NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hodgenville, 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
6 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Hodgenville, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 80 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 80
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
5 deaths in all
What the records show for Hodgenville
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Hodgenville; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 53 mph winds when its centre passed 3 miles away. The record near Hodgenville begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 7 miles away. Of the 6 systems, one has come since 2000. Hodgenville has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 52% of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site. The strongest of the 80 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 14 miles, and it killed 3 people. Of the 80, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 48 have come since 2000. March has had the most tornadoes, 20. The most recent tornado was on December 18, 2025. Hodgenville has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 56% of the 281 Kentucky cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 47 times since 1956, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 59% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Hodgenville.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Hodgenville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Hodgenville: 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 Hodgenville
By decade
- 2020s19(1 EF3+)
- 2010s16
- 2000s13
- 1990s13(2 EF3+)
- 1980s7
- 1970s8(1 EF3+)
- 1960s2
- 1950s2(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 14 mi | 37.9 mi | 3 / 81 |
| Dec 11, 2021 | EF3 | 19 mi | 14.54 mi | 1 / 31 |
| Mar 28, 1997 | F3 | 10 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 14 |
| Mar 28, 1997 | F3 | 8 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 22, 1952 | F3 | 2 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 18 |
| Jun 25, 2023 | EF2 | 17 mi | 1.17 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 11, 2021 | EF2 | 18 mi | 23.82 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Dec 11, 2021 | EF2 | 25 mi | 16.98 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 24, 2018 | EF2 | 23 mi | 1.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 26, 2013 | EF2 | 5 mi | 6.65 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 29, 2012 | EF2 | in town | 0.89 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 29, 2012 | EF2 | in town | 2.46 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 80, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Hodgenville
The Storm Prediction Center has 47 hail reports within 10 miles of Hodgenville since 1956, made on 35 separate days. Of these, 28 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on May 1, 2002. The most recent report is from May 23, 2024. May has the most reports, 16.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Hodgenville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Elizabethtown Wp Cs, KY, 12 miles northwest of Hodgenville at 690 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 42°F and 24°F. May is the wettest at 5.8 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.5 inches; the year adds up to 54.3 inches over 87 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 21 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 97 nights a year. Snowfall averages 4.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 54.3 inches is more than at 83 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (89%). New Haven, 10 miles northeast, has its own station (Bardstown 5E, KY): 51.6 inches a year, 2.7 less than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42 | 24 | 4.0 | 8 | 2.0 |
| Feb | 47 | 27 | 3.9 | 7 | 1.6 |
| Mar | 56 | 35 | 5.1 | 9 | 0.1 |
| Apr | 67 | 44 | 5.1 | 9 | 0.0 |
| May | 75 | 54 | 5.8 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 62 | 4.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 66 | 5.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 64 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 57 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 69 | 45 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 56 | 34 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 46 | 28 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.8 |
| Year | 66 | 45 | 54.3 | 87 | 4.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Elizabethtown Wp Cs, KY (690 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 Hodgenville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 149 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hodgenville: 114 thunderstorm wind reports, 25 flash floods, 7 floods, 2 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on April 3, 2018. July has had the most flash floods, 6 of 25. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 154 have had fewer than Hodgenville.
August 31, 2013: heavy rain event 10 miles from the centre of Hodgenville — 1 killed.
April 5, 2023: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Hodgenville — 1 injured.
NWS: “One person sustained a neck injury from storm debris that was blown through a window at their residence.”
April 3, 2018: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Hodgenville — $200,000 damage.
NWS: “Two miles SW on Hodgenville on Old Sonora Road a large 36x30 foot well built metal barn sustained significant structural damage when the barn broke free from the foundation. Portions of the trusses and 6x6 poles were found 100 yards to the east.”
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 Hodgenville's ZIP code 42748 have filed 22 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $202,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1984: 13 claims (59% of all) and $58,000. 59% 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, 47 have fewer than Hodgenville.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1984 | 13 | $58,000 |
Larue County, which includes Hodgenville, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1970, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 12 severe storms, 4 floods, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on May 23, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Larue County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes, inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $6.4 million a year, the 97th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.2 million (50%), 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 Hodgenville
- New Haven, KY10 mi
- Sonora, KY10 mi
- Magnolia, KY10 mi
- Elizabethtown, KY13 mi
- Upton, KY13 mi
- Loretto, KY18 mi
- Cecilia, KY18 mi
- Lebanon Junction, KY20 mi
- Rineyville, KY20 mi
- Munfordville, KY22 mi
- Bardstown, KY22 mi
- Radcliff, KY22 mi
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