NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Louisville, 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 Louisville, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 118 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 118
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
67 deaths in all
What the records show for Louisville
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Louisville; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 53 mph winds when its centre passed 32 miles away. The record near Louisville begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 40 miles away. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site, 73% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Louisville. The highest rating among the 118 tornadoes within 25 miles is F5, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 3, 1974, came within 25 miles. The deadliest, an F5 on April 3, 1974, killed 31 people. Of the 118, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 75 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 31. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Louisville has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 92% of the 281 Kentucky cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 219 times since 1961, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Louisville has more hail reports within 10 miles than any other of the 281 Kentucky cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Louisville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 32 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 Louisville: 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 Louisville
By decade
- 2020s28(1 EF3+)
- 2010s30(1 EF3+)
- 2000s17(1 EF3+)
- 1990s14(3 EF3+)
- 1980s7
- 1970s17(5 EF3+)
- 1960s5(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 25 mi | 32 mi | 31 / 270 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 25 mi | 68 mi | 6 / 86 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF4 | 24 mi | 46.6 mi | 11 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 24 mi | 35.6 mi | 11 / 190 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 23 mi | 37.9 mi | 3 / 81 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 2 mi | 18.5 mi | 3 / 225 |
| May 28, 1996 | F4 | 4 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Apr 2, 2025 | EF3 | 6 mi | 9.68 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 18, 2007 | EF3 | 20 mi | 4.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F3 | 17 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F3 | 14 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 10, 1969 | F3 | 17 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 14 |
The strongest 12 of 118, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Louisville
The Storm Prediction Center has 219 hail reports within 10 miles of Louisville since 1961, made on 108 separate days. Of these, 161 were 1 inch across or larger, and 14 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 3, 1996. The most recent report is from March 19, 2025. April has the most reports, 66.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Louisville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Louisville Bowman Field, KY, 2 miles northeast of Louisville at 540 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 27°F. May is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 3.3 inches; the year adds up to 48.3 inches over 81 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 38 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 80 nights a year. That 48.3 inches is more than at 22 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (24%). Fairdale, 7 miles southwest, has its own station (Louisville International Airport, KY): 48.4 inches a year, 0.1 more than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 27 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Feb | 48 | 30 | 3.3 | 7 |
| Mar | 57 | 38 | 4.4 | 8 |
| Apr | 69 | 48 | 4.7 | 8 |
| May | 77 | 57 | 5.2 | 8 |
| Jun | 85 | 66 | 4.7 | 8 |
| Jul | 88 | 69 | 4.6 | 8 |
| Aug | 87 | 68 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Sep | 81 | 60 | 3.6 | 5 |
| Oct | 69 | 48 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Nov | 57 | 38 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Dec | 46 | 31 | 3.9 | 8 |
| Year | 67 | 48 | 48.3 | 81 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Louisville Bowman Field, KY (540 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 Louisville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 802 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Louisville: 557 thunderstorm wind reports, 162 flash floods, 57 floods, 14 lightning strikes and 12 heavy rain events. They killed 9 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $50.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 104 mph, on October 24, 2001. July has had the most flash floods, 32 of 162. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 280 have had fewer than Louisville.
July 19, 2012: lightning strike 4 miles from the centre of Louisville — 2 killed, $90,000 damage.
NWS: “Lightning struck a house on the 3900th block on third street. It started a fire in the basement that eventually consumed the house.”
April 20, 2000: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Louisville — 1 killed, $15,000 damage.
September 8, 2018: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Louisville — 1 killed, $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
Flood insurance policyholders in Louisville's 31 ZIP codes have filed 4,418 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $72.9 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 1,336 claims (30% of all) and $21.4 million, then Late summer storms in 2009 with 306 and Not a named storm in 1978 with 117. 45% 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, 142 have fewer than Louisville.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 1,336 | $21.4 million |
| Late summer storms2009 | 306 | $3.2 million |
| Not a named storm1978 | 117 | $482,000 |
| Mid-spring storms2011 | 112 | $2.4 million |
| Central U.S. April Flooding2025 | 74 | $7.0 million |
| February Kentucky Flooding2025 | 24 | $777,000 |
Jefferson County, which includes Louisville, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 12 severe storms, 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). 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 Jefferson County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes; Relatively High for inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for hail; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $341.9 million a year, the highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $212.8 million (62%), 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 Louisville
- Fairdale, KY7 mi
- Jeffersonville, IN8 mi
- Clarksville, IN8 mi
- Brooks, KY10 mi
- New Albany, IN10 mi
- Prospect, KY11 mi
- Mt Washington, KY13 mi
- Pewee Valley, KY13 mi
- Sellersburg, IN14 mi
- Fisherville, KY14 mi
- Shepherdsville, KY14 mi
- Floyds Knobs, IN15 mi
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