NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Prospect, 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 Prospect, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 122 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 122
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
34 deaths in all
What the records show for Prospect
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Prospect; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 38 miles away. The record near Prospect begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 50 miles away. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site, 73% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Prospect. The strongest of the 122 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 19 miles, and it killed 6 people. The deadliest, an EF4 on March 2, 2012, killed 11 people. Of the 122, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 77 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 33. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Prospect has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 93% of the 281 Kentucky cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 189 times since 1971, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Prospect has more hail reports within 10 miles than 97% of the 281 Kentucky cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Prospect
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 38 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 Prospect: 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 Prospect
By decade
- 2020s29(1 EF3+)
- 2010s29(2 EF3+)
- 2000s19(1 EF3+)
- 1990s14(4 EF3+)
- 1980s8
- 1970s16(4 EF3+)
- 1960s6
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 19 mi | 68 mi | 6 / 86 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF4 | 15 mi | 46.6 mi | 11 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 16 mi | 35.6 mi | 11 / 190 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 3 mi | 18.5 mi | 3 / 225 |
| May 28, 1996 | F4 | 16 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Apr 1, 1974 | F3 | 23 mi | 3.3 mi | 1 / 20 |
| Apr 2, 2025 | EF3 | 11 mi | 9.68 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 28, 2011 | EF3 | 24 mi | 2.26 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 18, 2007 | EF3 | 9 mi | 4.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F3 | 15 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F3 | 6 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F3 | 9 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 7 |
The strongest 12 of 122, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Prospect
The Storm Prediction Center has 189 hail reports within 10 miles of Prospect since 1971, made on 92 separate days. Of these, 147 were 1 inch across or larger, and 9 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on July 2, 1980. The most recent report is from March 15, 2025. May has the most reports, 40.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Prospect
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Louisville Bowman Field, KY, 9 miles south of Prospect at 540 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 27°F. May is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 3.3 inches; the year adds up to 48.3 inches over 81 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 38 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 80 nights a year. That 48.3 inches is more than at 22 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (24%). Goshen, 5 miles north, has its own station (Crestwood 4NE, KY): 53.0 inches a year, 4.7 more than here, and the same July average high, 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 27 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Feb | 48 | 30 | 3.3 | 7 |
| Mar | 57 | 38 | 4.4 | 8 |
| Apr | 69 | 48 | 4.7 | 8 |
| May | 77 | 57 | 5.2 | 8 |
| Jun | 85 | 66 | 4.7 | 8 |
| Jul | 88 | 69 | 4.6 | 8 |
| Aug | 87 | 68 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Sep | 81 | 60 | 3.6 | 5 |
| Oct | 69 | 48 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Nov | 57 | 38 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Dec | 46 | 31 | 3.9 | 8 |
| Year | 67 | 48 | 48.3 | 81 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Louisville Bowman Field, KY (540 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 Prospect
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 550 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Prospect: 393 thunderstorm wind reports, 97 flash floods, 42 floods, 13 heavy rain events and 5 lightning strikes. They killed 5 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $3.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on July 8, 2001. July has had the most flash floods, 27 of 97. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 270 have had fewer than Prospect.
July 14, 2015: flood 9 miles from the centre of Prospect — 1 killed, $20,000 damage.
July 10, 2013: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Prospect — 1 killed.
March 14, 2015: flood 2 miles from the centre of Prospect — 1 killed.
NWS: “A 67-year old male was preparing to leave his home along the banks of the Ohio River as flood waters rose on March 14. Before he could reach his car, however, the flood waters overcame him.”
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 Prospect's ZIP code 40059 have filed 1,615 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $42.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 356 claims (22% of all) and $11.9 million, then Central U.S. April Flooding in 2025 with 197 and Mid-spring storms in 2011 with 127. 52% 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, 140 have fewer than Prospect.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 356 | $11.9 million |
| Central U.S. April Flooding2025 | 197 | $10.8 million |
| Mid-spring storms2011 | 127 | $3.0 million |
| Not a named storm1978 | 115 | $429,000 |
| February Kentucky Flooding2025 | 27 | $477,000 |
| March storm2008 | 14 | $148,000 |
Jefferson County, which includes Prospect, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 12 severe storms, 4 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 Jefferson County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes; Relatively High for inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for hail; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $341.9 million a year, the highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $212.8 million (62%), 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 Prospect
- Goshen, KY5 mi
- Pewee Valley, KY7 mi
- Jeffersonville, IN7 mi
- Charlestown, IN8 mi
- Crestwood, KY8 mi
- Sellersburg, IN9 mi
- Clarksville, IN10 mi
- Louisville, KY11 mi
- La Grange, KY12 mi
- Memphis, IN12 mi
- New Albany, IN13 mi
- Fisherville, KY15 mi
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