Tornadoes · United States · Kentucky

Tornadoes in Christian County, Kentucky

57 tornadoes have crossed Christian County since 1950, 1st of the 120 counties in Kentucky with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.3 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 108. None was rated F4 or above.

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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

Now

Tornadoes
57
Deaths
0
Injuries
108
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
EF3, December 10, 2021

The strongest

  1. EF3 Dresden–Pembroke tornado, Tennessee and KentuckyDecember 10, 2021EF3, 122.6 mi (197 km)
  2. F3, Christian and Todd counties, KentuckyApril 2, 2006F3, 29.7 mi (48 km)
  3. F3, Christian County, KentuckyApril 29, 1963F3, 13.7 mi (22 km)
  4. F3, Trigg and Christian counties, KentuckyMay 12, 1978F3, 9.5 mi (15 km)
  5. EF3, Christian County, KentuckyApril 26, 2011EF3, 2.6 mi (4 km)
  6. EF3, Hopkins and Christian counties, KentuckyApril 10, 2009EF3, 2.0 mi (3 km)
  7. EF2, Trigg and Christian counties, KentuckyMay 26, 2024EF2, 19.0 mi (31 km)
  8. EF2, Christian County, KentuckyMay 23, 2011EF2, 17.3 mi (28 km)
  9. EF2, Christian County, KentuckyMarch 27, 2016EF2, 15.5 mi (25 km)
  10. EF2, Christian County, KentuckyFebruary 5, 2008EF2, 14.1 mi (23 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 26 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Christian County. Each year links to every tornado in Kentucky that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20252EF2
20241EF2
20231EF0
20222EF2
2021238EF3
20206EF1
20192EF1
201839EF2
20171EF0
20166EF2
20142EF2
20132EF2
201168EF3
20104EF2
200943EF3
200812EF2
200711EF2
2006128F3
20052F1
20031F1
199722F1
19951F2
19941F0
19891F1
1978117F3
19631F3

Every tornado that crossed Christian County

57 tornadoes, newest first. 2 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files them under that state rather than Kentucky.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 16, 20259:26 PM CDTEF2Christian10.0225$1.3 million
May 16, 20256:42 PM CDTEF2Todd6.0200$1.1 million
May 26, 20248:59 AM CDTEF2Trigg19.0250$205,000
January 3, 20234:35 AM CSTEF0Christian1.250$30,000
April 13, 20225:22 PM CDTEF0Christian0.130
January 1, 20229:21 AM CSTEF2Christian1.1125$600,000
December 10, 202110:32 PM CSTEF3Dresden–Pembroke tornado122.62,00038$17 million
May 4, 20215:12 AM CDTEF0Christian2.675$45,000
March 2, 20208:00 PM CSTEF1Christian5.5400$80,000
January 11, 20207:40 AM CSTEF1Christian2.650$15,000
January 11, 20207:34 AM CSTEF1Christian10.9100$250,000
January 11, 20207:19 AM CSTEF1Christian3.0200$80,000
January 11, 20207:12 AM CSTEF1Caldwell7.5175$130,000
January 11, 20207:05 AM CSTEF1Caldwell10.0250$150,000
June 21, 20196:31 PM CDTEF1Christian1.075$120,000
June 21, 20196:31 PM CDTEF1Christian7.6175$150,000
February 24, 20188:55 PM CSTEF0Christian0.550$6,000
February 24, 20188:45 PM CSTEF2Christian5.42009$6.0 million
February 24, 20188:44 PM CSTEF0Christian5.375$20,000
March 27, 20172:27 PM CDTEF0Trigg4.4125$75,000
May 10, 20167:45 PM CDTEF0Christian0.020
May 10, 20167:29 PM CDTEF0Christian0.030
May 10, 20165:25 PM CDTEF1Muhlenberg5.3100$135,000
March 27, 20167:35 PM CDTEF0Muhlenberg4.975$4,000
March 27, 20167:11 PM CDTEF0Christian3.4100$6,000
March 27, 20167:00 PM CDTEF2Christian15.5200$1.0 million
October 3, 20141:15 AM CDTEF1Christian1.4110$35,000
May 14, 20144:36 PM CDTEF2Christian3.7150$100,000
January 30, 20131:39 AM CSTEF1Christian7.9225$250,000
January 30, 20131:36 AM CSTEF2Christian2.1200$150,000
September 25, 20118:50 PM CDTEF1Christian1.0100$40,000
May 23, 20117:10 PM CDTEF2Christian17.31751$350,000
April 26, 20111:05 AM CDTEF3Christian2.6300$1.0 million
April 25, 20114:23 PM CDTEF1Christian1.5275$100,000
April 4, 201112:04 PM CDTEF2Christian5.32007$2.0 million
February 24, 20117:50 PM CSTEF2Christian5.7300$600,000
October 26, 20109:52 AM CDTEF0Christian1.850$4,000
October 26, 20109:28 AM CDTEF1Christian2.4130$100,000
May 2, 20102:49 AM CDTEF2Christian9.5300$300,000
April 24, 20104:23 PM CDTEF0Christian2.040$4,000
August 4, 20096:55 PM CDTEF0Christian1.0401$35,000
July 4, 20097:13 PM CDTEF1Christian0.5110$10,000
April 10, 200911:54 AM CDTEF3Hopkins2.0752$152,000
April 10, 200911:47 AM CDTEF0Christian1.650$14,000
February 5, 20087:09 PM CSTEF2Christian14.12752$4.4 million
October 18, 20077:40 PM CDTEF2Christian1.43001$120,000
April 2, 20068:50 PM CDTF3Christian29.770028$38 million
May 19, 20057:38 PM CDTF1Todd0.2100$250,000
May 19, 20057:28 PM CDTF1Christian0.250$10,000
April 20, 20033:39 PM CDTF1Christian0.150$1,000
June 17, 19977:13 PM CDTF1Montgomery to KY1.7302$330,000
June 17, 19975:20 PM CDTF1Christian1.350$100,000
May 18, 19954:15 PM CDTF2Trigg10.073$50,000 to $500,000
April 27, 19946:15 PM CDTF0Christian0.110under $50
June 3, 19897:50 PM CDTF1Christian2.527$50,000 to $500,000
May 12, 19788:25 PM CDTF3Trigg9.580017$500,000 to $5 million
April 29, 19638:25 PM GMT-5F3Christian13.7200$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Christian CountyThe forecast for Christian CountyThe live radar over Christian CountyEvery county in 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.