Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Kentucky, April 21, 1972

Name: Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Kentucky, April 21, 1972
Start: 1972-04-21T18:33
End: 1972-04-21T22:10
Location: Kentucky

April 21, 1972 · 7 events in 6 counties and zones

5 tornado, 2 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 5
Property damage: $778,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

5 tornado, 2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Graves

When: April 21, 6:33 PM CST
Where: Graves County
Rating: F1
Path length: 9.4 mi
Path width: 7 yd
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 36.500, -88.720

Tornado, Livingston

When: April 21, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Livingston County
Rating: F2
Path length: 10.1 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 37.250, -88.430

Thunderstorm Wind, Hopkins

When: April 21, 7:25 PM CST
Where: Hopkins County
Coordinates: 37.280, -87.500

Tornado, Butler

When: April 21, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Butler County
Rating: F3
Path length: 5.7 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 37.280, -86.730

Tornado, Grayson

When: April 21, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Grayson County
Rating: F3
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Injuries: 4 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 37.500, -86.180

Thunderstorm Wind, Butler

When: April 21, 9:45 PM CST
Where: Butler County
Coordinates: 37.200, -86.680

Tornado, Mercer

When: April 21, 10:10 PM CST
Where: Mercer County
Rating: F2
Path length: 5.1 mi
Path width: 30 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 37.900, -84.950

What these are

Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Kentucky in 1972 Every state in 1972 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Kentucky, 1972

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10033809, 10033810, 10033811, 10033812, 10033813, 10033814, 10030016.