Hopkinsville

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Christian County, the county that contains Hopkinsville.

Claims by ZIP code

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).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Christian County, the county that contains Hopkinsville.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Christian County, the county that contains Hopkinsville.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Landslides mapped in Christian County.

Mapped by KY GS (4), NASA (1).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Mar 1, 1997Flash Flood$40.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   One of the worst flash floods in Christian County history damaged or destroyed 596 homes. A total of 15 dams received some degree of damage. At the height of the flood, travel was virtually halted countywide, including Interstate 24. Severe flooding of the Little River caused much of the damage, which was nearly 40 million dollars in Christian County alone. Christian County was declared a federal and state disaster area. About 8 inches of rain fell in a 30-hour period. Parts of downtown Hopkinsville were flooded by the Little River for the first time since 1957. Roads and bridges were washed out.

2. Apr 2, 2006Tornado$35.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado formed from a long-track supercell that originated in southeast Missouri near Poplar Bluff. The tornado began less than two miles from the Trigg County line with an east-southeast movement, then curved slightly left before crossing Highway 91. The tornado moved east-northeast across central Christian County, passing less than four miles north of downtown Hopkinsville, before crossing into Todd County less than a mile north of Pilot Rock. Near the beginning of the damage path, a church was levelled. Across the county, 91 homes were destroyed, and another 171 homes sustained varying degrees of damage. Several people were pulled from the debris of their homes during a…

3. Jan 26, 2009Ice Storm, Christian$13.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This historic, prolonged ice storm was called the biggest disaster in modern Kentucky history by the governor of Kentucky. The storm produced at least one inch of ice across western Kentucky. Locally very destructive icing around 1.5 inches occurred from the Mississippi River counties east across Paducah and Madisonville to Owensboro. This resulted in unprecedented damage to utility infrastructure in western Kentucky. One hundred percent of residents in the hardest-hit counties from the Mississippi River to Madisonville were affected by power outages. A utility company serving areas from Ballard to Livingston Counties reported that 20 percent of its system had to be rebuilt. The…

4. Feb 24, 2018Tornado$6.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This EF-2 tornado touched down on the south side of Hopkinsville, just west of the junction of the Pennyrile Parkway and U.S. Highway 41. Three apartment buildings near the intersection of the Pennyrile Parkway and U.S. 41 were destroyed. The roof and most walls were blown down on the second story. Another apartment building was heavily damaged. All nine injuries occurred in the apartment complex, which consisted of two-and-a-half story buildings. One car was flipped and blown some distance. Two others were blown from their original positions, and several others were damaged. At least four retail buildings sustained major roof and siding damage, with windows and doors blown in or…

5. Aug 29, 2005Flood, Christian$4.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread major flooding occurred in the Hopkinsville area in response to 8 to 11 inches of rain in a 36-hour period. One fatality was directly attributed to the flooding in Hopkinsville, where a 10-year-old girl was swept into a culvert while playing in a low-lying area. A total of 142 residences and 38 businesses were affected by flooding. Many of the evacuees were from neighborhoods flooded by the Little River. About a dozen families were sheltered at Red Cross or Salvation Army facilities.The Kentucky National Guard was mobilized to assist Christian County, where the Governor of Kentucky surveyed flood damage. At least a dozen businesses were closed along the main corridor…

6. Feb 5, 2008Tornado$4.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Twenty-seven homes were damaged and 17 were destroyed. A total of 19 garages, sheds, and barns were damaged or destroyed. Of the destroyed homes, at least five were mobile homes. The two injured persons transported themselves to local hospitals. The county was declared a federal major disaster area. Peak winds were estimated near 130 mph. The average path width was 225 yards.

7. Apr 4, 2011Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado path began along U.S. Highway 41 at a large auto parts manufacturing plant. The industrial warehouse type building was heavily damaged on the north and west sides. Large sections of roof up to 100 by 400 feet were removed. Small sections of exterior walls were peeled back or blown in. A rooftop hvac unit was blown off the building. There were seven injuries to workers inside the plant, mostly due to flying objects. One worker required overnight hospitalization. Some of the injuries included a broken jaw and broken foot. In front of the industrial building on U.S. 41, steel utility poles were bent almost to the ground. The remainder of the path was mostly through open…

8. May 16, 2025Tornado$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF2 tornado touched down along County Highway 164 just north of I-24 and caused some shingle damage to a house and pretty significant damage to a couple of barns. It continued east uprooting or snapping dozens of trees along its path. Many homes experienced mainly roof damage along River Bend Road and Westminster Place. The tornado crossed Hwy-41A and snapped about a half dozen power poles. Some damage to a house and outbuildings occurred along Harry Berry Lane before the tornado lifted just east of County Highway 109. Estimated peak winds with this tornado were 118 mph. The tornado occurred within a broader area of sporadic straight line winds that swept across southern Christian County.

9. Apr 26, 2011Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado struck the Fort Campbell airfield directly, causing extensive damage. One building structure destroyed was rated for 104 mph winds. Several very large and heavy constructed buildings suffered major damage at the Fort Campbell Army Airfield. Large doors to these buildings, which were rated for 115 to 144 mph winds, were blown in. Several other smaller buildings received minor to major damage. Numerous heavy vehicles were damaged, with at least three flipped over. Immediately north of the airfield, across farmland, several dozen trees were snapped or uprooted, two barns were heavily damaged, three power poles were blown down, and some shingles were blown off a house. A…

10. Jan 11, 2020Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    A destructive downburst containing peak winds of 100 mph occurred on the north side of Hopkinsville, including parts of the downtown area. Approximately 125 homes had some damage. Most had roof, soffit, or siding damage. The roof of a high school was damaged. At least one home had a tree fall on it and severely damaged it. Hundreds of trees were uprooted or snapped. Significant damage occurred at Ruff Park, where ballfields sustained damage and at least one power pole was snapped. Adjacent to the downtown area, much of the roof was blown off an old elementary school on Second Street, and the Salvation Army office building was damaged. Near the end of the damage area, numerous…

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

112°FSep 7, 1925

All-time low

−20°FJan 16, 1982

Warmest night

88°F3 times, most recently Aug 16, 1894

Coldest day

−1°FFeb 12, 1899

Wettest day

6.90 inSep 26, 2002

Snowiest day

12.0 inJan 6, 1910

Hottest year

1921mean 63.0°F

Coldest year

1979mean 54.2°F

Wettest year

195771.89 in

Driest year

194134.16 in

Snowiest season

33.1 in1959-60

Station Clarksville Wwtp (USC00401790), 374 ft elevation, 21.3 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1890 to October 18, 2026; 95.7% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Christian County.

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).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00401790.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.