Tornadoes · United States · Kentucky

Tornadoes in Wayne County, Kentucky

9 tornadoes have crossed Wayne County since 1950, 76th of the 120 counties in Kentucky with a tornado on record, an average of one every 8.4 years. They have killed 17 people and injured 170. 3 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
9
Deaths
17
Injuries
170
F4 and above
3
Worst on record
F4, April 3, 1974

The deadliest in Wayne County

  1. F4, Cumberland, Clinton and Wayne counties, KentuckyApril 3, 197410 killed, 113 injured
  2. F4, Pickett and Wayne counties, Tennessee and KentuckyApril 3, 19745 killed, 6 injured
  3. F3, Wayne and Pulaski counties, KentuckyApril 3, 19742 killed, 45 injured

The strongest

  1. F4, Cumberland, Clinton and Wayne counties, KentuckyApril 3, 1974F4, 38.4 mi (62 km)
  2. F4, Wayne and McCreary counties, KentuckyApril 3, 1974F4, 16.1 mi (26 km)
  3. F4, Pickett and Wayne counties, Tennessee and KentuckyApril 3, 1974F4, 11.0 mi (18 km)
  4. F3, Wayne and Pulaski counties, KentuckyApril 3, 1974F3, 18.0 mi (29 km)
  5. F3, Wayne and Pulaski counties, KentuckyApril 3, 1974F3, 13.9 mi (22 km)
  6. F2, Wayne and McCreary counties, KentuckyApril 16, 1998F2, 18.6 mi (30 km)
  7. EF2, Clinton and Wayne counties, KentuckyApril 11, 2008EF2, 8.7 mi (14 km)
  8. EF2, Wayne County, KentuckyMay 2, 2010EF2, 0.3 mi (0 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 5 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Wayne County. Each year links to every tornado in Kentucky that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20211EF1
20101EF2
200811EF2
19981F2
1974517169F4

Every tornado that crossed Wayne County

9 tornadoes, newest first. 1 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files it under that state rather than Kentucky.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
February 28, 20218:18 PM CSTEF1Clinton3.775$40,000
May 2, 20104:25 PM EDTEF2Wayne0.3100$50,000
April 11, 200812:46 PM CDTEF2Clinton8.74001$1.2 million
April 16, 19986:05 PM CDTF2Wayne18.6100$40,000
April 3, 197410:00 PM CDTF4Wayne16.110
April 3, 19748:50 PM CDTF3Wayne13.910245$500,000 to $5 million
April 3, 19748:30 PM CDTF4Pickett to KY11.030056$500,000 to $5 million
April 3, 19747:05 PM CDTF3Wayne18.0105$5 million to $50 million
April 3, 19746:40 PM CDTF4Cumberland38.41010113$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

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