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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Glasgow, KY

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

7 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Glasgow, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 73 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
7

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
73

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
7

50 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Glasgow

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Glasgow, Kentucky, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2024HeleneSep 2730 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 4
1995OpalOct 564 miTropical storm (39 mph)Category 4
1979FredericSep 1451 miTropical storm (43 mph)Category 4
1957AudreyJun 2821 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 3
1915Unnamed 1915 stormOct 166 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
1892Unnamed 1892 stormSep 1331 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2131 miTropical storm (54 mph)Category 3

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Glasgow: 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 Glasgow

By decade

  • 2020s10(1 EF3+)
  • 2010s18
  • 2000s12(2 EF3+)
  • 1990s19(2 EF3+)
  • 1980s2
  • 1970s7(2 EF3+)
  • 1960s4
  • 1950s1
Strongest tornadoes near Glasgow, Kentucky
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Feb 5, 2008EF322 mi50.32 mi22 / 63
Dec 11, 2021EF317 mi29.26 mi16 / 63
Feb 6, 2008EF318 mi9.44 mi4 / 11
Apr 3, 1974F311 mi31.1 mi3 / 57
Apr 16, 1998F3in town48 mi2 / 9
Mar 31, 1979F36 mi12.7 mi1 / 19
Mar 28, 1997F312 mi15 mi0 / 7
Apr 16, 1998F212 mi8 mi1 / 0
Nov 26, 1965F214 mi5.4 mi1 / 1
Dec 11, 2021EF224 mi6.1 mi0 / 0
Dec 11, 2021EF217 mi23.82 mi0 / 1
Dec 11, 2021EF211 mi16.98 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 73, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Glasgow while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

Other cities in Kentucky