Tornadoes · United States · Kentucky

Tornadoes in Crittenden County, Kentucky

12 tornadoes have crossed Crittenden County since 1950, 55th of the 120 counties in Kentucky with a tornado on record, an average of one every 6.3 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 40. 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
12
Deaths
0
Injuries
40
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, November 6, 2005

The strongest

  1. F3, Crittenden and Webster counties, KentuckyJanuary 3, 2000F3, 24.0 mi (39 km)
  2. F3, Crittenden, Webster and Hopkins counties, KentuckyApril 28, 2002F3, 22.0 mi (35 km)
  3. F3, Crittenden and Webster counties, KentuckyNovember 6, 2005F3, 11.2 mi (18 km)
  4. F2, Crittenden, Webster and Henderson counties, KentuckyApril 11, 1979F2, 36.0 mi (58 km)
  5. F2, Crittenden and Webster counties, KentuckyDecember 11, 1967F2, 12.1 mi (19 km)
  6. F2, Crittenden County, KentuckyMay 13, 1995F2, 8.0 mi (13 km)
  7. F2, Crittenden County, KentuckyMay 4, 2003F2, 0.2 mi (0 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 8 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Crittenden County. Each year links to every tornado in Kentucky that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20061F1
200515F3
200331F2
2002326F3
200013F3
19951F2
197915F2
19671F2

Every tornado that crossed Crittenden County

12 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 22, 20064:27 PM CDTF1Crittenden5.0150$100,000
November 6, 20051:46 AM CSTF3Crittenden11.21505$380,000
May 4, 200310:45 PM CDTF2Crittenden0.2251
May 4, 200310:32 PM CDTF1Crittenden2.040
May 4, 200310:30 PM CDTF1Crittenden5.530
April 28, 20022:49 AM CDTF3Crittenden22.088026$17 million
April 28, 20022:39 AM CDTF1Crittenden1.0200$3,000
April 28, 20022:35 AM CDTF1Crittenden2.0100$20,000
January 3, 20003:08 PM CSTF3Crittenden24.04403$7.4 million
May 13, 199512:15 AM CDTF2Crittenden8.073$50,000 to $500,000
April 11, 19797:50 PM CSTF2Crittenden36.02005
December 11, 19671:45 PM GMT-6F2Crittenden12.110

Nearby

Warnings in force in Crittenden CountyThe forecast for Crittenden CountyThe live radar over Crittenden 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.