NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Paintsville, 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
8 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Paintsville, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 12 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 8
- Tornadoes
- 12
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
12 deaths in all
What the records show for Paintsville
None of the 8 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Paintsville; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 60 miles away. The record near Paintsville begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 57 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1930s, with 2 systems. None of the 8 systems has come since 2000. Paintsville is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 281 Kentucky cities on this site. The highest rating among the 12 tornadoes within 25 miles is EF3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on March 2, 2012, came within 13 miles. Of the 12, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 9 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 4. The most recent tornado was on August 7, 2023. Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 94% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Paintsville. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 67 times since 1970, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Paintsville has more hail reports within 10 miles than 70% of the 281 Kentucky cities.
Compare Paintsville's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Paintsville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 18 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 18 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 60 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 Paintsville: 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 Paintsville
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s5(2 EF3+)
- 2000s2
- 1990s2
- 1970s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 13 mi | 84.99 mi | 10 / 118 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 3 mi | 49.04 mi | 2 / 37 |
| Jul 4, 2016 | EF2 | 21 mi | 2.63 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Sep 29, 1972 | F2 | 16 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Aug 7, 2023 | EF1 | 22 mi | 6.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 16, 2023 | EF1 | 21 mi | 0.67 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 7, 2014 | EF1 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 2009 | EF1 | 15 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F1 | 9 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F1 | 23 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 9, 2013 | EF0 | 7 mi | 0.49 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 8, 2001 | F0 | 15 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 12, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Paintsville
The Storm Prediction Center has 67 hail reports within 10 miles of Paintsville since 1970, made on 37 separate days. Of these, 37 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 2 days, most recently March 2, 2012. The most recent report is from June 26, 2025. May has the most reports, 23.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Paintsville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Paintsville 1E, KY, in Paintsville at 630 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 23°F. July is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and November the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 46.2 inches over 88 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 24 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 110 nights a year. That 46.2 inches is more than at 9 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (10%). Inez, 14 miles east, has its own station (Dunlow 1 SW, WV): 49.2 inches a year, 3.0 more than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 23 | 3.4 | 7 |
| Feb | 49 | 26 | 3.2 | 7 |
| Mar | 58 | 32 | 4.4 | 9 |
| Apr | 70 | 41 | 3.8 | 8 |
| May | 76 | 51 | 4.4 | 9 |
| Jun | 83 | 60 | 4.8 | 9 |
| Jul | 86 | 65 | 5.2 | 8 |
| Aug | 86 | 63 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Sep | 80 | 56 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Oct | 70 | 43 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Nov | 58 | 32 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Dec | 48 | 28 | 3.8 | 8 |
| Year | 67 | 43 | 46.2 | 88 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Paintsville 1E, KY (630 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 Paintsville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 278 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Paintsville: 207 thunderstorm wind reports, 38 flash floods, 29 floods and 4 heavy rain events. They killed 4 people and injured 17, and the NWS estimated $4.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on February 22, 2003. May has had the most flash floods, 10 of 38. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 219 have had fewer than Paintsville.
July 13, 2015: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Paintsville — 4 killed, 15 injured, $3.5 million damage.
December 18, 2025: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Paintsville — 1 injured, $16,000 damage.
NWS: “A large tree limb (5 to 6 inches in diameter) crashed through the roof of a mobile home on Witten Lane in the Wittensville community, striking a female who was lying in bed. The limb caused a deep laceration in her leg, and she was transported by ambulance to a local hospital.”
June 15, 2000: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Paintsville — 1 injured, $2,000 damage.
NWS: “Strong thunderstorm winds brought a tree down onto a car. The driver was transported to the hospital with minor injuries.”
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 Paintsville's ZIP code 41240 have filed 157 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $2.1 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1984: 69 claims (44% of all) and $499,000. 53% 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, 115 have fewer than Paintsville.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1984 | 69 | $499,000 |
Johnson County, which includes Paintsville, has been named in 48 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 39 of them major disasters (by incident: 23 severe storms, 11 floods, 3 ice storms, 3 snowstorms). 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 Johnson County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $20.5 million a year, the 28th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $18.3 million (90%), 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.