NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit South Shore, 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
6 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of South Shore, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 44 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 44
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
14 deaths in all
What the records show for South Shore
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed South Shore; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 2 miles away. The record near South Shore begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 21 miles away. None of the 6 systems has come since 2000. South Shore has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 52% of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site. The strongest of the 44 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 23, 1968; its path came within 9 miles, and it killed 7 people. Of the 44, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 13 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 11. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2024. Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 77% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than South Shore. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 76 times since 1968, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). South Shore has more hail reports within 10 miles than 78% of the 281 Kentucky cities.
Compare South Shore's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near South Shore
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 2 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 South Shore: 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 South Shore
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s6
- 2000s4(1 EF3+)
- 1990s14
- 1980s8
- 1970s2
- 1960s6(4 EF3+)
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 1968 | F5 | 9 mi | 34 mi | 7 / 93 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F4 | 13 mi | 78.7 mi | 6 / 364 |
| May 10, 2003 | F3 | 15 mi | 25 mi | 0 / 17 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F3 | 3 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 8, 1965 | F3 | 13 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF2 | 22 mi | 11.07 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Jun 16, 1982 | F2 | 13 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 12, 1980 | F2 | 3 mi | 29.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F2 | 11 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 7, 1956 | F2 | 19 mi | 1.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 21 mi | 1.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 10 mi | 7.88 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 44, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in South Shore
The Storm Prediction Center has 76 hail reports within 10 miles of South Shore since 1968, made on 55 separate days. Of these, 29 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on May 5, 1996. The most recent report is from April 14, 2025. May has the most reports, 18.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in South Shore
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Portsmouth-Sciotoville, OH, 7 miles northeast of South Shore at 540 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 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and November the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 43.2 inches over 84 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 26 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 106 nights a year. That 43.2 inches is more than at 1 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (1%). Greenup, 10 miles southeast, has its own station (Warnock 2, KY): 48.2 inches a year, 5.0 more than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 23 | 3.1 | 7 |
| Feb | 45 | 25 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Mar | 55 | 33 | 4.1 | 8 |
| Apr | 67 | 42 | 4.0 | 8 |
| May | 76 | 52 | 4.6 | 8 |
| Jun | 83 | 61 | 4.1 | 8 |
| Jul | 87 | 65 | 4.4 | 8 |
| Aug | 86 | 63 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Sep | 80 | 56 | 3.3 | 5 |
| Oct | 69 | 44 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Nov | 56 | 33 | 2.8 | 6 |
| Dec | 46 | 28 | 3.5 | 7 |
| Year | 66 | 44 | 43.2 | 84 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Portsmouth-Sciotoville, OH (540 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 South Shore
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 241 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of South Shore: 161 thunderstorm wind reports, 49 floods, 29 flash floods, 1 heavy rain event and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $6.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 94 mph, on July 11, 2009. September has had the most flash floods, 10 of 29. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 178 have had fewer than South Shore.
July 21, 2010: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of South Shore — 1 killed, 4 injured, $300,000 damage.
September 14, 2011: lightning strike 7 miles from the centre of South Shore — 1 injured, $5,000 damage.
June 10, 2014: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of South Shore — 1 injured, $1,000 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 South Shore's ZIP code 41175 have filed 12 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $82,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 33% 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, 13 have fewer than South Shore.
Greenup County, which includes South Shore, 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.
Cities near South Shore
- Portsmouth, OH6 mi
- West Portsmouth, OH7 mi
- Franklin Furnace, OH8 mi
- Wheelersburg, OH10 mi
- Greenup, KY10 mi
- Garrison, KY12 mi
- Mc Dermott, OH12 mi
- Minford, OH16 mi
- Lucasville, OH16 mi
- Russell, KY17 mi
- Argillite, KY17 mi
- Flatwoods, KY17 mi
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