NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Independence, 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 Independence, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 82 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 82
- EF3 or stronger
- 13
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
29 deaths in all
What the records show for Independence
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Independence; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 49 miles away. The record near Independence begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 64 miles away. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site, 73% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Independence. The strongest of the 82 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 15 miles, and it killed 3 people. The deadliest, an F4 on April 23, 1968, killed 6 people. Of the 82, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 31 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 26. The most recent tornado was on July 20, 2025. Independence has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 61% of the 281 Kentucky cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 134 times since 1963, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Independence has more hail reports within 10 miles than 93% of the 281 Kentucky cities.
Compare Independence's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Independence
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 49 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 Independence: 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 Independence
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s13(2 EF3+)
- 2000s5
- 1990s15(4 EF3+)
- 1980s10
- 1970s14(4 EF3+)
- 1960s7(3 EF3+)
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 15 mi | 20.8 mi | 3 / 210 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F4 | 21 mi | 78.7 mi | 6 / 364 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF4 | 9 mi | 9.85 mi | 4 / 8 |
| Apr 9, 1999 | F4 | 22 mi | 10 mi | 4 / 65 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 17 mi | 19.8 mi | 2 / 39 |
| Nov 22, 1992 | F4 | 14 mi | 26.7 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F4 | 19 mi | 24.1 mi | 1 / 33 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F4 | 24 mi | 33 mi | 0 / 37 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 20 mi | 27.1 mi | 0 / 104 |
| Aug 9, 1969 | F3 | 19 mi | 22.2 mi | 4 / 247 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 13 mi | 20.41 mi | 3 / 13 |
| Jul 2, 1997 | F3 | 21 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 82, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Independence
The Storm Prediction Center has 134 hail reports within 10 miles of Independence since 1963, made on 81 separate days. Of these, 62 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on April 8, 1998. The most recent report is from April 30, 2025. April has the most reports, 40.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Independence
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Cincinnati Northern Ky Airport, KY, 10 miles northwest of Independence at 869 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 23°F. June is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.1 inches; the year adds up to 45.3 inches over 83 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 22 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 100 nights a year. Snowfall averages 23.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 45.3 inches is more than at 3 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (3%). Morning View, 8 miles southeast, has its own station (Williamstown, KY): 45.9 inches a year, 0.6 more 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 | 40 | 23 | 3.3 | 7 | 7.7 |
| Feb | 44 | 26 | 3.2 | 7 | 6.7 |
| Mar | 54 | 34 | 4.2 | 8 | 3.4 |
| Apr | 66 | 44 | 4.5 | 9 | 0.4 |
| May | 75 | 54 | 4.7 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 62 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 66 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 65 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 57 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 67 | 46 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 54 | 35 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.8 |
| Dec | 43 | 28 | 3.7 | 7 | 4.1 |
| Year | 64 | 45 | 45.3 | 83 | 23.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Cincinnati Northern Ky Airport, KY (869 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 Independence
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 390 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Independence: 282 thunderstorm wind reports, 55 flash floods, 45 floods, 7 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 5 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $2.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on April 20, 2011. July has had the most flash floods, 14 of 55. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 253 have had fewer than Independence.
May 27, 2004: flash flood 1 mile from the centre of Independence — 4 killed.
NWS: “A car was washed off of Crooked Creek Road in the northern part of the county. Four people were swept away into the creek and lost their lives.”
April 2, 2024: flood 8 miles from the centre of Independence — 1 killed, $20,000 damage.
July 22, 2020: lightning strike 10 miles from the centre of Independence — 4 injured.
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
Kenton County, which includes Independence, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1996, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms, 1 flood). 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 Kenton County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $46.8 million a year, the 9th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $21.0 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.