Tornadoes · United States · Kentucky

Tornadoes in Trimble County, Kentucky

11 tornadoes have crossed Trimble County since 1950, 1 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 56th of the 120 counties in Kentucky with a tornado on record, an average of one every 6.9 years. They have killed 11 people and injured 9. 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
11
Deaths
11
Injuries
9
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
EF4, March 2, 2012

The deadliest in Trimble County

The strongest

Every year with a tornado

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

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
202611EF2
202412EF2
2012411EF4
20101EF0
19921F1
199015F3
198411F1
19731F1

Every tornado that crossed Trimble County

11 tornadoes, newest first. 5 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files them under that state rather than Kentucky. The 1 at the top is this year's, from the surveying office rather than SPC's published database, and its rating is marked as preliminary.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 18, 20263:04 AM EDTEF2Scott to KY23.61,0001
March 14, 20241:58 PM EDTEF2Jefferson to KY18.05002$320,000
May 1, 20124:45 PM EDTEF0Trimble1.915$25,000
March 2, 20124:01 PM ESTEF0Trimble2.7100$50,000
March 2, 20123:41 PM ESTEF3Trimble3.375$500,000
March 2, 20122:50 PM ESTEF4Henryville tornado46.680011$58 million
October 26, 201012:35 PM EDTEF0Trimble1.120$5,000
September 18, 19925:02 PM CDTF1Trimble to KY1.550$50,000 to $500,000
June 2, 199010:40 PM CDTF3Clark to KY17.04405$50,000 to $500,000
June 23, 198410:15 PM EDTF1Trimble0.1501$500 to $5,000
November 25, 19735:00 AM ESTF1Trimble0.510$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

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