Hurricane History Map

Hurricanes that hit Kentucky: hurricane history

50 storms have passed within 50 km of Kentucky from 1863 to 2024, drawn on the map and coloured by intensity.

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Years1842 to 2026
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

Storms near Kentucky

The record holds 50 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Kentucky between 1863 and 2024. The busiest month is September, with 18 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached tropical storm strength. 3 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 50storms within 50 km
  • 0major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 0at category 1 strength or more

A storm counts once, however many times it came close. The category is the storm's strongest point within 50 km, which can be weaker than its peak elsewhere.

How strong were the storms near Kentucky?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression3876%
Tropical storm918%
Category 100%
Category 200%
Category 300%
Category 400%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity36%

The agency behind most of the intensity figures here is the NOAA National Hurricane Center (HURDAT2, Atlantic).

Kentucky storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 5 in 1970s.1860s1880s1900s1920s1940s1960s1980s2000s2020s

The 2020s only run to 2024, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1863, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1860s1
1870s2
1880s2
1890s4
1900s2
1910s2
1920s2
1930s4
1940s2
1950s4
1960s4
1970s5
1980s1
1990s3
2000s5
2010s4
2020s3

Earlier decades hold fewer storms partly because they were harder to see. Before weather satellites (about the 1960s) many storms that stayed at sea went unrecorded, so compare decades with care.

Storms by month
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 18 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May2Jun7Jul7Aug11Sep18Oct5Nov0Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May2
Jun7
Jul7
Aug11
Sep18
Oct5
Nov0
Dec0

Strongest storms near Kentucky

  • Unnamed storm of August 1888 (North Atlantic)14 August 1888 to 24 August 1888, Tropical storm (55 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (110 kt)
  • Hugo (1989)10 September 1989 to 25 September 1989, Tropical storm (55 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 918 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of October 1916 (North Atlantic)9 October 1916 to 19 October 1916, Tropical storm (45 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (95 kt), 970 hPa
  • Helene (2024)23 September 2024 to 28 September 2024, Tropical storm (45 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 941 hPa
  • Eloise (1975)13 September 1975 to 24 September 1975, Tropical storm (40 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 950 hPa
  • Frederic (1979)29 August 1979 to 15 September 1979, Tropical storm (40 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 943 hPa

Most recent storms near Kentucky

  • Helene (2024)23 September 2024 to 28 September 2024, Tropical storm (45 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 941 hPa
  • Ida (2021)26 August 2021 to 4 September 2021, Tropical depression (20 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 929 hPa
  • Laura (2020)20 August 2020 to 29 August 2020, Tropical depression (25 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 937 hPa
  • Florence (2018)30 August 2018 to 18 September 2018, Tropical depression (25 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 937 hPa
  • Alberto (2018)25 May 2018 to 31 May 2018, Tropical depression (30 kt) near here, peak Tropical storm (55 kt), 990 hPa

Many of these storms killed people and destroyed homes. The figures are the official record's, and this page says nothing about their human cost.

Notable storms near Kentucky with their own pages

  • Hugo (1989)10 September 1989 to 25 September 1989, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 918 hPa
  • Helene (2024)23 September 2024 to 28 September 2024, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 941 hPa
  • Eloise (1975)13 September 1975 to 24 September 1975, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 950 hPa
  • Frederic (1979)29 August 1979 to 15 September 1979, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 943 hPa
  • Audrey (1957)24 June 1957 to 29 June 1957, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 946 hPa
  • Gracie (1959)20 September 1959 to 2 October 1959, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 951 hPa
  • Camille (1969)14 August 1969 to 22 August 1969, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 905 hPa
  • Opal (1995)27 September 1995 to 6 October 1995, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 919 hPa
  • Katrina (2005)23 August 2005 to 31 August 2005, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 902 hPa
  • Betsy (1965)27 August 1965 to 13 September 1965, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 942 hPa
  • Frances (2004)25 August 2004 to 10 September 2004, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 937 hPa
  • Florence (2018)30 August 2018 to 18 September 2018, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 937 hPa

Kentucky counties

Every county that a storm has come near is listed, most storms first. 120 of them have at least 3 storms and their own page.

