Kentucky Storm Data: Hail & Wind History Since 2010
Deduplicated storm activity for Kentucky, fused from NWS warnings, storm reports, official records, and FEMA declarations.
Latest Kentucky hail and wind storms
- Last reported hail in Kentucky (0.75 in.+, screening): September 21, 2026 — 1.00 in. reported at Grayson (Carter County), SPC storm report.
- 2026 so far in Kentucky: 15 hail days and 44 wind days statewide (days with a storm report or station gust at the screening thresholds; warnings alone never count).
| Date | Largest reported hail | Strongest gust | City pages hit |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 21, 2026 | 1.00 in. reported | — | — |
| September 5, 2026 | 1.00 in. reported | 51 mph measured | Owensboro, Covington |
| September 4, 2026 | 1.00 in. reported | 52 mph measured | Covington |
| August 22, 2026 | 1.25 in. reported | 73 mph measured | Elizabethtown |
| August 20, 2026 | — | 83 mph measured | Paducah |
| August 17, 2026 | — | 52 mph measured | Owensboro |
| August 16, 2026 | — | 64 mph measured | Louisville |
| August 12, 2026 | — | 51 mph measured | Covington |
| August 11, 2026 | — | 81 mph measured | Covington |
| August 1, 2026 | — | 51 mph reported | — |
Kentucky storm facts
- StormAuditor's analysis of NOAA and National Weather Service records found 5,743 deduplicated storm events (wind, hail, tornado, and flood; NWS warning products included) in Kentucky in the 12 months ending October 21, 2026.
- Storm activity touched 120 of 120 Kentucky counties over that period.
- The most impacted county in Kentucky was Jefferson, with 113 events.
- The busiest day by event count in Kentucky was July 21, 2026, with 304 events.
Kentucky storm activity at a glance (last 12 months)
StormAuditor's consolidated public record currently shows 5,743 storm events impacting 120 of Kentucky's 120 counties in the trailing 12 months: 2,869 wind events, 1,498 hail events, 330 tornado events, 1,046 flood events. Every count includes NWS warnings as well as observed reports, so tornado events mean tornado warnings and reports, not confirmed tornadoes.
Events are fused from National Weather Service warnings and Special Weather Statements, observed Local Storm Reports, official NCEI storm records, and FEMA disaster declarations, then consolidated into a single event table under the published methodology.
Wind covers thunderstorm and non-thunderstorm wind alike, so these counts measure something different from the NCEI entry counts in the history section below; the two are not comparable year to year. State totals also count NWS Special Weather Statements (radar-indicated hail or gusts below warning level); city pages leave those out.
Busiest days in Kentucky by event count
Ranked by the number of 12-month events, NWS warnings included, so a day with many warnings can outrank a day with larger hail.
- July 21, 2026 — 304 events incl. warnings (flood, hail, tornado, wind)
- August 11, 2026 — 253 events incl. warnings (flood, hail, tornado, wind)
- June 18, 2026 — 245 events incl. warnings (flood, hail, tornado, wind)
- April 28, 2026 — 242 events incl. warnings (flood, hail, tornado, wind)
- March 16, 2026 — 204 events incl. warnings (hail, tornado, wind)
Most impacted counties
Events of every type for each county — wind, hail, tornado and flood, NWS warnings and Special Weather Statements included. City pages count wind and hail events only, so a county number on a city page is never higher than the number here.
- Jefferson — 113 events
- Pike — 92 events
- Harlan — 82 events
- Hardin — 78 events
- Graves — 77 events
- Breathitt — 73 events
- Fayette — 70 events
- Wolfe — 69 events
How these numbers are counted
The storm numbers on this page are counted in four different ways, plus the free address check. Each answers a different question with its own size cutoffs, area and time span, so compare numbers within one group, not across groups.
- Storm days (latest hail and wind): A day in the last 12 months when at least one report anywhere in Kentucky showed hail 0.75 in. or larger or wind of 45 mph or more (StormAuditor screening thresholds). Reports are NWS storm reports from spotters, the public and officials, plus weather-station gusts, which count from 50 mph. A warning on its own never makes a storm day. The "City pages hit" column and each city's last reported hail apply the same rule within 25 miles of the city. The statewide columns count reports inside Kentucky only. City pages count reports within 25 miles of each city, which can reach into a neighboring state; those values name the other state, so a border city's value for a day can be higher than the Kentucky value.
- Storm-date pages (NWS severe): A storm-date page is published only when at least one report or station gust within 25 miles of a city met the National Weather Service severe criteria (hail 1.00 in. or larger, or wind 58 mph or more), at least two separate observations were logged, and the day ranks among the most significant. A storm report that relays an airport weather station's reading (the same station, the same gust and the same time) counts once, as the station reading. Not every storm day gets a page; when one does, the page and the storm-day table show the same largest hail and strongest gust.
