NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Wallins Creek, 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 Wallins Creek, Kentucky since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 24 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 24
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Wallins Creek
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Wallins Creek; the strongest was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm with 47 mph winds when its centre passed 72 miles away. The record near Wallins Creek begins with an unnamed storm in 1915; the most recent system was Helene in 2024. Of the 6 systems, one has come since 2000. Wallins Creek has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 52% of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site. The strongest of the 24 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on May 9, 1988; its path came within 20 miles, and it killed 1 person. Of the 24, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 16 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 8. The most recent tornado was on September 24, 2024. Of the 281 Kentucky cities, 90% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Wallins Creek. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 54 times since 1968, with stones up to 5 inches. Wallins Creek has more hail reports within 10 miles than 51% of the 281 Kentucky cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Wallins Creek
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 18 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 34 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 Wallins Creek: 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 Wallins Creek
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s6
- 2000s8
- 1990s4
- 1980s3(1 EF3+)
- 1970s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 9, 1988 | F3 | 20 mi | 5 mi | 1 / 15 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF2 | 20 mi | 2.6 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jul 6, 1980 | F2 | 19 mi | 11.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 24, 2024 | EF1 | 24 mi | 5.98 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 16, 2023 | EF1 | 19 mi | 0.15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 27, 2014 | EF1 | 10 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF1 | 22 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF1 | 15 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF1 | 16 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 26, 2010 | EF1 | 22 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 2008 | EF1 | 25 mi | 0.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 2004 | F1 | 14 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 24, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Wallins Creek
The Storm Prediction Center has 54 hail reports within 10 miles of Wallins Creek since 1968, made on 31 separate days. Of these, 34 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest, 5 inches, fell on April 23, 1968. 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 Wallins Creek
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Baxter, KY, 5 miles northeast of Wallins Creek at 1,164 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 45°F and 26°F. March and December are the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.2 inches; the year adds up to 52.3 inches over 95 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 13 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 101 nights a year. That 52.3 inches is more than at 67 of the 93 Kentucky stations used on this site (72%). Ewing, VA, 14 miles south, has its own station (Tazewell, TN): 54.6 inches a year, 2.3 more than here, and the same July average high, 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45 | 26 | 4.1 | 8 |
| Feb | 49 | 29 | 4.3 | 8 |
| Mar | 58 | 34 | 5.0 | 10 |
| Apr | 68 | 42 | 4.9 | 8 |
| May | 76 | 52 | 4.7 | 8 |
| Jun | 82 | 61 | 4.7 | 9 |
| Jul | 85 | 65 | 4.8 | 10 |
| Aug | 85 | 64 | 4.5 | 7 |
| Sep | 80 | 57 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Oct | 70 | 45 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Nov | 58 | 34 | 3.6 | 7 |
| Dec | 49 | 29 | 5.0 | 9 |
| Year | 67 | 45 | 52.3 | 95 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Baxter, KY (1,164 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 Wallins Creek
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 156 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Wallins Creek: 113 thunderstorm wind reports, 22 flash floods, 14 floods and 7 heavy rain events. They killed 2 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $2.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on April 28, 2014. Of the 281 Kentucky cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 126 have had fewer than Wallins Creek.
February 21, 1997: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Wallins Creek — 2 killed, $10,000 damage.
April 28, 2014: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Wallins Creek — 3 injured.
April 17, 2013: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Wallins Creek — $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 Wallins Creek's ZIP code 40873 have filed 18 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $91,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 28% 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, 33 have fewer than Wallins Creek.
Harlan County, which includes Wallins Creek, has been named in 33 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 24 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 severe storms, 9 floods, 4 snowstorms, 3 fires). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on February 24, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Harlan County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $17.7 million a year, the 34th highest of 120 Kentucky counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $13.7 million (77%), 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 Wallins Creek
- Harlan, KY5 mi
- Rose Hill, VA12 mi
- Evarts, KY13 mi
- Ewing, VA14 mi
- Jonesville, VA17 mi
- Pineville, KY18 mi
- Harrogate, TN20 mi
- Pennington Gap, VA21 mi
- Middlesboro, KY22 mi
- Cumberland Gap, TN23 mi
- Sneedville, TN23 mi
- Cumberland, KY25 mi
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