NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Paris, 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 Paris, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 53 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 53
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
11 deaths in all
What the records show for Paris
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Paris; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 4 miles away. The record near Paris begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 25 miles away. None of the 6 systems has come since 2000. Paris has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 52% of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site. The highest rating among the 53 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 3, 1974, came within 20 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 3, 1974, killed 7 people. Of the 53, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 24 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 14. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 71% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Paris. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 19 times since 1973, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 97% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Paris.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Paris
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 4 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 Paris: 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 Paris
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s12
- 2000s5(1 EF3+)
- 1990s3
- 1980s9
- 1970s10(4 EF3+)
- 1960s3
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 16 mi | 31.9 mi | 7 / 28 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 20 mi | 79.4 mi | 4 / 122 |
| May 27, 2004 | F3 | 17 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 13 mi | 19.3 mi | 0 / 27 |
| Apr 23, 1970 | F3 | 20 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 6, 2008 | EF2 | 12 mi | 3.49 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 10, 1986 | F2 | 16 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Jun 16, 1982 | F2 | 13 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Mar 16, 1982 | F2 | 23 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 29, 1979 | F2 | 13 mi | 33.8 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F2 | 15 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F2 | 24 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 53, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Paris
The Storm Prediction Center has 19 hail reports within 10 miles of Paris since 1973, made on 18 separate days. Of these, 10 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 10, 2011. The most recent report is from April 29, 2017. May has the most reports, 5.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Paris
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Cynthiana, KY, 12 miles north of Paris at 700 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 41°F and 23°F. May is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 3.1 inches; the year adds up to 47.7 inches over 85 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 109 nights a year. That 47.7 inches is more than at 17 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (18%). Winchester, 16 miles south, has its own station (Cressy, KY): 50.9 inches a year, 3.2 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 23 | 3.4 | 7 |
| Feb | 46 | 25 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Mar | 55 | 32 | 4.5 | 8 |
| Apr | 67 | 41 | 4.6 | 8 |
| May | 76 | 52 | 5.0 | 9 |
| Jun | 84 | 61 | 4.5 | 8 |
| Jul | 87 | 65 | 4.8 | 7 |
| Aug | 86 | 63 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Sep | 80 | 55 | 3.5 | 5 |
| Oct | 69 | 43 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Nov | 56 | 33 | 3.2 | 7 |
| Dec | 46 | 27 | 4.1 | 7 |
| Year | 66 | 43 | 47.7 | 85 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Cynthiana, KY (700 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 Paris
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 153 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Paris: 99 thunderstorm wind reports, 41 floods, 9 flash floods, 3 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 3 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $8.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 104 mph, on April 20, 2000. May has had the most flash floods, 4 of 9. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 15 have had fewer than Paris.
May 24, 1996: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Paris — 1 killed, 2 injured, $10,000 damage.
August 29, 2005: flood 2 miles from the centre of Paris — 1 killed, $4.7 million damage.
September 23, 2018: flood 4 miles from the centre of Paris — 1 killed, $15,000 damage.
NWS: “A female interning at Silver Springs Stud Farm was returning from lunch on Brentsville Road when she drove into water from a flooded stream over the roadway. The stream swept the vehicle into a deep pool off the road.”
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 Paris's ZIP code 40361 have filed 383 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $6.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 95 claims (25% of all) and $1.7 million, then Not a named storm in 1978 with 22 and Heavy rains in 2004 with 21. The year with the most claims was 2015, with 71. 37% 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, 131 have fewer than Paris.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 95 | $1.7 million |
| Not a named storm1978 | 22 | $95,000 |
| Heavy rains2004 | 21 | $235,000 |
Bourbon County, which includes Paris, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1978, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 severe storms, 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Remnants of Hurricane Helene, on November 26, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Bourbon County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $10.8 million a year, the 56th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.5 million (60%), 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 Paris
- Cynthiana, KY13 mi
- Carlisle, KY14 mi
- Winchester, KY16 mi
- Georgetown, KY17 mi
- Sharpsburg, KY17 mi
- Lexington, KY19 mi
- Mt Sterling, KY20 mi
- Sadieville, KY21 mi
- Mount Olivet, KY23 mi
- Berry, KY24 mi
- Ewing, KY25 mi
- Stamping Ground, KY26 mi
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