Tornadoes in Kentucky
1,223 tornadoes since 1950, an average of 16.1 a year, 23rd of the 53 states and territories in the record. They have killed 214 people and injured 3,448. 19 were rated F4 or EF4 and above, 1 of them F5 or EF5.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.
The deadliest in Kentucky
- F5 Brandenburg tornado, Kentucky and IndianaApril 3, 1974
- F3, Henderson, Vanderburgh, Warrick and Spencer counties, Kentucky and IndianaNovember 6, 2005
- EF4 London tornado, KentuckyMay 16, 2025
- EF3 Bowling Green tornado, KentuckyDecember 11, 2021
- EF3, Menifee, Morgan, Johnson, Lawrence, Wayne and Lincoln counties, Kentucky and West VirginiaMarch 2, 2012
- F4 Burkesville tornado, KentuckyApril 3, 1974
- F3, Pulaski, Laurel and Rockcastle counties, KentuckyApril 3, 1974
- F4 Richmond tornado, KentuckyApril 3, 1974
- EF2, Laurel County, KentuckyMarch 2, 2012
- F4, Green and Adair counties, KentuckyApril 27, 1971
- F4, Pendleton, Bracken, Brown, Adams, Scioto and Edmonson counties, Kentucky and OhioApril 23, 1968
- EF4 Crittenden tornado, KentuckyMarch 2, 2012
The strongest
- F5 Brandenburg tornado, Kentucky and IndianaApril 3, 1974
- F4, Anderson, Franklin and Scott counties, KentuckyApril 3, 1974
- F4, Pendleton, Bracken, Brown, Adams, Scioto and Edmonson counties, Kentucky and OhioApril 23, 1968
- EF4 London tornado, KentuckyMay 16, 2025
- F4, Calloway, Marshall, Trigg and Caldwell counties, KentuckyApril 3, 1968
- F4 Burkesville tornado, KentuckyApril 3, 1974
- F4 Elizabethtown tornado, KentuckyApril 3, 1974
- F4 Richmond tornado, KentuckyApril 3, 1974
- F4, Jefferson, Bullitt and Spencer counties, KentuckyMay 28, 1996
- F4, Carroll, Switzerland and Boone counties, Kentucky and IndianaNovember 22, 1992
- F4, Green and Taylor counties, KentuckyApril 3, 1974
- F4 Louisville tornado, KentuckyApril 3, 1974
The longest paths
- EF3, Menifee, Morgan, Johnson, Lawrence, Wayne and Lincoln counties, Kentucky and West VirginiaMarch 2, 2012
- F4, Anderson, Franklin and Scott counties, KentuckyApril 3, 1974
- F4, Pendleton, Bracken, Brown, Adams, Scioto and Edmonson counties, Kentucky and OhioApril 23, 1968
- EF4 London tornado, KentuckyMay 16, 2025
- F3, Hopkins, Muhlenberg, Ohio and Grayson counties, KentuckyMay 7, 1961
- F4, Calloway, Marshall, Trigg and Caldwell counties, KentuckyApril 3, 1968
- F2, Scott, Harrison, Nicholas and Fleming counties, KentuckyJune 15, 1964
- EF3, Magoffin, Wolfe, Johnson, Martin and Mingo counties, Kentucky and West VirginiaMarch 2, 2012
- F3, Logan, Allen, Barren and Lawrence counties, KentuckyApril 16, 1998
- F3, Graves, Calloway, Marshall and Lyon counties, KentuckyNovember 15, 2005
- EF3, McCracken, Massac, Pope, Livingston and Lyon counties, Kentucky and IllinoisNovember 17, 2013
- F3, Henderson, Vanderburgh, Warrick and Spencer counties, Kentucky and IndianaNovember 6, 2005
The costliest
- F4, Jefferson, Bullitt and Spencer counties, KentuckyMay 28, 1996
- F3, Henderson, Vanderburgh, Warrick and Spencer counties, Kentucky and IndianaNovember 6, 2005
- EF3, Menifee, Morgan, Johnson, Lawrence, Wayne and Lincoln counties, Kentucky and West VirginiaMarch 2, 2012
- F3, Daviess County, KentuckyJanuary 3, 2000
- F3, Grayson County, KentuckyMay 23, 2000
- F3, Christian and Todd counties, KentuckyApril 2, 2006
- EF3, Magoffin, Wolfe, Johnson, Martin and Mingo counties, Kentucky and West VirginiaMarch 2, 2012
- F4 Earlington–Madisonville tornado, KentuckyNovember 15, 2005
- EF3, Muhlenberg County, KentuckyFebruary 5, 2008
- EF4 Crittenden tornado, KentuckyMarch 2, 2012
- F2, Laurel County, KentuckyJune 2, 2001
- F3, Crittenden, Webster and Hopkins counties, KentuckyApril 28, 2002
The biggest days in Kentucky
Every year
Every year of the published record, and above it the 35 tornado tracks surveyed in Kentucky so far in 2026. This year's figures are preliminary and are not in the totals above, which are SPC's published database.
