NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Radcliff, 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 Radcliff, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 87 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 87
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
35 deaths in all
What the records show for Radcliff
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Radcliff; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 53 mph winds when its centre passed 19 miles away. The record near Radcliff begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 12 miles away. Of the 4 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site, 56% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Radcliff. The strongest of the 87 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 17 miles, and it killed 31 people. Of the 87, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 56 have come since 2000. March and May have had the most tornadoes, 17 each. The most recent tornado was on December 28, 2025. Radcliff has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 68% of the 281 Kentucky cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 67 times since 1955, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Radcliff has more hail reports within 10 miles than 70% of the 281 Kentucky cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Radcliff
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Radcliff: 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 Radcliff
By decade
- 2020s17
- 2010s25
- 2000s14
- 1990s10(1 EF3+)
- 1980s7
- 1970s10(2 EF3+)
- 1960s3(1 EF3+)
- 1950s1(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 17 mi | 32 mi | 31 / 270 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 8 mi | 37.9 mi | 3 / 81 |
| May 28, 1996 | F4 | 25 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 10 |
| May 10, 1969 | F3 | 16 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 14 |
| Mar 22, 1952 | F3 | 24 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 18 |
| Apr 28, 2002 | F2 | 10 mi | 32.3 mi | 1 / 19 |
| Jun 25, 2023 | EF2 | 11 mi | 1.17 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 26, 2013 | EF2 | 16 mi | 6.65 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 29, 2012 | EF2 | 22 mi | 0.89 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 29, 2012 | EF2 | 21 mi | 2.46 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 29, 2012 | EF2 | 14 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 26, 2011 | EF2 | 23 mi | 3.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 87, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Radcliff
The Storm Prediction Center has 67 hail reports within 10 miles of Radcliff since 1955, made on 47 separate days. Of these, 43 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on April 3, 1974. The most recent report is from February 28, 2024. May has the most reports, 19.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Radcliff
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Elizabethtown Wp Cs, KY, 11 miles south of Radcliff at 690 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 42°F and 24°F. May is the wettest at 5.8 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.5 inches; the year adds up to 54.3 inches over 87 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 21 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 97 nights a year. Snowfall averages 4.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 54.3 inches is more than at 83 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (89%). Vine Grove, 4 miles west, has its own station (Brandenburg, KY): 53.3 inches a year, 1.0 less than here, and the same July average high, 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42 | 24 | 4.0 | 8 | 2.0 |
| Feb | 47 | 27 | 3.9 | 7 | 1.6 |
| Mar | 56 | 35 | 5.1 | 9 | 0.1 |
| Apr | 67 | 44 | 5.1 | 9 | 0.0 |
| May | 75 | 54 | 5.8 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 62 | 4.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 66 | 5.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 64 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 57 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 69 | 45 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 56 | 34 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 46 | 28 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.8 |
| Year | 66 | 45 | 54.3 | 87 | 4.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Elizabethtown Wp Cs, KY (690 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 Radcliff
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 197 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Radcliff: 159 thunderstorm wind reports, 22 flash floods, 10 floods, 5 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $954,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 104 mph, on March 9, 2006. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 22. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 126 have had fewer than Radcliff.
July 27, 2010: lightning strike 4 miles from the centre of Radcliff — 1 killed, 2 injured.
November 9, 2000: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Radcliff — 1 injured, $15,000 damage.
October 18, 2007: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Radcliff — 1 injured, $10,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Radcliff's ZIP code 40160 have filed 19 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1997, and were paid $377,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 16% 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, 37 have fewer than Radcliff.
Hardin County, which includes Radcliff, has been named in 27 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1970, 21 of them major disasters (by incident: 13 severe storms, 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on September 1, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Hardin County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and inland flooding; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $36.1 million a year, the 14th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $15.9 million (44%), 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 Radcliff
- Vine Grove, KY4 mi
- Fort Knox, KY5 mi
- Rineyville, KY6 mi
- Elizabethtown, KY10 mi
- Lebanon Junction, KY11 mi
- Cecilia, KY12 mi
- Ekron, KY13 mi
- Brandenburg, KY14 mi
- Guston, KY15 mi
- Shepherdsville, KY18 mi
- Brooks, KY20 mi
- Elizabeth, IN20 mi
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