NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Owingsville, 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 Owingsville, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 42 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 42
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
17 deaths in all
What the records show for Owingsville
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Owingsville; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 18 miles away. The record near Owingsville begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm directly overhead. None of the 6 systems has come since 2000. Owingsville has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 52% of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site. The strongest of the 42 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 19 miles, and it killed 7 people. The deadliest, an EF3 on March 2, 2012, killed 10 people. Of the 42, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 18 have come since 2000. March has had the most tornadoes, 8. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2024. Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 78% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Owingsville. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 49 times since 1968, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 54% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Owingsville.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Owingsville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | overhead | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 18 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 Owingsville: 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 Owingsville
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s8(1 EF3+)
- 2000s6
- 1990s10
- 1980s6
- 1970s5(2 EF3+)
- 1960s1
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 19 mi | 31.9 mi | 7 / 28 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 19 mi | 84.99 mi | 10 / 118 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 9 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 18, 1995 | F2 | 14 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1982 | F2 | 17 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 16, 1982 | F2 | 17 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Mar 16, 1982 | F2 | 21 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Aug 30, 1978 | F2 | 20 mi | 5.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1964 | F2 | 18 mi | 49.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 19 mi | 12.68 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 2015 | EF1 | 21 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 7, 2014 | EF1 | 8 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 42, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Owingsville
The Storm Prediction Center has 49 hail reports within 10 miles of Owingsville since 1968, made on 35 separate days. Of these, 28 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 10, 2011. The most recent report is from July 12, 2020. May has the most reports, 14.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Owingsville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mt Sterling, KY, 11 miles southwest of Owingsville at 960 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 42°F and 22°F. July is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.2 inches; the year adds up to 48.6 inches over 86 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 28 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 116 nights a year. Snowfall averages 8.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 48.6 inches is more than at 30 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (32%). Salt Lick, 10 miles southeast, has its own station (Cave Run Lake, KY): 50.9 inches a year, 2.3 more than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42 | 22 | 3.5 | 7 | 3.3 |
| Feb | 46 | 24 | 3.7 | 6 | 2.0 |
| Mar | 56 | 31 | 4.4 | 8 | 2.2 |
| Apr | 67 | 40 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| May | 76 | 51 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 59 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 63 | 5.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 61 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 53 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 69 | 42 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 56 | 31 | 3.4 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Dec | 45 | 25 | 4.3 | 8 | 1.1 |
| Year | 66 | 42 | 48.6 | 86 | 8.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Mt Sterling, KY (960 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 Owingsville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 268 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Owingsville: 217 thunderstorm wind reports, 35 flash floods, 13 floods, 2 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 6 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $2.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on April 2, 2024. September has had the most flash floods, 9 of 35. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 207 have had fewer than Owingsville.
April 29, 2020: flood 6 miles from the centre of Owingsville — 5 killed, $3,000 damage.
August 25, 2023: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Owingsville — 1 killed.
September 9, 2018: flood 9 miles from the centre of Owingsville — $750,000 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
Bath County, which includes Owingsville, has been named in 29 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1978, 22 of them major disasters (by incident: 13 severe storms, 4 floods, 3 ice storms, 3 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Remnants of Hurricane Helene, on November 26, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Bath County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes, hail, inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $4.9 million a year, the 109th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.0 million (61%), 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 Owingsville
- Sharpsburg, KY9 mi
- Salt Lick, KY10 mi
- Mt Sterling, KY11 mi
- Hillsboro, KY11 mi
- Jeffersonville, KY14 mi
- Frenchburg, KY17 mi
- Carlisle, KY18 mi
- Morehead, KY18 mi
- Wallingford, KY18 mi
- Flemingsburg, KY19 mi
- Clearfield, KY19 mi
- Ewing, KY20 mi
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