Louisville

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 Jefferson County, the county that contains Louisville.

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 Jefferson County, the county that contains Louisville.

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 Jefferson County, the county that contains Louisville.

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 Jefferson County.

Mapped by KY GS (6).

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 2, 1997Flood, Jefferson$120 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Record rainfalls from late Friday evening February 28 through Sunday morning March 2 and additional heavy rainfall on Tuesday March 4 caused the worst flooding on the Ohio River since 1964 and in some spots since 1937. Damage attributed to river flooding alone was at 115 million across Jefferson county Kentucky bringing the total damage across the county to 200 million including the earlier flash flooding and flooding. McAlpine Lock at Louisville climbed over flood stage late Sunday evening March 2 and crested at 38.8 feet on the upper gauge (flood stage is 23 feet) at 5 am est March 7 and on the lower gauge at 70.6 feet (flood stage is 55 feet) at 6 pm est on March 7. At other…

2. Mar 1, 1997Flood, Jefferson$85.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous strong thunderstorms training along a stalled out warm front triggered a record 24 hour rainfall for the county. The combination of flooding and/or flash flooding from the record rainfall resulted in an estimated 50,000 homes effected by flooding. Many of these homes had basements entirely flooded with water into the main floor. Damage was estimated at 65 million dollars not including the river flooding on the Ohio River. The Ford factory on Fern Valley Road had damage to up to 1,500 Explorers. 24 hour rainfall totals beginning around 930 pm est February 28 to 930 pm March 1 ranged from around 6 inches along the Ohio River to 11.5 inches across the communities of Okolona…

3. Aug 4, 2009Flash Flood$45.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Most of the downtown Louisville area received flooding with many commercial buildings in the immediate downtown area having damage. Numerous homes on the west side of town were also damaged. Some of these damage reports follow. ||The 800 Building in downtown Louisville had cars submerged in its parking lot. Churchill Downs Museum and track facilities received damaging flood waters. The entire basement of the Louisville Free Public Library was inundated with water causing damage to books, computers, vehicles, and other items. Many roads in the downtown area had several feet of water covering them, with residential buildings taking on water in basements. The University of Louisville…

4. May 3, 1996Hail$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hail from golf ball to baseball size totaled numerous cars acrossvarious parts of Louisville including Churchill Downs, the International Airport, Highview, Fern Creek, Okolona, Jeffersontown, Camp Taylor and Hikes Point. 3 renta-car lots in the vicinity of the International Airport were totaled. Baseball size hail at Jeffersontown, Fern Creek, Highview and Camp Taylor accumulated to 8 inches. Accumulations were also substantial along the Gene Snyder Freeway just south of Fern Creek. The hail shift was approximately 5 miles wide and went all the way through the county. Several insurance companies have had over 100 hundred claims due to car and home damage. Most of the home damage…

5. Jan 29, 2008Tornado$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A fast moving EF-1 tornado briefly touched down four times in the Louisville Metro area as a squall line crossed the city. The tornado was on the ground for approximately 1.5 miles over the course of it's 16 mile long track. The first touchdown was in and industrial area just off Millers Lane west of the Dixie Highway. The tornado stayed on the ground for one mile before lifting, heavily damaging a church on Dixie Highway, as well as uprooting and snapping several trees and damaging numerous homes. The tornado then dipped to earth again on the west side of the University of Louisville campus, breaking out many windows in a large residence hall and nearby building, and damaging…

6. Apr 3, 2015Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Louisville MetroSafe reported over 160 high water rescues due to the 6 to 8 inches of rain that fell across the county.

7. Sep 22, 2006Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Bent Creek Apartments in the Buechel area were flooded. More that 100 residents had to be evacuated to an area shelter. Interstate 64 between Cannons Lane and Interstate 71 was closed. Water covered many roads in the vicinity of Veteran's Hospital in Louisville. Three feet of water covered 29th Street. Two to three feet of water covered Brownsboro Road about half a mile east of the Mellwood Avenue intersection. Water rescues were conducted in the Lake Forrest area and in Jeffersontown. Old Henry Road was flooded and impassable.

8. Jun 26, 2018Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado touched down at the entrance of Westport Woods Apartments. Across from the complex numerous trees were snapped or topped off. On pacelli Place parts of trees were thrown into two houses, puncturing the siding. Most of the damage was high end EF0 around 85mph with much of the damage being 20 to 50 yards off the ground.||There were some hardwood trees uprooted and parts of them fell onto homes, fences, trampolines, and swing sets. Besides trees being twisted and turned in multiple directions, there was leaf and mud spattering on several homes in opposite directions of the storm movement. Intermittent tree top damage continued near Lake Louisvilla. At Westport Business…

9. Feb 22, 2018Flood$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   High water from significant backwater flooding closed River Road around Zorn Avenue and Frankfort Avenue near River Road. Cherokee Park also experienced extensive flooding. Road damage included erosion, washout, broken pavement, and mudslides.

10. Jun 22, 2011Tornado$400,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    This tornado touched down just southwest of an area of horse barns on the south side of Churchill Downs. Five barns, which also contained apartments for many workers, had major sections of their roofs removed, with minor damage to several others. In the buildings most heavily damaged, parts of supporting walls made from cinder blocks collapsed. Christ Church, located on the Churchill Downs property, also had roof and siding damage. After snapping trees and downing power lines for several blocks to the east of Churchill, the tornado crossed a large stadium parking lot, strengthening to low-end EF-2 intensity near the intersection of Floyd Street and Central Avenue. At this…

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

106°F2 times, most recently Jul 7, 2012

All-time low

−22°FJan 19, 1994

Warmest night

83°F3 times, most recently Jun 29, 2024

Coldest day

1°FJan 20, 1985

Wettest day

7.22 inMar 1, 1997

Snowiest day

15.5 inJan 17, 1994

Hottest year

2024mean 61.9°F

Coldest year

1960mean 54.5°F

Wettest year

201868.83 in

Driest year

195330.38 in

Snowiest season

50.1 in1977-78

Station Louisville International Airport (USW00093821), 480 ft elevation, 4.6 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 27, 2026; 100.0% 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 Jefferson 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 USW00093821.
• 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.