Storm Prediction Center has 35 hail reports within 10 miles of Franklin since 1971, made on 29 separate days. Of these, 24 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on June 10, 2013. The most recent report is from April 10, 2025. March has the most reports, 11.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Franklin
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Portland Sewage Plt, TN, 10 miles south of Franklin at 794 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 45°F and 27°F. May is the wettest at 5.8 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.6 inches; the year adds up to 54.4 inches over 83 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 38 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 80 nights a year. Snowfall averages 2.0 inches a year, most of it in February. That 54.4 inches is more than at 84 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (90%). Auburn, 14 miles northwest, has its own station (Russellville, KY): 53.9 inches a year, 0.5 less than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45 | 27 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Feb | 50 | 30 | 4.7 | 7 | 1.5 |
| Mar | 59 | 37 | 5.1 | 8 | 0.3 |
| Apr | 70 | 47 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| May | 78 | 57 | 5.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 85 | 65 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 89 | 69 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 88 | 67 | 4.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 60 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 71 | 48 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 59 | 37 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 49 | 30 | 5.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Year | 69 | 48 | 54.4 | 83 | 2.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Portland Sewage Plt, TN (794 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 Franklin
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 218 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Franklin: 148 thunderstorm wind reports, 58 flash floods, 10 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 4 people and injured 12, and the NWS estimated $9.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on April 19, 2011. June has had the most flash floods, 15 of 58. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 258 have had fewer than Franklin.
February 24, 2018: flood 3 miles from the centre of Franklin — 1 killed, $30,000 damage.
NWS: “A man drowned in a submerged vehicle near Flat Bridge on Kenny Perry Drive. High water covered the road and the bridge was closed.”
March 4, 2019: flood 5 miles from the centre of Franklin — 1 killed, $5,000 damage.
NWS: “At approximately 9:00 pm CST on March 4, a male driver drove around a barricade before driving his car into standing water over the roadway. He called his girlfriend frantically stating he was in a river.”
May 9, 2009: flood 2 miles from the centre of Franklin — 1 killed.
NWS: “A 49-year old male drove a pickup truck around barriers and attempted to cross Dittmore Ford over Drakes Creek, which was covered by four to five feet of water. He called 911 from his cell phone, but drowned in his vehicle.”
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 Franklin's ZIP code 42134 have filed 23 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1988, and were paid $913,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 35% 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, 50 have fewer than Franklin.
Simpson County, which includes Franklin, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). 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 Simpson County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $8.1 million a year, the 80th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.6 million (32%), 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 Franklin
- Portland, TN11 mi
- Cross Plains, TN13 mi
- Auburn, KY14 mi
- Rockfield, KY15 mi
- Cottontown, TN16 mi
- Alvaton, KY16 mi
- White House, TN18 mi
- Adolphus, KY18 mi
- Russellville, KY19 mi
- Bowling Green, KY19 mi
- Springfield, TN21 mi
- Westmoreland, TN21 mi
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