NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Rush, 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
7 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Rush, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 24 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 7
- Tornadoes
- 24
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
10 deaths in all
What the records show for Rush
None of the 7 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Rush; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 30 miles away. The record near Rush begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 41 miles away. None of the 7 systems has come since 2000. Rush has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 74% of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site. The highest rating among the 24 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on March 2, 2012, came within 19 miles. Of the 24, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 10 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 7. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2024. Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 90% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Rush. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 45 times since 1962, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 62% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Rush.
Compare Rush's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Rush
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 18 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 30 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 Rush: 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 Rush
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s3(1 EF3+)
- 2000s1
- 1990s5
- 1980s5
- 1970s3
- 1960s1(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 19 mi | 84.99 mi | 10 / 118 |
| Apr 8, 1965 | F3 | 9 mi | 6.9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF2 | 1 mi | 1.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 4, 2016 | EF2 | 16 mi | 2.63 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jul 12, 1980 | F2 | 6 mi | 29.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 18 mi | 0.55 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 11 mi | 1.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 18 mi | 7.88 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 7, 2023 | EF1 | 13 mi | 6.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 2022 | EF1 | 20 mi | 0.82 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 2017 | EF1 | 17 mi | 3.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 2008 | EF1 | 18 mi | 1.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 24, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Rush
The Storm Prediction Center has 45 hail reports within 10 miles of Rush since 1962, made on 28 separate days. Of these, 30 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 1, 2016. The most recent report is from May 20, 2017. April has the most reports, 12.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Rush
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Grayson 2 E, KY, 8 miles west of Rush at 580 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 22°F. May is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 46.4 inches over 85 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 27 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 129 nights a year. Snowfall averages 18.1 inches a year, most of it in February. That 46.4 inches is more than at 11 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (12%). Catlettsburg, 10 miles northeast, has its own station (Huntington Tri State Airport, WV): 45.3 inches a year, 1.1 less 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 | 43 | 22 | 3.3 | 7 | 5.9 |
| Feb | 47 | 24 | 3.3 | 6 | 6.1 |
| Mar | 57 | 29 | 4.5 | 8 | 1.8 |
| Apr | 69 | 39 | 4.1 | 8 | 0.1 |
| May | 76 | 49 | 4.9 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 84 | 58 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 63 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 62 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 54 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 69 | 41 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 57 | 31 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.4 |
| Dec | 47 | 26 | 3.8 | 7 | 3.8 |
| Year | 67 | 41 | 46.4 | 85 | 18.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Grayson 2 E, KY (580 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 Rush
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 137 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Rush: 60 thunderstorm wind reports, 45 floods, 31 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $5.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 102 mph, on April 2, 2024. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 188 have had fewer than Rush.
December 16, 2019: flood 6 miles from the centre of Rush — 1 killed, $25,000 damage.
April 3, 2015: flood 5 miles from the centre of Rush — $1.2 million damage.
NWS: “Small stream flooding occurred with the final rounds of showers during the evening of the 3rd mostly in the eastern portion of the county. This was mainly along the Little Fork watershed.”
June 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Rush — $1.0 million 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 Rush's ZIP code 41168 have filed 59 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1991, and were paid $865,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2010, with 12. Of the 143 Kentucky cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 83 have fewer than Rush.
Boyd County, which includes Rush, has been named in 33 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 26 of them major disasters (by incident: 16 severe storms, 6 floods, 3 ice storms, 3 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on February 24, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Boyd County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for heat waves; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $29.5 million a year, the 16th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $18.8 million (64%), 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 Rush
- Grayson, KY10 mi
- Catlettsburg, KY10 mi
- Argillite, KY11 mi
- Prichard, WV11 mi
- Ashland, KY12 mi
- Kenova, WV13 mi
- South Point, OH15 mi
- Flatwoods, KY16 mi
- Russell, KY17 mi
- Ironton, OH17 mi
- Louisa, KY17 mi
- Lavalette, WV18 mi
All Kentucky cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Rush with another place →