NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Vine Grove, 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 Vine Grove, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 86 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 86
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
35 deaths in all
What the records show for Vine Grove
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Vine Grove; 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 Vine Grove begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 9 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 Vine Grove. The strongest of the 86 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 15 miles, and it killed 31 people. Of the 86, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 58 have come since 2000. March and May have had the most tornadoes, 16 each. The most recent tornado was on December 28, 2025. Vine Grove has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 66% of the 281 Kentucky cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 48 times since 1955, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 56% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Vine Grove.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Vine Grove
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 55 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 Vine Grove: 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 Vine Grove
By decade
- 2020s17
- 2010s25
- 2000s16
- 1990s10
- 1980s7
- 1970s8(3 EF3+)
- 1960s3(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 15 mi | 32 mi | 31 / 270 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 9 mi | 37.9 mi | 3 / 81 |
| Apr 21, 1972 | F3 | 24 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 10, 1969 | F3 | 19 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 14 |
| Apr 28, 2002 | F2 | 7 mi | 32.3 mi | 1 / 19 |
| Jun 25, 2023 | EF2 | 10 mi | 1.17 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 26, 2013 | EF2 | 18 mi | 6.65 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 29, 2012 | EF2 | 24 mi | 0.89 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 29, 2012 | EF2 | 23 mi | 2.46 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 29, 2012 | EF2 | 24 mi | 2.05 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Feb 29, 2012 | EF2 | 15 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 2011 | EF2 | 22 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 86, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Vine Grove
The Storm Prediction Center has 48 hail reports within 10 miles of Vine Grove since 1955, made on 33 separate days. Of these, 30 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on April 3, 1974. The most recent report is from February 28, 2024. March and May have the most reports, 11 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Vine Grove
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Brandenburg, KY, 11 miles northwest of Vine Grove at 615 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 23°F. May is the wettest at 6.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.5 inches; the year adds up to 53.3 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 109 nights a year. That 53.3 inches is more than at 76 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (82%). Radcliff, 4 miles east, has its own station (Elizabethtown Wp Cs, KY): 54.3 inches a year, 1.0 more than here, and the same July average high, 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 23 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Feb | 47 | 25 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Mar | 57 | 33 | 4.9 | 8 |
| Apr | 69 | 42 | 5.4 | 9 |
| May | 76 | 53 | 6.0 | 8 |
| Jun | 83 | 61 | 4.5 | 7 |
| Jul | 86 | 65 | 4.9 | 7 |
| Aug | 86 | 63 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Sep | 80 | 56 | 3.8 | 6 |
| Oct | 69 | 44 | 3.9 | 6 |
| Nov | 56 | 34 | 4.0 | 7 |
| Dec | 46 | 27 | 4.8 | 8 |
| Year | 67 | 44 | 53.3 | 84 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Brandenburg, KY (615 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 Vine Grove
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 164 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Vine Grove: 130 thunderstorm wind reports, 21 flash floods, 8 floods, 4 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $865,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on April 5, 2023. April has had the most flash floods, 6 of 21. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 119 have had fewer than Vine Grove.
July 27, 2010: lightning strike 5 miles from the centre of Vine Grove — 1 killed, 2 injured.
November 9, 2000: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Vine Grove — 1 injured, $15,000 damage.
October 18, 2007: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Vine Grove — 1 injured, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “A tree was blown on to a house. One person was injured.”
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 Vine Grove's ZIP code 40175 have filed 15 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2006, and were paid $66,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 20% 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, 23 have fewer than Vine Grove.
Meade County, which includes Vine Grove, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 14 severe storms, 4 tornadoes, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). 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 Meade County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $12.9 million a year, the 48th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.7 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.
Cities near Vine Grove
- Radcliff, KY4 mi
- Rineyville, KY5 mi
- Fort Knox, KY5 mi
- Ekron, KY10 mi
- Cecilia, KY11 mi
- Elizabethtown, KY12 mi
- Guston, KY12 mi
- Brandenburg, KY12 mi
- Lebanon Junction, KY15 mi
- Irvington, KY17 mi
- Elizabeth, IN20 mi
- Shepherdsville, KY21 mi
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