Tornadoes · United States · Kentucky

Tornadoes in Jefferson County, Kentucky

33 tornadoes have crossed Jefferson County since 1950, 7th of the 120 counties in Kentucky with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.3 years. They have killed 3 people and injured 270. 2 were 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
33
Deaths
3
Injuries
270
F4 and above
2
Worst on record
F4, April 3, 1974

The deadliest in Jefferson County

  1. F4 Louisville tornado, KentuckyApril 3, 19743 killed, 225 injured

The strongest

  1. F4, Jefferson, Bullitt and Spencer counties, KentuckyMay 28, 1996F4, 30.0 mi (48 km)
  2. F4 Louisville tornado, KentuckyApril 3, 1974F4, 18.5 mi (30 km)
  3. EF3, Jefferson County, KentuckyApril 2, 2025EF3, 9.7 mi (16 km)
  4. F2, Jefferson, Oldham, Shelby and Henry counties, KentuckyMarch 25, 1964F2, 38.4 mi (62 km)
  5. EF2, Clark, Jefferson and Oldham counties, Indiana and KentuckyApril 2, 2024EF2, 11.2 mi (18 km)
  6. EF2, Jefferson County, KentuckyJune 22, 2011EF2, 1.6 mi (3 km)
  7. EF2, Jefferson County, KentuckyJune 22, 2011EF2, 1.2 mi (2 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 20 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Jefferson County. Each year links to every tornado in Kentucky that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
202521EF3
2024232EF2
20235EF1
20221EF1
20181EF1
20131EF0
201231EF1
20115EF2
20081EF1
20071EF0
20061F1
20051F0
20041F0
20021F1
19971F0
1996110F4
19771F0
197423225F4
19701F1
196411F2

Every tornado that crossed Jefferson County

33 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
April 2, 202512:29 AM EDTEF3Jefferson9.7350
March 30, 20259:48 PM EDTEF1Jefferson5.4301
July 4, 20241:27 PM EDTEF1Jefferson0.5170
April 2, 20244:31 PM CDTEF2Clark to KY11.245032
May 7, 20237:57 AM CDTEF1Floyd to KY4.5200
April 5, 20235:05 PM EDTEF1Jefferson0.475
April 5, 20235:05 PM EDTEF1Jefferson0.9100
April 5, 20234:58 PM EDTEF1Jefferson0.8100
March 31, 202312:30 AM EDTEF1Jefferson4.0130
April 13, 20228:23 PM EDTEF1Jefferson7.2175
June 26, 20181:44 PM EDTEF1Oldham3.5150$550,000
January 30, 20133:17 AM CSTEF0Harrison to KY2.7215$115,000
March 23, 20123:07 PM EDTEF1Jefferson2.470$300,000
January 17, 201211:20 AM ESTEF1Jefferson0.590$50,000
January 17, 201211:12 AM ESTEF1Jefferson7.92501$300,000
June 22, 20119:38 PM EDTEF1Jefferson3.560$75,000
June 22, 20119:34 PM EDTEF2Jefferson1.6100$175,000
June 22, 20119:29 PM EDTEF1Jefferson1.9150$150,000
June 22, 20118:04 PM EDTEF2Jefferson1.2120$400,000
February 28, 20113:29 AM CSTEF1Clark to KY3.0100$7,000
January 29, 20088:00 PM ESTEF1Jefferson16.4100$3.0 million
October 18, 20077:10 PM EDTEF0Jefferson0.010$3,000
January 2, 20063:22 PM ESTF1Jefferson1.534$250,000
April 22, 20056:47 PM EDTF0Jefferson0.350$100,000
May 30, 20045:27 PM EDTF0Jefferson0.330$100,000
October 4, 20027:47 PM EDTF1Jefferson6.050$150,000
July 27, 19979:05 PM EDTF0Jefferson0.573
May 28, 19966:40 PM EDTF4Jefferson30.085010$101 million
June 30, 19778:30 PM EDTF0Jefferson2.0100$5,000 to $50,000
May 29, 197411:28 PM CDTF1Jefferson0.110$5,000 to $50,000
April 3, 19744:37 PM CDTF4Louisville tornado18.5103225
April 1, 19708:00 PM ESTF1Jefferson2.350$5,000 to $50,000
March 25, 19648:00 PM GMT-5F2Jefferson38.4101$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

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