- Events (12-month counts): Events count the Kentucky storm log: NWS warnings and Special Weather Statements (a lower-level NWS alert), storm reports (wind 50 mph+, hail 0.75 in.+), station gusts, NCEI entries and FEMA disaster declarations, for each county affected, floods included. One event is one place on one day, counted separately for each type (wind, hail, tornado, flood). A weather station or storm-report point counts once a day, at that day's highest reading, however many readings it filed; a place with hail and wind on the same day is two events. NWS warnings and Special Weather Statements count once per county per day, and NCEI entries and FEMA declarations once per place per day. A storm report that relays an airport weather station's reading (the same station, the same gust and the same time) counts once, as the station reading. The same report arriving through another feed (SPC or NCEI) is one record. The most impacted counties list uses this count. City pages count only wind and hail within 25 miles and leave out floods and Special Weather Statements, so city counts do not add up to the state total, and a city page's county count is a wind-and-hail count that is never higher than the same county's number here.
- NOAA history (since 2010): The official NOAA storm record (NCEI Storm Events) in Kentucky from January 1, 2010 to the day before the 12-month window starts: hail 0.50 in.+, thunderstorm wind 40 mph+ and tornadoes. It is a separate, older record with its own "storm days" (days with any entry), so its counts are not compared with the 12-month numbers.
- Free Report Snapshot: A free YES/NO estimate for one address, from radar and wind analysis at the property rather than area reports, at the same screening thresholds: hail 0.75 in. or wind 45 mph.
Full method: Methodology and Data Sources.
Kentucky hail and wind history in NOAA NCEI records, 2010–Oct. 2025
This section covers January 1, 2010 through October 20, 2025. Storms from October 21, 2025 on are in the 12-month summary above, so no date is counted in both.
The National Centers for Environmental Information logged 888 storm days in Kentucky in this period — 15,663 NCEI Storm Events entries in all. Thunderstorm wind outnumbers hail about 3.9 to 1 here: 11,877 wind reports against 3,014 hail reports.
Hail peaks in May (29% of all hail reports), while thunderstorm wind reports cluster in July. December through February accounts for 61 storm days.
The most storm days came in 2011, with 73; the fewest in a full year was 47, in 2021. Across 2022–2024, Kentucky averaged 53 storm days a year, below the 15-year average of 56.
On May 16, 2025, 4.50 in. (softball size) hail was reported in Ballard County — the largest in these records for Kentucky. Hail of 2 inches or more appears in 15 different years of this record, the latest being 2025 through Oct. 20. The strongest measured thunderstorm gust was 96 mph on June 25, 2023 in Todd County. NCEI also lists 772 tornado entries in Kentucky — one entry per county a tornado crossed.
- Average: 56 storm days a year (2010–2024)
- April and May: 50% of all hail reports
- Most hail reports in one year: 412 in 2011
- Hail of 1 in. or larger reported in every full year, 2010–2024
| Year | Hail reports | Thunderstorm wind reports | Tornado entries | Storm days | Largest hail | Strongest measured gust |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 146 | 480 | 22 | 54 | 2.75 in. | 72 mph |
| 2011 | 412 | 940 | 70 | 73 | 4.00 in. | 79 mph |
| 2012 | 392 | 825 | 56 | 66 | 4.25 in. | 93 mph |
| 2013 | 68 | 565 | 44 | 50 | 2.00 in. | 83 mph |
| 2014 | 152 | 618 | 29 | 52 | 4.25 in. | 70 mph |
| 2015 | 219 | 803 | 17 | 50 | 3.00 in. | 93 mph |
| 2016 | 167 | 694 | 28 | 61 | 2.75 in. | 70 mph |
| 2017 | 209 | 531 | 29 | 54 | 2.00 in. | 79 mph |
| 2018 | 116 | 543 | 39 | 59 | 4.00 in. | 81 mph |
| 2019 | 69 | 444 | 30 | 53 | 3.40 in. | 72 mph |
| 2020 | 78 | 415 | 26 | 55 | 2.50 in. | 77 mph |
| 2021 | 104 | 684 | 126 | 47 | 1.75 in. | 67 mph |
| 2022 | 204 | 1,388 | 68 | 58 | 3.00 in. | 75 mph |
| 2023 | 314 | 1,476 | 86 | 49 | 2.75 in. | 96 mph |
| 2024 | 103 | 818 | 66 | 52 | 3.00 in. | 89 mph |
| 2025 through Oct. 20 | 261 | 653 | 36 | 55 | 4.50 in. | 82 mph |
Counties with the most NCEI storm reports, 2010–Oct. 2025
| County | All entries | Hail | Thunderstorm wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County | 579 | 115 | 438 |
| Pulaski County | 404 | 59 | 338 |
| Pike County | 340 | 67 | 272 |
| Laurel County | 308 | 53 | 253 |
| Christian County | 284 | 75 | 164 |
| Warren County | 263 | 60 | 186 |
| Breathitt County | 234 | 44 | 190 |
| Fayette County | 223 | 31 | 192 |
| Graves County | 207 | 52 | 122 |
| Bath County | 206 | 26 | 175 |
Download this history: CSV · JSON at https://www.stormauditor.com/downloads/storm-history/ky.json (free, open license, cite StormAuditor).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (thunderstorm wind, hail, and tornado entries; hail 0.50 in. or larger, wind 40 mph or more; wind converted from knots).
