NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sadieville, 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
5 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Sadieville, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 54 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 54
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
10 deaths in all
What the records show for Sadieville
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Sadieville; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 15 miles away. The record near Sadieville begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 46 miles away. None of the 5 systems has come since 2000. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site, 48% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Sadieville. The highest rating among the 54 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 3, 1974, came within 1 mile. The deadliest, an F4 on April 23, 1968, killed 6 people. Of the 54, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 27 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 18. The most recent tornado was on May 3, 2025. Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 70% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Sadieville. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 11 times since 1971, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 100% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Sadieville.
Compare Sadieville's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Sadieville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 15 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 Sadieville: 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 Sadieville
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s16
- 2000s3(1 EF3+)
- 1990s6
- 1980s7
- 1970s8(3 EF3+)
- 1960s4(1 EF3+)
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 1968 | F4 | 21 mi | 78.7 mi | 6 / 364 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 1 mi | 79.4 mi | 4 / 122 |
| May 27, 2004 | F3 | 22 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 7 mi | 19.3 mi | 0 / 27 |
| Apr 23, 1970 | F3 | 13 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF2 | 20 mi | 5.4 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Feb 6, 2008 | EF2 | 9 mi | 3.49 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 12, 1986 | F2 | 13 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 10, 1986 | F2 | 25 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Mar 20, 1982 | F2 | 22 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 29, 1979 | F2 | 4 mi | 33.8 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F2 | 8 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 20 |
The strongest 12 of 54, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sadieville
The Storm Prediction Center has 11 hail reports within 10 miles of Sadieville since 1971. Of these, 7 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently July 1, 1993. The most recent report is from April 3, 2018. June and July have the most reports, 3 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sadieville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Cynthiana, KY, 13 miles east of Sadieville 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%). Corinth, 7 miles northwest, has its own station (Williamstown, KY): 45.9 inches a year, 1.8 less than here, and the same July average high, 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 Sadieville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 112 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sadieville: 84 thunderstorm wind reports, 20 flash floods, 6 floods, 1 heavy rain event and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $723,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on November 9, 2000. September has had the most flash floods, 10 of 20. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 107 have had fewer than Sadieville.
February 15, 2025: flash flood in Sadieville — 1 killed, $20,000 damage.
NWS: “On February 17, a man was found deceased in his truck off of Davis Road, near Sadieville. It is believed by the coroner's office that the man's truck was washed off the road and into a ravine by floodwater late on February 15, but the exact time is unknown.”
November 9, 2000: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Sadieville — $150,000 damage.
March 1, 2017: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Sadieville — $100,000 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
Scott County, which includes Sadieville, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 28, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Scott County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and lightning; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $20.6 million a year, the 27th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $9.3 million (45%), 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.