NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Viper, 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 Viper, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 6 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 6
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Viper
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Viper; the strongest was Audrey in 1957, a tropical storm with 43 mph winds when its centre passed 56 miles away. The record near Viper begins with an unnamed storm in 1915; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 63 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1930s, with 2 systems. None of the 6 systems has come since 2000. Viper has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 52% of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site. The strongest of the 6 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on May 18, 1995; its path came within 14 miles. Of the 6, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 2 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on July 27, 2014. Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 98% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Viper. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 56 times since 1980, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Viper has more hail reports within 10 miles than 54% of the 281 Kentucky cities.
Compare Viper's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Viper
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 18 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 18 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Viper: 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 Viper
By decade
- 2010s1
- 2000s1
- 1990s2
- 1980s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 1995 | F2 | 14 mi | 24 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 27, 2014 | EF1 | 17 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 2008 | EF1 | 8 mi | 0.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 3, 1983 | F1 | 19 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 27, 1983 | F1 | 6 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 1990 | F0 | 16 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 6 of 6, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Viper
The Storm Prediction Center has 56 hail reports within 10 miles of Viper since 1980, made on 38 separate days. Of these, 31 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on July 30, 1999. The most recent report is from May 8, 2025. May has the most reports, 21.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Viper
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Skyline 1 SE, KY, 9 miles southeast of Viper at 1,083 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 45°F and 26°F. July is the wettest at 5.7 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 49.9 inches over 101 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 15 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 100 nights a year. Snowfall averages 16.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 49.9 inches is more than at 40 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (43%). Hazard, 9 miles north, has its own station (Buckhorn Lake, KY): 51.5 inches a year, 1.6 more than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45 | 26 | 3.7 | 8 | 5.3 |
| Feb | 49 | 29 | 3.9 | 8 | 4.2 |
| Mar | 59 | 33 | 4.8 | 10 | 3.1 |
| Apr | 70 | 42 | 4.5 | 9 | 0.1 |
| May | 77 | 52 | 4.8 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 60 | 4.4 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 64 | 5.7 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 64 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 57 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 46 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 59 | 34 | 3.2 | 7 | 0.3 |
| Dec | 49 | 29 | 4.5 | 9 | 3.6 |
| Year | 67 | 45 | 49.9 | 101 | 16.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Skyline 1 SE, KY (1,083 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 Viper
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 246 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Viper: 180 thunderstorm wind reports, 26 floods, 22 flash floods and 18 heavy rain events. They killed 2 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $1.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 9, 2003. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 126 have had fewer than Viper.
February 23, 2019: flood 10 miles from the centre of Viper — 2 killed, $15,000 damage.
NWS: “A local news media outlet reported that a motorist crashed into Wolf Creek off of Stidham Road south of Cinda. The driver's body was later found trapped inside the car.”
June 17, 2013: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Viper — $500,000 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
Perry County, which includes Viper, has been named in 47 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 40 of them major disasters (by incident: 23 severe storms, 11 floods, 4 snowstorms, 3 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on May 29, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Perry County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $26.8 million a year, the 20th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $23.5 million (88%), 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.