NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Guston, 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 Guston, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 75 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 75
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
35 deaths in all
What the records show for Guston
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Guston; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 54 mph winds when its centre passed 31 miles away. The record near Guston begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 5 miles away. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site, 73% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Guston. The strongest of the 75 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 4 miles, and it killed 31 people. Of the 75, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 47 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 16. The most recent tornado was on December 28, 2025. Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 49% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Guston. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 56 times since 1955, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Guston has more hail reports within 10 miles than 54% of the 281 Kentucky cities.
Compare Guston's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Guston
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Guston: 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 Guston
By decade
- 2020s12
- 2010s19
- 2000s16
- 1990s13
- 1980s6
- 1970s8(2 EF3+)
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 4 mi | 32 mi | 31 / 270 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 20 mi | 37.9 mi | 3 / 81 |
| Apr 28, 2002 | F2 | 2 mi | 32.3 mi | 1 / 19 |
| Jun 25, 2023 | EF2 | 18 mi | 1.17 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF2 | 15 mi | 16.49 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 2011 | EF2 | 15 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 26, 2011 | EF2 | 23 mi | 3.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 5, 2008 | EF2 | 19 mi | 7.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 18, 2007 | EF2 | 6 mi | 3.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 2, 2006 | F2 | 19 mi | 8.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 2003 | F2 | 16 mi | 6.5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 28, 1996 | F2 | 18 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 75, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Guston
The Storm Prediction Center has 56 hail reports within 10 miles of Guston since 1955, made on 38 separate days. Of these, 42 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently March 2, 2012. The most recent report is from May 16, 2025. April has the most reports, 18.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Guston
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Brandenburg, KY, 6 miles northeast of Guston at 615 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 23°F. May is the wettest at 6.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.5 inches; the year adds up to 53.3 inches over 84 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 26 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 109 nights a year. That 53.3 inches is more than at 76 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (82%). Irvington, 6 miles west, has its own station (Corners, KY): 51.7 inches a year, 1.6 less than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 23 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Feb | 47 | 25 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Mar | 57 | 33 | 4.9 | 8 |
| Apr | 69 | 42 | 5.4 | 9 |
| May | 76 | 53 | 6.0 | 8 |
| Jun | 83 | 61 | 4.5 | 7 |
| Jul | 86 | 65 | 4.9 | 7 |
| Aug | 86 | 63 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Sep | 80 | 56 | 3.8 | 6 |
| Oct | 69 | 44 | 3.9 | 6 |
| Nov | 56 | 34 | 4.0 | 7 |
| Dec | 46 | 27 | 4.8 | 8 |
| Year | 67 | 44 | 53.3 | 84 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Brandenburg, KY (615 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 Guston
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 156 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Guston: 135 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 flash floods and 6 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $392,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 115 mph, on September 20, 2000. April has had the most flash floods, 3 of 15. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 59 have had fewer than Guston.
February 27, 1999: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Guston — 3 injured, $30,000 damage.
October 18, 2007: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Guston — 1 injured, $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
Meade County, which includes Guston, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 14 severe storms, 4 tornadoes, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on September 1, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Meade County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $12.9 million a year, the 48th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.7 million (45%), 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.