NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Olive Hill, 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 Olive Hill, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 19 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 19
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
10 deaths in all
What the records show for Olive Hill
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Olive Hill; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 22 miles away. The record near Olive Hill begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 22 miles away. None of the 6 systems has come since 2000. Olive Hill has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 52% of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site. The highest rating among the 19 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on March 2, 2012, came within 22 miles. Of the 19, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 8 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 6. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2024. Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 92% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Olive Hill. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 31 times since 1986, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 89% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Olive Hill.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Olive Hill
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 18 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 22 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 Olive Hill: 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 Olive Hill
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s2(1 EF3+)
- 2000s4(1 EF3+)
- 1990s6
- 1980s3
- 1970s1
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 22 mi | 84.99 mi | 10 / 118 |
| May 10, 2003 | F3 | 19 mi | 25 mi | 0 / 17 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF2 | 23 mi | 1.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1995 | F2 | 20 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1982 | F2 | 21 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 12, 1980 | F2 | 23 mi | 29.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 2022 | EF1 | 20 mi | 0.82 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 2009 | EF1 | 25 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 2008 | EF1 | 4 mi | 1.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 26, 2007 | EF1 | 25 mi | 3.62 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 1990 | F1 | 22 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 11, 1986 | F1 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 19, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Olive Hill
The Storm Prediction Center has 31 hail reports within 10 miles of Olive Hill since 1986, made on 19 separate days. Of these, 15 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 5 days, most recently May 27, 2017. The most recent report is from February 28, 2024. May has the most reports, 12.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Olive Hill
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Olive Hill 5NE, KY, 6 miles northeast of Olive Hill at 888 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 21°F. July is the wettest at 6.1 inches of precipitation on average and November the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 50.0 inches over 90 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 5 days a year, almost all from July to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 133 nights a year. Snowfall averages 17.5 inches a year, most of it in February. That 50.0 inches is more than at 42 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (45%). Grayson, 13 miles east, has its own station (Grayson 2 E, KY): 46.4 inches a year, 3.6 less than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 21 | 3.4 | 7 | 5.0 |
| Feb | 45 | 23 | 3.3 | 7 | 5.2 |
| Mar | 54 | 29 | 4.9 | 8 | 3.0 |
| Apr | 66 | 38 | 4.4 | 9 | 0.3 |
| May | 74 | 50 | 4.9 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 59 | 5.1 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 63 | 6.1 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 60 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 54 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 66 | 41 | 3.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 54 | 30 | 3.0 | 7 | 0.4 |
| Dec | 44 | 26 | 4.0 | 7 | 3.6 |
| Year | 63 | 41 | 50.0 | 90 | 17.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Olive Hill 5NE, KY (888 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 Olive Hill
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 98 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Olive Hill: 56 thunderstorm wind reports, 20 flash floods, 19 floods and 3 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $16.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on April 8, 2020. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 107 have had fewer than Olive Hill.
July 20, 2010: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Olive Hill — 1 killed, $5.0 million damage.
NWS: “Streams such as Tygart Creek, Little and Big Sinking Creeks, Henderson Branch, Smith Run, and Mills Branch saw major flash flooding. A 72 year old woman drowned.”
May 27, 1996: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Olive Hill — 1 injured, $3,000 damage.
May 2, 2010: flood 7 miles from the centre of Olive Hill — $10.0 million damage.
NWS: “In the Olive Hill vicinity around 80 homes and 30 businesses were flooded. The Olive Hill sewer plant was damaged.”
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 Olive Hill's ZIP code 41164 have filed 232 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $5.4 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 31 claims (13% of all) and $395,000. The year with the most claims was 2003, with 74. 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, 120 have fewer than Olive Hill.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 31 | $395,000 |
Carter County, which includes Olive Hill, has been named in 37 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1978, 30 of them major disasters (by incident: 19 severe storms, 7 floods, 3 ice storms, 2 biological emergencies). 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 Carter County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $14.2 million a year, the 42nd highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $10.5 million (74%), 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 Olive Hill
- Grayson, KY13 mi
- Sandy Hook, KY15 mi
- Morehead, KY15 mi
- Clearfield, KY16 mi
- Garrison, KY19 mi
- Vanceburg, KY20 mi
- Wallingford, KY22 mi
- Rush, KY22 mi
- Argillite, KY22 mi
- Greenup, KY25 mi
- West Liberty, KY25 mi
- Hillsboro, KY25 mi
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