NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ludlow, 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
4 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Ludlow, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 81 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 81
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
23 deaths in all
What the records show for Ludlow
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Ludlow; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 10 miles away. The record near Ludlow begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 68 miles away. None of the 4 systems has come since 2000. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site, 56% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Ludlow. The strongest of the 81 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 9 miles, and it killed 3 people. The deadliest, an EF4 on March 2, 2012, killed 4 people. Of the 81, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 30 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 19. The most recent tornado was on July 20, 2025. Ludlow has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 59% of the 281 Kentucky cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 206 times since 1955, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Ludlow has more hail reports within 10 miles than 98% of the 281 Kentucky cities.
Compare Ludlow's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Ludlow
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 58 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 Ludlow: 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 Ludlow
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s10(2 EF3+)
- 2000s5
- 1990s14(3 EF3+)
- 1980s6
- 1970s17(4 EF3+)
- 1960s7(3 EF3+)
- 1950s7
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 9 mi | 20.8 mi | 3 / 210 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF4 | 19 mi | 9.85 mi | 4 / 8 |
| Apr 9, 1999 | F4 | 14 mi | 10 mi | 4 / 65 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 7 mi | 19.8 mi | 2 / 39 |
| Nov 22, 1992 | F4 | 18 mi | 26.7 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F4 | 15 mi | 24.1 mi | 1 / 33 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F4 | 14 mi | 33 mi | 0 / 37 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 19 mi | 27.1 mi | 0 / 104 |
| Aug 9, 1969 | F3 | 9 mi | 22.2 mi | 4 / 247 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 20 mi | 20.41 mi | 3 / 13 |
| Oct 1, 1977 | F3 | 13 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 17 |
| May 10, 1969 | F3 | 20 mi | 54.5 mi | 0 / 25 |
The strongest 12 of 81, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Ludlow
The Storm Prediction Center has 206 hail reports within 10 miles of Ludlow since 1955, made on 115 separate days. Of these, 113 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on May 2, 1983. The most recent report is from April 30, 2025. April has the most reports, 60.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Ludlow
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Cheviot, OH, 6 miles northwest of Ludlow at 891 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 22°F. May is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.2 inches; the year adds up to 48.3 inches over 86 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 26 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 106 nights a year. Snowfall averages 16.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 48.3 inches is more than at 23 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (25%). Covington, 3 miles southeast, has its own station (Cincinnati Lunken Airport, OH): 43.5 inches a year, 4.8 less than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 22 | 3.6 | 7 | 6.0 |
| Feb | 42 | 25 | 3.2 | 6 | 4.3 |
| Mar | 52 | 33 | 4.5 | 8 | 2.4 |
| Apr | 65 | 43 | 4.9 | 9 | 0.2 |
| May | 74 | 53 | 5.2 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 62 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 65 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 64 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 57 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 66 | 45 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 53 | 35 | 3.4 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Dec | 42 | 27 | 4.0 | 8 | 2.6 |
| Year | 63 | 44 | 48.3 | 86 | 16.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Cheviot, OH (891 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 Ludlow
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 587 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Ludlow: 378 thunderstorm wind reports, 114 flash floods, 79 floods, 11 heavy rain events and 5 lightning strikes. They killed 3 people and injured 8, and the NWS estimated $8.8 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, 25 of 114. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 274 have had fewer than Ludlow.
August 30, 2019: lightning strike 6 miles from the centre of Ludlow — 2 killed, 1 injured, $1,000 damage.
April 2, 2024: flood 9 miles from the centre of Ludlow — 1 killed, $20,000 damage.
July 22, 2020: lightning strike 6 miles from the centre of Ludlow — 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Ludlow's ZIP code 41016 have filed 122 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 62 claims (51% of all) and $785,000, then Central U.S. April Flooding in 2025 with 13 and Not a named storm in 1978 with 11. 70% 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, 109 have fewer than Ludlow.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 62 | $785,000 |
| Central U.S. April Flooding2025 | 13 | $189,000 |
| Not a named storm1978 | 11 | $2,504 |
Kenton County, which includes Ludlow, 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.