NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Russell, 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 Russell, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 32 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 7
- Tornadoes
- 32
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
7 deaths in all
What the records show for Russell
None of the 7 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Russell; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 17 miles away. The record near Russell begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 38 miles away. None of the 7 systems has come since 2000. Russell has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 74% of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site. The strongest of the 32 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 23, 1968; its path came within 12 miles, and it killed 7 people. Of the 32, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 12 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 12. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2024. Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 85% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Russell. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 100 times since 1975, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Russell has more hail reports within 10 miles than 87% of the 281 Kentucky cities.
Compare Russell's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Russell
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 18 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 17 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 Russell: 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 Russell
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s1
- 2000s3
- 1990s8
- 1980s6
- 1970s2
- 1960s4(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 1968 | F5 | 12 mi | 34 mi | 7 / 93 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F3 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 8, 1965 | F3 | 12 mi | 6.9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF2 | 18 mi | 1.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 2000 | F2 | 22 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1980 | F2 | 8 mi | 29.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F2 | 21 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 21 mi | 4.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 19 mi | 0.44 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 17 mi | 0.55 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 12 mi | 1.09 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 6 mi | 1.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 32, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Russell
The Storm Prediction Center has 100 hail reports within 10 miles of Russell since 1975, made on 51 separate days. Of these, 44 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 7 days, most recently April 14, 2025. The most recent report is from April 14, 2025. June has the most reports, 26.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Russell
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ashland, KY, 8 miles southeast of Russell at 560 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 23°F. May is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and October and November the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 46.9 inches over 89 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 35 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 125 nights a year. That 46.9 inches is more than at 12 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (13%). Argillite, 9 miles southwest, has its own station (Grayson 2 E, KY): 46.4 inches a year, 0.5 less than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 23 | 3.5 | 8 |
| Feb | 44 | 24 | 3.7 | 8 |
| Mar | 54 | 32 | 4.4 | 9 |
| Apr | 67 | 41 | 3.9 | 8 |
| May | 75 | 51 | 4.9 | 9 |
| Jun | 83 | 61 | 4.5 | 9 |
| Jul | 85 | 65 | 4.6 | 8 |
| Aug | 84 | 63 | 3.9 | 6 |
| Sep | 78 | 56 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Oct | 67 | 43 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Nov | 54 | 32 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Dec | 44 | 27 | 4.2 | 8 |
| Year | 65 | 43 | 46.9 | 89 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ashland, KY (560 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 Russell
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 406 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Russell: 291 thunderstorm wind reports, 58 floods, 46 flash floods, 6 lightning strikes and 5 heavy rain events. They killed 2 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $13.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 105 mph, on March 1, 2017. July has had the most flash floods, 13 of 46. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 237 have had fewer than Russell.
August 16, 2007: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Russell — 1 killed, $5,000 damage.
May 10, 2011: flood 8 miles from the centre of Russell — 1 killed.
July 11, 2009: lightning strike 5 miles from the centre of Russell — 3 injured.
NWS: “Three people were struck by lightning along Elizabeth Township Route 323. Four people were riding all terrain vehicles, when a downpour had them seek shelter under a tree.”
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 Russell's ZIP code 41169 have filed 24 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $584,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 25% 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, 51 have fewer than Russell.
Greenup County, which includes Russell, has been named in 33 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 26 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 severe storms, 5 floods, 3 ice storms, 2 biological emergencies). 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 Greenup County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $15.9 million a year, the 38th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $11.3 million (71%), 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.