NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Stanford, 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 Stanford, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 69 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 7
- Tornadoes
- 69
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
12 deaths in all
What the records show for Stanford
None of the 7 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Stanford; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 37 miles away. The record near Stanford begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 44 miles away. Of the 7 systems, one has come since 2000. Stanford has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 74% of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site. The strongest of the 69 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 17 miles, and it killed 7 people. Of the 69, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 32 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 20. The most recent tornado was on October 19, 2025. Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 56% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Stanford. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 38 times since 1979, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 80% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Stanford.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Stanford
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 37 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 Stanford: 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 Stanford
By decade
- 2020s14
- 2010s6
- 2000s12(1 EF3+)
- 1990s17
- 1980s6
- 1970s10(3 EF3+)
- 1960s3
- 1950s1(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 17 mi | 31.9 mi | 7 / 28 |
| May 8, 2009 | EF3 | 14 mi | 21.12 mi | 2 / 15 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 9 mi | 21.1 mi | 1 / 98 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 23 mi | 28.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 4, 1955 | F3 | 18 mi | 8.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 30, 2025 | EF2 | 19 mi | 5.51 mi | 1 / 14 |
| May 11, 2003 | F2 | 22 mi | 7 mi | 1 / 8 |
| Dec 11, 2021 | EF2 | 7 mi | 0.63 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 6, 2008 | EF2 | 24 mi | 0.99 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 2, 2006 | F2 | 5 mi | 8.7 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 20, 1996 | F2 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Apr 20, 1996 | F2 | 3 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 7 |
The strongest 12 of 69, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Stanford
The Storm Prediction Center has 38 hail reports within 10 miles of Stanford since 1979, made on 27 separate days. Of these, 31 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on April 25, 2015. The most recent report is from April 8, 2020. May has the most reports, 10.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Stanford
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Danville, KY, 11 miles northwest of Stanford at 900 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 23°F. July is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and November the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 47.9 inches over 79 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 103 nights a year. That 47.9 inches is more than at 18 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (19%). Crab Orchard, 11 miles southeast, has its own station (Crab Orchard 6 N, KY): 50.4 inches a year, 2.5 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 | 43 | 23 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Feb | 47 | 26 | 3.7 | 7 |
| Mar | 56 | 33 | 4.6 | 8 |
| Apr | 68 | 44 | 4.2 | 7 |
| May | 75 | 54 | 4.4 | 8 |
| Jun | 83 | 61 | 4.7 | 8 |
| Jul | 87 | 65 | 5.0 | 8 |
| Aug | 86 | 64 | 3.2 | 5 |
| Sep | 80 | 57 | 3.7 | 5 |
| Oct | 69 | 45 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Nov | 56 | 34 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Dec | 46 | 28 | 4.2 | 7 |
| Year | 66 | 45 | 47.9 | 79 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Danville, KY (900 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 Stanford
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 178 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Stanford: 142 thunderstorm wind reports, 28 flash floods, 6 floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $795,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on November 9, 2000. June has had the most flash floods, 9 of 28. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 171 have had fewer than Stanford.
May 2, 2010: flash flood in Stanford — 1 killed, $30,000 damage.
NWS: “Heavy rains caused flash flooding of the Hanging Fork River on KY 300 near Stanford. One person died when a van with multiple passengers was swept off the road into the river.”
June 26, 2018: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Stanford — $300,000 damage.
August 28, 2016: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Stanford — $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
Flood insurance policyholders in Stanford's ZIP code 40484 have filed 22 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $319,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 23% 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, 47 have fewer than Stanford.
Lincoln County, which includes Stanford, has been named in 28 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1970, 21 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 severe storms, 6 floods, 4 snowstorms, 3 ice storms). 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 Lincoln County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $8.3 million a year, the 78th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.4 million (53%), 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 Stanford
- Junction City, KY9 mi
- Hustonville, KY10 mi
- Danville, KY11 mi
- Lancaster, KY11 mi
- Crab Orchard, KY11 mi
- Waynesburg, KY12 mi
- Paint Lick, KY15 mi
- Brodhead, KY17 mi
- Eubank, KY19 mi
- Harrodsburg, KY20 mi
- Liberty, KY21 mi
- Mount Vernon, KY22 mi
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