NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Irvine, 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 Irvine, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 51 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 51
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
20 deaths in all
What the records show for Irvine
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Irvine; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 42 miles away. The record near Irvine begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 5 miles away. None of the 6 systems has come since 2000. Irvine has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 52% of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site. The strongest of the 51 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 21 miles, and it killed 7 people. The deadliest, an EF3 on March 2, 2012, killed 10 people. Of the 51, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 21 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 14. The most recent tornado was on February 6, 2025. Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 72% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Irvine. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 56 times since 1993, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Irvine has more hail reports within 10 miles than 54% of the 281 Kentucky cities.
Compare Irvine's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Irvine
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | overhead | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 42 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 Irvine: 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 Irvine
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s4(1 EF3+)
- 2000s10(1 EF3+)
- 1990s10
- 1980s5
- 1970s9(2 EF3+)
- 1960s2(1 EF3+)
- 1950s4(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 21 mi | 31.9 mi | 7 / 28 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 25 mi | 84.99 mi | 10 / 118 |
| May 8, 2009 | EF3 | 8 mi | 21.12 mi | 2 / 15 |
| Jun 9, 1961 | F3 | 8 mi | 2.6 mi | 1 / 63 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 20 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Mar 4, 1955 | F3 | 18 mi | 8.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 20, 1996 | F2 | 20 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 10 |
| May 21, 1990 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 16, 1982 | F2 | 24 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Mar 16, 1982 | F2 | 13 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Aug 30, 1978 | F2 | 15 mi | 5.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 1, 1977 | F2 | 13 mi | 12.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 51, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Irvine
The Storm Prediction Center has 56 hail reports within 10 miles of Irvine since 1993, made on 38 separate days. Of these, 35 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on March 31, 1993. The most recent report is from September 5, 2025. June has the most reports, 18.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Irvine
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Cressy, KY, 10 miles north of Irvine at 720 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 23°F. May and July are the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and November the driest at 3.3 inches; the year adds up to 50.9 inches. Highs reach 90°F on about 18 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 116 nights a year. That 50.9 inches is more than at 47 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (51%). Clay City, 11 miles north, has its own station (Stanton 2W, KY): 53.2 inches a year, 2.3 more than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 23 | 3.6 |
| Feb | 48 | 25 | 3.7 |
| Mar | 57 | 32 | 4.7 |
| Apr | 68 | 41 | 4.6 |
| May | 76 | 52 | 5.4 |
| Jun | 83 | 61 | 4.9 |
| Jul | 85 | 65 | 5.4 |
| Aug | 85 | 62 | 3.7 |
| Sep | 79 | 55 | 3.9 |
| Oct | 69 | 42 | 3.5 |
| Nov | 57 | 32 | 3.3 |
| Dec | 47 | 28 | 4.2 |
| Year | 66 | 43 | 50.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Cressy, KY (720 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 Irvine
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 413 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Irvine: 293 thunderstorm wind reports, 60 floods, 42 flash floods, 16 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 104 mph, on March 1, 2017. April has had the most flash floods, 13 of 42. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 231 have had fewer than Irvine.
April 3, 2015: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Irvine — 1 killed, $1,000 damage.
March 1, 2017: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Irvine — 1 injured.
June 10, 2008: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Irvine — $500,000 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 Irvine's ZIP code 40336 have filed 34 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2002, and were paid $990,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2021, with 22. 15% 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, 66 have fewer than Irvine.
Estill County, which includes Irvine, has been named in 38 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1978, 31 of them major disasters (by incident: 21 severe storms, 5 floods, 4 snowstorms, 3 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on May 23, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Estill County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $8.9 million a year, the 75th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.0 million (79%), 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 Irvine
- Waco, KY8 mi
- Clay City, KY11 mi
- Stanton, KY14 mi
- Mc Kee, KY17 mi
- Beattyville, KY17 mi
- Richmond, KY17 mi
- Berea, KY18 mi
- Jeffersonville, KY20 mi
- Winchester, KY22 mi
- Tyner, KY23 mi
- Paint Lick, KY25 mi
- Booneville, KY25 mi
All Kentucky cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Irvine with another place →