Tornadoes · United States · Kentucky

Tornadoes in Fulton County, Kentucky

16 tornadoes have crossed Fulton County since 1950, 34th of the 120 counties in Kentucky with a tornado on record, an average of one every 4.8 years. They have killed 57 people and injured 518. 1 was rated F4 or EF4 and 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
16
Deaths
57
Injuries
518
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
EF4, December 10, 2021

The deadliest in Fulton County

  1. EF4 Mayfield tornado, KentuckyDecember 10, 202157 killed, 515 injured

The strongest

  1. EF4 Mayfield tornado, KentuckyDecember 10, 2021EF4, 168.5 mi (271 km)
  2. F2, Fulton, Hickman and Graves counties, KentuckyApril 19, 1973F2, 35.4 mi (57 km)
  3. F2, Lake, Fulton and Obion counties, Tennessee and KentuckyMay 18, 1995F2, 24.0 mi (39 km)
  4. EF2, Fulton and Hickman counties, KentuckyMay 2, 2010EF2, 12.5 mi (20 km)
  5. EF2, Obion and Fulton counties, Tennessee and KentuckyApril 28, 2014EF2, 12.1 mi (19 km)
  6. EF2, Fulton and Obion counties, Kentucky and TennesseeMarch 9, 2017EF2, 10.2 mi (16 km)
  7. EF2, Fulton and New Madrid counties, Missouri and KentuckyMarch 9, 2017EF2, 9.7 mi (16 km)
  8. EF2, Fulton County, KentuckyMay 4, 2021EF2, 6.1 mi (10 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 12 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Fulton County. Each year links to every tornado in Kentucky that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20251EF1
20231EF1
20221EF0
2021257515EF4
20172EF2
201421EF2
20112EF1
20101EF2
19951F2
19731F2
196412F1
19621F1

Every tornado that crossed Fulton County

16 tornadoes, newest first. 4 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
November 18, 20256:42 PM CSTEF1Fulton5.630$40,000
August 12, 20238:56 AM CDTEF1Fulton1.3350$60,000
February 22, 20226:28 AM CSTEF0Fulton0.7100$50,000
December 10, 20218:54 PM CSTEF4Mayfield tornado168.52,60057515$25,000
May 4, 20213:33 AM CDTEF2Fulton6.1150$310,000
March 9, 20178:41 PM CSTEF2Fulton to TN10.2250$1.3 million
March 9, 20178:26 PM CSTEF2Fulton to KY9.7250$270,000
June 7, 20142:48 PM CDTEF1New Madrid to MO, TN18.2200$270,000
April 28, 20145:10 PM CDTEF2Obion to KY12.11501$280,000
February 24, 20116:32 PM CSTEF1Hickman7.2100$80,000
February 24, 20116:15 PM CSTEF0Fulton1.150$30,000
May 2, 20101:05 AM CDTEF2Fulton12.5600$335,000
May 18, 19951:55 PM CDTF2Lake to KY24.0150$50,000 to $500,000
April 19, 19731:30 PM CSTF2Fulton35.410$5,000 to $50,000
January 24, 19644:30 PM GMT-6F1Fulton0.5502$500 to $5,000
July 8, 19625:30 PM GMT-5F1Fulton0.110$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

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