NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Harrodsburg, 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 Harrodsburg, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 81 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 7
- Tornadoes
- 81
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
16 deaths in all
What the records show for Harrodsburg
None of the 7 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Harrodsburg; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 17 miles away. The record near Harrodsburg begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 50 miles away. Of the 7 systems, one has come since 2000. Harrodsburg has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 74% of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site. The highest rating among the 81 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 28, 1996, came within 25 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 3, 1974, killed 7 people. Of the 81, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 38 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 21. The most recent tornado was on October 19, 2025. Harrodsburg has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 59% of the 281 Kentucky cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 40 times since 1971, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 76% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Harrodsburg.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Harrodsburg
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 17 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 Harrodsburg: 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 Harrodsburg
By decade
- 2020s20
- 2010s4
- 2000s14(1 EF3+)
- 1990s17(1 EF3+)
- 1980s7
- 1970s12(3 EF3+)
- 1960s5
- 1950s2(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 20 mi | 31.9 mi | 7 / 28 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 22 mi | 79.4 mi | 4 / 122 |
| May 28, 1996 | F4 | 25 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 10 |
| May 8, 2009 | EF3 | 23 mi | 21.12 mi | 2 / 15 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 9 mi | 21.1 mi | 1 / 98 |
| Mar 4, 1955 | F3 | 23 mi | 8.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 30, 2025 | EF2 | 9 mi | 5.51 mi | 1 / 14 |
| May 11, 2003 | F2 | 2 mi | 7 mi | 1 / 8 |
| Dec 11, 2021 | EF2 | 14 mi | 0.63 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 6, 2008 | EF2 | 12 mi | 0.99 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 2, 2006 | F2 | 25 mi | 8.7 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 28, 1996 | F2 | 15 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 81, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Harrodsburg
The Storm Prediction Center has 40 hail reports within 10 miles of Harrodsburg since 1971, made on 26 separate days. Of these, 27 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 19, 2022. The most recent report is from April 3, 2025. May has the most reports, 11.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Harrodsburg
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Dix Dam, KY, 8 miles east of Harrodsburg at 870 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 45°F and 27°F. May is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 3.1 inches; the year adds up to 46.1 inches over 81 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 28 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 80 nights a year. That 46.1 inches is more than at 8 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (9%). Danville, 10 miles southeast, has its own station (Danville, KY): 47.9 inches a year, 1.8 more than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45 | 27 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Feb | 49 | 29 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Mar | 59 | 36 | 4.1 | 8 |
| Apr | 70 | 46 | 4.4 | 8 |
| May | 77 | 55 | 4.9 | 8 |
| Jun | 84 | 63 | 4.7 | 8 |
| Jul | 86 | 67 | 4.7 | 7 |
| Aug | 86 | 65 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Sep | 80 | 58 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Oct | 71 | 48 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Nov | 56 | 35 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Dec | 45 | 29 | 3.6 | 7 |
| Year | 67 | 47 | 46.1 | 81 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Dix Dam, KY (870 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 Harrodsburg
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 150 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Harrodsburg: 119 thunderstorm wind reports, 18 flash floods, 11 floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $1.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on February 6, 2008. July has had the most flash floods, 6 of 18. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 92 have had fewer than Harrodsburg.
May 26, 2024: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Harrodsburg — 1 killed.
NWS: “A National Weather Service damage survey determined that a swath of straight-line winds peaking at 80 to 85 mph occurred along a 12 mile path stretching from|just west of Harrodsburg in Mercer County, to just east of Herrington Lake in|Garrard County.”
May 2, 2010: flood 7 miles from the centre of Harrodsburg — $500,000 damage.
February 6, 2008: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Harrodsburg — $300,000 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 Harrodsburg's ZIP code 40330 have filed 165 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $4.5 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1989: 59 claims (36% of all) and $914,000, then Central U.S. April Flooding in 2025 with 14 and Not a named storm in 1978 with 10. The year with the most claims was 2010, with 32. 52% 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, 116 have fewer than Harrodsburg.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1989 | 59 | $914,000 |
| Central U.S. April Flooding2025 | 14 | $1.1 million |
| Not a named storm1978 | 10 | $216,000 |
Mercer County, which includes Harrodsburg, has been named in 26 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 12 severe storms, 3 ice storms, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). 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 Mercer 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 and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $12.1 million a year, the 50th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.8 million (56%), 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 Harrodsburg
- Salvisa, KY10 mi
- Danville, KY10 mi
- Wilmore, KY12 mi
- Junction City, KY13 mi
- Willisburg, KY15 mi
- Lancaster, KY16 mi
- Lawrenceburg, KY17 mi
- Nicholasville, KY17 mi
- Versailles, KY20 mi
- Stanford, KY20 mi
- Springfield, KY21 mi
- Hustonville, KY24 mi
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