NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Owensboro, 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 Owensboro, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 101 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 101
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
26 deaths in all
What the records show for Owensboro
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Owensboro; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 55 mph winds when its centre passed 51 miles away. The record near Owensboro begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 6 miles away. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site, 73% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Owensboro. The highest rating among the 101 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 7 times; the most recent, on October 18, 2007, came within 2 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on November 6, 2005, killed 24 people. Of the 101, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 67 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 21. The most recent tornado was on June 7, 2025. Owensboro has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 82% of the 281 Kentucky cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 123 times since 1973, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Owensboro has more hail reports within 10 miles than 92% of the 281 Kentucky cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Owensboro
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 28 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Owensboro: 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 Owensboro
By decade
- 2020s17
- 2010s27
- 2000s23(4 EF3+)
- 1990s9
- 1980s10
- 1970s6(1 EF3+)
- 1960s2
- 1950s7(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 6, 2005 | F3 | 20 mi | 41.3 mi | 24 / 238 |
| Apr 3, 1956 | F3 | 20 mi | 22.9 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Oct 18, 2007 | EF3 | 2 mi | 6.99 mi | 0 / 8 |
| May 11, 2003 | F3 | 24 mi | 1.8 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jan 3, 2000 | F3 | in town | 7 mi | 0 / 18 |
| Nov 19, 1970 | F3 | 24 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Dec 9, 1952 | F3 | in town | 35 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 11, 1979 | F2 | 23 mi | 10 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Apr 2, 2025 | EF2 | 13 mi | 9.07 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 28, 2020 | EF2 | 18 mi | 5.06 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Mar 28, 2020 | EF2 | 18 mi | 16.79 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 2016 | EF2 | 25 mi | 8.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 101, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Owensboro
The Storm Prediction Center has 123 hail reports within 10 miles of Owensboro since 1973, made on 85 separate days. Of these, 65 were 1 inch across or larger, and 7 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 3 days, most recently March 15, 2025. The most recent report is from May 16, 2025. May has the most reports, 30.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Owensboro
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Calhoun Lock 2, KY, 17 miles southwest of Owensboro at 402 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 26°F. May is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 45.7 inches over 75 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 34 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 83 nights a year. Snowfall averages 4.3 inches a year, most of it in December. That 45.7 inches is more than at 5 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (5%). Rockport, IN, 9 miles north, has its own station (Boonville 1S, IN): 51.1 inches a year, 5.4 more than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 26 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.9 |
| Feb | 47 | 30 | 3.6 | 6 | 1.3 |
| Mar | 57 | 37 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.6 |
| Apr | 68 | 47 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 77 | 57 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 84 | 65 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 68 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 87 | 67 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 59 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 47 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 57 | 36 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 46 | 31 | 4.3 | 7 | 1.5 |
| Year | 67 | 47 | 45.7 | 75 | 4.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Calhoun Lock 2, KY (402 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 Owensboro
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 281 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Owensboro: 144 thunderstorm wind reports, 64 floods, 40 flash floods, 29 heavy rain events and 4 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $12.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 120 mph, on May 27, 2004. April has had the most flash floods, 8 of 40. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 225 have had fewer than Owensboro.
July 3, 2015: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Owensboro — 1 killed, $20,000 damage.
NWS: “A series of thunderstorms produced rainfall rates estimated by radar up to three inches in two hours. A car was swept off Highway 140 West by rapidly flowing floodwater.”
October 18, 2007: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Owensboro — 2 injured, $20,000 damage.
May 1, 2011: flood 1 mile from the centre of Owensboro — $5.0 million damage.
NWS: “Moderate flooding occurred on the Ohio River. 30 feet in late April.”
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 Owensboro's 2 ZIP codes have filed 292 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $3.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 77 claims (26% of all) and $879,000, then Mid-spring storms in 2011 with 31 and Central U.S. April Flooding in 2025 with 20. 51% 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, 127 have fewer than Owensboro.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 77 | $879,000 |
| Mid-spring storms2011 | 31 | $473,000 |
| Central U.S. April Flooding2025 | 20 | $515,000 |
| February Kentucky Flooding2025 | 10 | $193,000 |
Daviess County, which includes Owensboro, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1996, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 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 Daviess County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $69.8 million a year, the 6th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $33.3 million (48%), 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 Owensboro
- Rockport, IN9 mi
- Utica, KY11 mi
- Philpot, KY11 mi
- Richland, IN13 mi
- Calhoun, KY15 mi
- Whitesville, KY16 mi
- Lewisport, KY17 mi
- Newburgh, IN19 mi
- Hawesville, KY22 mi
- Boonville, IN22 mi
- Hartford, KY23 mi
- Henderson, KY24 mi
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