CountyStormsStrongest near the county
Christian County18Tropical storm
Graves County17Tropical storm
Trigg County17Tropical storm
Calloway County16Tropical storm
Crittenden County16Tropical depression
Marshall County15Tropical depression
Caldwell County14Tropical depression
Hickman County14Tropical depression
Livingston County14Tropical depression
Lyon County14Tropical depression
McCracken County14Tropical depression
Muhlenberg County14Tropical storm
Carlisle County13Tropical depression
Logan County13Tropical storm
Todd County13Tropical storm
Ballard County12Tropical depression
Butler County12Tropical storm
Clay County12Tropical storm
Daviess County12Tropical depression
Fulton County12Tropical depression
Hopkins County12Tropical depression
McLean County12Tropical depression
Monroe County12Tropical storm
Ohio County12Tropical storm
Union County12Tropical depression
Webster County12Tropical depression
Adair County11Tropical storm
Hancock County11Tropical depression
Henderson County11Tropical depression
Laurel County11Tropical storm
Martin County11Tropical storm
Pike County11Tropical storm
Rockcastle County11Tropical storm
Russell County11Tropical storm
Whitley County11Tropical storm
Breathitt County10Tropical storm
Breckinridge County10Tropical storm
Casey County10Tropical storm
Edmonson County10Tropical storm
Estill County10Tropical storm
Floyd County10Tropical storm
Grayson County10Tropical storm
Hardin County10Tropical storm
Harrison County10Tropical storm
Knott County10Tropical storm
Knox County10Tropical storm
Letcher County10Tropical storm
Lewis County10Tropical storm
Madison County10Tropical storm
McCreary County10Tropical storm
Pulaski County10Tropical storm
Warren County10Tropical storm
Wayne County10Tropical storm
Barren County9Tropical storm
Bath County9Tropical storm
Bell County9Tropical storm
Bourbon County9Tropical storm
Clark County9Tropical storm
Clinton County9Tropical storm
Cumberland County9Tropical storm
Fayette County9Tropical storm
Garrard County9Tropical storm
Greenup County9Tropical storm
Harlan County9Tropical storm
Hart County9Tropical storm
Jackson County9Tropical storm
Leslie County9Tropical storm
Lincoln County9Tropical storm
Magoffin County9Tropical storm
Metcalfe County9Tropical storm
Montgomery County9Tropical storm
Owsley County9Tropical storm
Rowan County9Tropical storm
Shelby County9Tropical storm
Simpson County9Tropical storm
Wolfe County9Tropical storm
Allen County8Tropical storm
Boyle County8Tropical storm
Bracken County8Tropical storm
Carter County8Tropical storm
Elliott County8Tropical storm
Fleming County8Tropical storm
Grant County8Tropical depression
Jefferson County8Tropical depression
Jessamine County8Tropical storm
Johnson County8Tropical storm
Lawrence County8Tropical storm
Lee County8Tropical storm
Marion County8Tropical storm
Meade County8Tropical depression
Menifee County8Tropical storm
Mercer County8Tropical storm
Morgan County8Tropical storm
Nelson County8Tropical storm
Nicholas County8Tropical storm
Owen County8Tropical storm
Perry County8Tropical storm
Powell County8Tropical storm
Robertson County8Tropical storm
Taylor County8Tropical storm
Bullitt County7Tropical storm
Carroll County7Tropical depression
Gallatin County7Tropical depression
Green County7Tropical storm
Henry County7Tropical depression
Larue County7Tropical storm
Mason County7Tropical storm
Scott County7Tropical storm
Spencer County7Tropical storm
Trimble County7Tropical depression
Campbell County6Tropical depression
Franklin County6Tropical storm
Kenton County6Tropical depression
Pendleton County6Tropical depression
Washington County6Tropical storm
Anderson County5Tropical storm
Boone County5Tropical depression
Boyd County5Tropical storm
Oldham County5Tropical depression
Woodford County5Tropical storm

Other states

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