| Year | Tornadoes | Deaths | Injuries | F4 and above |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 preliminary | 35 | 2 | ||
| 2025 | 37 | 19 | 27 | 1 |
| 2024 | 48 | 1 | 23 | |
| 2023 | 34 | |||
| 2022 | 32 | 2 | ||
| 2021 | 36 | 17 | 98 | |
| 2020 | 22 | 2 | ||
| 2019 | 25 | 2 | ||
| 2018 | 35 | 9 | ||
| 2017 | 25 | 2 | ||
| 2016 | 24 | 15 | ||
| 2015 | 17 | 3 | ||
| 2014 | 27 | 1 | ||
| 2013 | 35 | 3 | 42 | |
| 2012 | 42 | 25 | 226 | 1 |
| 2011 | 60 | 14 | ||
| 2010 | 20 | |||
| 2009 | 32 | 2 | 21 | |
| 2008 | 35 | 7 | 42 | |
| 2007 | 30 | 19 | ||
| 2006 | 19 | 34 | ||
| 2005 | 17 | 25 | 303 | 1 |
| 2004 | 22 | 12 | ||
| 2003 | 32 | 3 | 43 | |
| 2002 | 14 | 26 | ||
| 2001 | 6 | 14 | ||
| 2000 | 23 | 47 | ||
| 1999 | 6 | 10 | ||
| 1998 | 13 | 3 | 9 | |
| 1997 | 38 | 3 | 34 | |
| 1996 | 25 | 58 | 1 | |
| 1995 | 29 | 8 | ||
| 1994 | 13 | |||
| 1993 | 11 | |||
| 1992 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 1 |
| 1991 | 8 | 1 | 15 | |
| 1990 | 18 | 6 | ||
| 1989 | 18 | 5 | ||
| 1988 | 4 | 1 | 15 | |
| 1987 | 7 | |||
| 1986 | 10 | 28 | ||
| 1985 | 5 | |||
| 1984 | 11 | 10 | ||
| 1983 | 9 | 7 | ||
| 1982 | 10 | 22 | ||
| 1981 | 4 | 10 | ||
| 1980 | 12 | 2 | 16 | |
| 1979 | 8 | 1 | 33 | |
| 1978 | 4 | 17 | ||
| 1977 | 12 | 23 | ||
| 1976 | 5 | 1 | 11 | |
| 1975 | 1 | |||
| 1974 | 31 | 72 | 1275 | 9 |
| 1973 | 19 | 15 | ||
| 1972 | 11 | 8 | ||
| 1971 | 16 | 9 | 130 | 2 |
| 1970 | 7 | 15 | ||
| 1969 | 5 | 15 | ||
| 1968 | 6 | 8 | 402 | 2 |
| 1967 | 15 | 7 | ||
| 1966 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1965 | 7 | 1 | 14 | |
| 1964 | 12 | 3 | 35 | 1 |
| 1963 | 9 | 7 | ||
| 1962 | 3 | |||
| 1961 | 4 | 1 | 66 | |
| 1960 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 1959 | 3 | 3 | 6 | |
| 1958 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 1957 | 4 | |||
| 1956 | 9 | 1 | 16 | |
| 1955 | 3 | 13 | ||
| 1954 | 3 | |||
| 1952 | 2 | 21 | ||
| 1951 | 2 | 1 | 11 | |
| 1950 | 2 |
Every county in Kentucky
A tornado is counted once for every county its path crossed, so these add up to more than 1,223. Each county has a page of its own: every tornado that crossed it, year by year.
Nearby
Warnings in force in KentuckyForecast for your townThe live radar over Kentucky
What this means
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.
Sources
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.