NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Shepherdsville, 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 Shepherdsville, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 115 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 115
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
38 deaths in all
What the records show for Shepherdsville
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Shepherdsville; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 53 mph winds when its centre passed 21 miles away. The record near Shepherdsville begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 29 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 Shepherdsville. The strongest of the 115 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 22 miles, and it killed 31 people. Of the 115, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 77 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 27. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Shepherdsville has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 90% of the 281 Kentucky cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 57 times since 1964, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Shepherdsville has more hail reports within 10 miles than 58% of the 281 Kentucky cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Shepherdsville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 21 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 Shepherdsville: 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 Shepherdsville
By decade
- 2020s28(1 EF3+)
- 2010s28
- 2000s21
- 1990s11(1 EF3+)
- 1980s8
- 1970s14(3 EF3+)
- 1960s5(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 22 mi | 32 mi | 31 / 270 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 11 mi | 37.9 mi | 3 / 81 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 14 mi | 18.5 mi | 3 / 225 |
| May 28, 1996 | F4 | 9 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Apr 2, 2025 | EF3 | 14 mi | 9.68 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1969 | F3 | 3 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 14 |
| Apr 28, 2002 | F2 | 25 mi | 32.3 mi | 1 / 19 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF2 | 24 mi | 11.15 mi | 0 / 32 |
| Jun 26, 2013 | EF2 | 23 mi | 6.65 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 29, 2012 | EF2 | 25 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 2011 | EF2 | 15 mi | 1.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 2011 | EF2 | 14 mi | 1.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 115, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Shepherdsville
The Storm Prediction Center has 57 hail reports within 10 miles of Shepherdsville since 1964, made on 43 separate days. Of these, 33 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on July 2, 1980. The most recent report is from May 16, 2025. March has the most reports, 15.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Shepherdsville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Louisville WFO, KY, 9 miles north of Shepherdsville at 632 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 42°F and 26°F. May is the wettest at 5.8 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 3.3 inches; the year adds up to 53.1 inches over 85 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 30 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 85 nights a year. Snowfall averages 15.1 inches a year, most of it in February. That 53.1 inches is more than at 72 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (77%). Fairdale, 8 miles north, has its own station (Louisville International Airport, KY): 48.4 inches a year, 4.7 less than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42 | 26 | 3.8 | 7 | 4.6 |
| Feb | 47 | 29 | 3.7 | 7 | 4.7 |
| Mar | 57 | 37 | 5.1 | 8 | 2.6 |
| Apr | 68 | 46 | 5.3 | 9 | 0.1 |
| May | 77 | 56 | 5.8 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 84 | 64 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 68 | 4.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 87 | 67 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 59 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 48 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 57 | 38 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.4 |
| Dec | 46 | 30 | 4.6 | 8 | 2.7 |
| Year | 67 | 47 | 53.1 | 85 | 15.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Louisville WFO, KY (632 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 Shepherdsville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 244 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Shepherdsville: 183 thunderstorm wind reports, 38 flash floods, 16 floods, 4 lightning strikes and 3 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 104 mph, on October 24, 2001. February has had the most flash floods, 10 of 38. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 219 have had fewer than Shepherdsville.
May 25, 2006: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Shepherdsville — 1 killed.
May 30, 2004: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Shepherdsville — 1 injured, $150,000 damage.
April 3, 2015: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Shepherdsville — $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 Shepherdsville's ZIP code 40165 have filed 232 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1983, and were paid $3.6 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 142 claims (61% of all) and $2.0 million, then Central U.S. April Flooding in 2025 with 21 and Mid-spring storms in 2011 with 10. 75% 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, 120 have fewer than Shepherdsville.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 142 | $2.0 million |
| Central U.S. April Flooding2025 | 21 | $768,000 |
| Mid-spring storms2011 | 10 | $94,000 |
Bullitt County, which includes Shepherdsville, has been named in 28 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1970, 21 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 severe storms, 7 floods, 3 tornadoes, 2 biological emergencies). 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 Bullitt County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for hail and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $45.5 million a year, the 10th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $23.3 million (51%), 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 Shepherdsville
- Brooks, KY5 mi
- Fairdale, KY8 mi
- Mt Washington, KY8 mi
- Lebanon Junction, KY10 mi
- Coxs Creek, KY12 mi
- Louisville, KY14 mi
- Fort Knox, KY16 mi
- Elizabeth, IN17 mi
- Radcliff, KY18 mi
- Bardstown, KY18 mi
- Taylorsville, KY18 mi
- Fisherville, KY19 mi
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