Kentucky storm history questions, 2010–Oct. 2025
How big did hail get in Kentucky, 2010–Oct. 2025?
4.50 in., softball size, reported on May 16, 2025 in Ballard County, per NCEI. Hail of 2 inches or more appears in 15 years of this record in all, most recently 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Which year had the most storm days in Kentucky, 2010–Oct. 2025?
2011, with 73 storm days (412 hail reports, 940 thunderstorm wind reports, 70 tornado entries). The 15-year average is 56 storm days.
How many hail reports does Kentucky see in a typical year?
About 184 hail reports a year (2010–2024 average), with 1-inch or larger hail reported every year. Thunderstorm wind averages 748 reports a year.
What month has the most hail in Kentucky?
May has the most hail reports (866, 2010–Oct. 2025), followed by April (654) and March (493).
What is the strongest measured thunderstorm gust in Kentucky, 2010–Oct. 2025?
96 mph, measured on June 25, 2023 in Todd County. Only gusts NCEI lists as measured count here; gusts measured on a date and county with a tornado entry, and entries of 120 knots or more (known entry errors), are left out.
Working storm claims? Roofing contractors, public adjusters, and insurance adjusters work from this same public storm record with statewide hail and wind maps and per-address reports — see StormAuditor for professionals.
Sources: NWS alerts (api.weather.gov) · NWS Local Storm Reports via the Iowa Environmental Mesonet · ASOS/AWOS station gusts via the Iowa Environmental Mesonet · NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database · every StormAuditor data source.
Download the Kentucky dataset (free)
The full consolidated Kentucky event list for the trailing 12 months — dates, counties, hazard types, severities, measured gusts and hail sizes, with coordinates; source records deduplicated, and each NWS warning product listed per affected county — downloads free and stays current with the live record: download CSV · JSON at https://www.stormauditor.com/downloads/storm-data/ky.json. Free to reuse under the data license; the JSON file carries a field dictionary and provenance notes.
Research a specific Kentucky address
Statewide counts tell you where activity concentrated; they do not tell you what happened at one property. For an individual address:
- Run the Free Report Snapshot — an instant YES/NO against StormAuditor's screening thresholds (wind ≥ 45 mph, hail ≥ 0.75 in., deliberately below the official NWS severe criteria).
- Use the Address Lookup for warnings, storm reports, and station observations at the address.
- Buy a full Weather Report for $2.99 covering every qualifying storm date at the address.
Browse day-by-day activity on the Storm Calendar (Pro plans and higher) or compare states on the Storm Data hub.
All values are derived from public NOAA and NWS data under StormAuditor's published methodology (see Limitations). Data last refreshed October 21, 2026.
See where recent storms tracked on the statewide Kentucky hail map and wind map (the Hail and Wind Explorers, included with Pro+ and Organization plans), or check the county impact heatmap (free with an account).
Kentucky cities A–Z: last reported hail
- Bowling Green hail & wind history — no 0.75 in.+ hail reported within 25 miles in 12 months
- Covington hail & wind history — last hail November 18, 2025 (0.75 in. reported in Ohio)
- Elizabethtown hail & wind history — last hail August 22, 2026 (1.00 in. reported)
- Lexington hail & wind history — last hail February 19, 2026 (1.00 in. reported)
- Louisville hail & wind history — last hail May 16, 2026 (1.00 in. reported)
- Owensboro hail & wind history — last hail September 5, 2026 (1.00 in. reported)
- Paducah hail & wind history — last hail July 3, 2026 (1.00 in. reported)
Neighboring states: Illinois storm data · Indiana storm data · Missouri storm data · Ohio storm data · Tennessee storm data · Virginia storm data
Guides for reading this data
Storm-day records in Kentucky
The newest storm-date pages for Kentucky cities: a report or station gust within 25 miles of the city met NWS severe criteria (hail 1.00 in.+ or wind 58 mph+), with at least two separate observations. Each page lists the reports, station gusts and a free way to check one address:
Cite or link to this data — free
Free to quote, summarize, reuse, and link — for bloggers, journalists, researchers, contractors, and AI writing tools. No permission or credit required. A ready-made citation and link are below if they help. Terms: StormAuditor data & content license.
Citation: StormAuditor. "Kentucky Storm Data: Hail & Wind History Since 2010." Updated October 15, 2026. https://www.stormauditor.com/storm-data/ky
HTML link: <a href="https://www.stormauditor.com/storm-data/ky">Kentucky Storm Data: Hail & Wind History Since 2010 — StormAuditor</a>
About this page: built by Storm Auditor LLC from public NOAA/NWS records — deduplicated warnings, storm reports, station measurements, and official records on a rolling 12-month window, under the published methodology. See the StormAuditor Editorial Team for how content is produced.
Read more: Recent Major Storm Days in Kentucky: Wind and Hail