NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Owenton, 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 Owenton, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 79 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 79
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
11 deaths in all
What the records show for Owenton
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Owenton; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 25 miles away. The record near Owenton begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 61 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 Owenton. The highest rating among the 79 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on March 2, 2012, came within 24 miles. Of the 79, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 36 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 22. The most recent tornado was on May 3, 2025. Owenton has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 54% of the 281 Kentucky cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 29 times since 1968, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 91% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Owenton.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Owenton
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 25 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 Owenton: 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 Owenton
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s19(2 EF3+)
- 2000s4
- 1990s13(1 EF3+)
- 1980s9
- 1970s14(4 EF3+)
- 1960s3
- 1950s4(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF4 | 24 mi | 9.85 mi | 4 / 8 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 14 mi | 79.4 mi | 4 / 122 |
| Nov 22, 1992 | F4 | 17 mi | 26.7 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Apr 1, 1974 | F3 | 20 mi | 3.3 mi | 1 / 20 |
| Feb 28, 2011 | EF3 | 18 mi | 2.26 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 23 mi | 19.3 mi | 0 / 27 |
| Apr 23, 1970 | F3 | 21 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 10, 1959 | F3 | 15 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Mar 14, 2024 | EF2 | 24 mi | 17.97 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF2 | 9 mi | 5.4 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Feb 6, 2008 | EF2 | 24 mi | 3.49 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Feb 5, 2008 | EF2 | 18 mi | 6.99 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 79, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Owenton
The Storm Prediction Center has 29 hail reports within 10 miles of Owenton since 1968, made on 28 separate days. Of these, 11 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on April 23, 1968. The most recent report is from April 30, 2025. April has the most reports, 9.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Owenton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Williamstown, KY, 18 miles northeast of Owenton at 969 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 42°F and 25°F. June is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 45.9 inches over 83 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 23 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 91 nights a year. Snowfall averages 16.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 45.9 inches is more than at 6 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (6%). Stamping Ground, 13 miles southeast, has its own station (Frankfort Capital City Airport, KY): 47.5 inches a year, 1.6 more than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42 | 25 | 3.1 | 7 | 6.7 |
| Feb | 47 | 28 | 3.3 | 6 | 4.1 |
| Mar | 56 | 35 | 4.3 | 8 | 1.7 |
| Apr | 68 | 45 | 4.1 | 9 | 0.1 |
| May | 77 | 55 | 4.9 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 63 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 66 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 65 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 58 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 47 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 56 | 37 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.4 |
| Dec | 46 | 29 | 3.5 | 8 | 2.8 |
| Year | 67 | 46 | 45.9 | 83 | 16.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Williamstown, KY (969 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 Owenton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 131 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Owenton: 98 thunderstorm wind reports, 17 flash floods, 15 floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $657,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on December 23, 2015. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 17. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 83 have had fewer than Owenton.
May 1, 2016: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Owenton — 1 killed, $50,000 damage.
NWS: “Heavy rain fell over parts of southern Owen County with measured rainfall rates as high as 2 inches in 45 minutes. Flash flooding occurred along Indian and Sawdridge Creeks.”
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 Owenton's ZIP code 40359 have filed 64 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.0 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 41 claims (64% of all) and $629,000. 83% 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, 87 have fewer than Owenton.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 41 | $629,000 |
Owen County, which includes Owenton, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 severe storms, 5 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 Owen County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes, hail, inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $6.2 million a year, the 100th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.7 million (59%), 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 Owenton
- Corinth, KY11 mi
- Stamping Ground, KY13 mi
- Pleasureville, KY15 mi
- Sadieville, KY16 mi
- Williamstown, KY17 mi
- Sparta, KY17 mi
- Bagdad, KY18 mi
- Dry Ridge, KY18 mi
- Frankfort, KY19 mi
- Campbellsburg, KY20 mi
- Eminence, KY21 mi
- Warsaw, KY22 mi
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