NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Grayson, 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 Grayson, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 25 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 7
- Tornadoes
- 25
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
10 deaths in all
What the records show for Grayson
None of the 7 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Grayson; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 25 miles away. The record near Grayson begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 32 miles away. None of the 7 systems has come since 2000. Grayson has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 74% of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site. The highest rating among the 25 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on March 2, 2012, came within 22 miles. Of the 25, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 11 have come since 2000. April and July have had the most tornadoes, 6 each. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2024. Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 89% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Grayson. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 51 times since 1962, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 51% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Grayson.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Grayson
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 18 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 25 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 Grayson: 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 Grayson
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s3(1 EF3+)
- 2000s3(1 EF3+)
- 1990s5
- 1980s5
- 1970s3
- 1960s1(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 22 mi | 84.99 mi | 10 / 118 |
| May 10, 2003 | F3 | 22 mi | 25 mi | 0 / 17 |
| Apr 8, 1965 | F3 | 17 mi | 6.9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF2 | 11 mi | 1.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 4, 2016 | EF2 | 23 mi | 2.63 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jul 12, 1980 | F2 | 12 mi | 29.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 16 mi | 1.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 18 mi | 7.88 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 7, 2023 | EF1 | 20 mi | 6.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 2022 | EF1 | 15 mi | 0.82 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 2017 | EF1 | 21 mi | 3.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 2009 | EF1 | 25 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 25, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Grayson
The Storm Prediction Center has 51 hail reports within 10 miles of Grayson since 1962, made on 32 separate days. Of these, 31 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on May 20, 2017. The most recent report is from February 28, 2024. April and May have the most reports, 13 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Grayson
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Grayson 2 E, KY, 3 miles east of Grayson at 580 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 22°F. May is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 46.4 inches over 85 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 27 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 129 nights a year. Snowfall averages 18.1 inches a year, most of it in February. That 46.4 inches is more than at 11 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (12%). Olive Hill, 13 miles west, has its own station (Olive Hill 5NE, KY): 50.0 inches a year, 3.6 more than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 22 | 3.3 | 7 | 5.9 |
| Feb | 47 | 24 | 3.3 | 6 | 6.1 |
| Mar | 57 | 29 | 4.5 | 8 | 1.8 |
| Apr | 69 | 39 | 4.1 | 8 | 0.1 |
| May | 76 | 49 | 4.9 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 84 | 58 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 63 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 62 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 54 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 69 | 41 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 57 | 31 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.4 |
| Dec | 47 | 26 | 3.8 | 7 | 3.8 |
| Year | 67 | 41 | 46.4 | 85 | 18.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Grayson 2 E, KY (580 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 Grayson
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 121 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Grayson: 55 thunderstorm wind reports, 45 floods, 19 flash floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 2 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on May 1, 2016. May has had the most flash floods, 5 of 19. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 96 have had fewer than Grayson.
December 16, 2019: flood 8 miles from the centre of Grayson — 1 killed, $25,000 damage.
April 29, 2014: heavy rain event 9 miles from the centre of Grayson — 1 killed, $12,000 damage.
NWS: “Little Fork was swollen, but not flooding, near its junction with the feeder stream called Leadingham Branch. 5 inches likely had fallen in the vicinity over the past 24 hours.”
May 27, 1996: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Grayson — 1 injured, $3,000 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 Grayson's ZIP code 41143 have filed 128 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $2.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 27 claims (21% of all) and $606,000. 26% 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, 110 have fewer than Grayson.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 27 | $606,000 |
Carter County, which includes Grayson, has been named in 37 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1978, 30 of them major disasters (by incident: 19 severe storms, 7 floods, 3 ice storms, 2 biological emergencies). 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 Carter County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $14.2 million a year, the 42nd highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $10.5 million (74%), 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 Grayson
- Rush, KY10 mi
- Argillite, KY11 mi
- Olive Hill, KY13 mi
- Greenup, KY16 mi
- Ashland, KY18 mi
- Sandy Hook, KY18 mi
- Catlettsburg, KY18 mi
- Flatwoods, KY18 mi
- Russell, KY20 mi
- Garrison, KY20 mi
- Kenova, WV21 mi
- Prichard, WV21 mi
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