NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Mc Kee, 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
7 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Mc Kee, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 51 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 7
- Tornadoes
- 51
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
16 deaths in all
What the records show for Mc Kee
None of the 7 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Mc Kee; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 56 miles away. The record near Mc Kee begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 66 miles away. Of the 7 systems, one has come since 2000. Mc Kee has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 74% of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site. The highest rating among the 51 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 5 times; the most recent, on May 8, 2009, came within 20 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on April 3, 1974, killed 7 people. Of the 51, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 19 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 Mc Kee. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 58 times since 1985, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Mc Kee has more hail reports within 10 miles than 60% of the 281 Kentucky cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Mc Kee
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 56 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 Mc Kee: 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 Mc Kee
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s4
- 2000s12(1 EF3+)
- 1990s15
- 1980s2
- 1970s8(2 EF3+)
- 1960s2(1 EF3+)
- 1950s5(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 13 mi | 22.3 mi | 7 / 40 |
| May 8, 2009 | EF3 | 20 mi | 21.12 mi | 2 / 15 |
| Jun 9, 1961 | F3 | 19 mi | 2.6 mi | 1 / 63 |
| Jun 29, 1973 | F3 | 23 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Mar 4, 1955 | F3 | 21 mi | 8.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF2 | 16 mi | 7.15 mi | 6 / 40 |
| Jun 2, 2001 | F2 | 23 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Apr 20, 1996 | F2 | 17 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 10 |
| May 18, 1995 | F2 | 17 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 1990 | F2 | 25 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 6, 1984 | F2 | 20 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Oct 1, 1977 | F2 | 10 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 Mc Kee
The Storm Prediction Center has 58 hail reports within 10 miles of Mc Kee since 1985, made on 44 separate days. Of these, 27 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on March 28, 1997. The most recent report is from May 16, 2025. May has the most reports, 19.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Mc Kee
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Heidelberg, KY, 16 miles northeast of Mc Kee at 665 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 25°F. May is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and November the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 49.7 inches over 89 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 110 nights a year. Snowfall averages 18.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 49.7 inches is more than at 36 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (39%). Annville, 12 miles south, has its own station (London Corbin Airport, KY): 51.4 inches a year, 1.7 more than here, and the same July average high, 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 25 | 4.0 | 8 | 6.7 |
| Feb | 48 | 27 | 4.1 | 7 | 5.3 |
| Mar | 58 | 33 | 4.4 | 8 | 2.9 |
| Apr | 69 | 42 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.1 |
| May | 76 | 52 | 5.2 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 61 | 5.0 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 65 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 64 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 56 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 44 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 58 | 34 | 3.0 | 7 | 0.4 |
| Dec | 47 | 28 | 4.5 | 8 | 2.8 |
| Year | 67 | 44 | 49.7 | 89 | 18.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Heidelberg, KY (665 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 Mc Kee
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 158 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Mc Kee: 118 thunderstorm wind reports, 16 floods, 15 flash floods and 9 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $452,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on May 5, 2003. May has had the most flash floods, 4 of 15. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 59 have had fewer than Mc Kee.
April 20, 1996: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Mc Kee — 2 injured, $5,000 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 Mc Kee's ZIP code 40447 have filed 16 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1981, and were paid $274,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 31% 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, 24 have fewer than Mc Kee.
Jackson County, which includes Mc Kee, has been named in 37 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1970, 28 of them major disasters (by incident: 15 severe storms, 6 floods, 4 snowstorms, 3 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on September 1, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Jackson 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 $6.3 million a year, the 98th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.0 million (64%), 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 Mc Kee
- Tyner, KY11 mi
- Annville, KY12 mi
- Berea, KY16 mi
- East Bernstadt, KY16 mi
- Irvine, KY17 mi
- Mount Vernon, KY17 mi
- Waco, KY19 mi
- Beattyville, KY20 mi
- Booneville, KY20 mi
- Brodhead, KY22 mi
- Paint Lick, KY23 mi
- Richmond, KY24 mi
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