Lexington, KY Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Lexington is about the same as Kentucky average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Lexington is higher than Kentucky average and is higher than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #388
| Lexington, KY | 0.07 |
| Kentucky | 0.24 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #1
| Lexington, KY | 0.0000 |
| Kentucky | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #516
| Lexington, KY | 164.72 |
| Kentucky | 136.89 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 3,590 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Lexington, KY were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 0 | Cold: | 25 | Dense Fog: | 23 | Drought: | 18 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 604 | Hail: | 634 | Heat: | 24 | Heavy Snow: | 16 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 7 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 26 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 2,071 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 1 | Winter Storm: | 25 | Winter Weather: | 22 |
| Other: | 94 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Lexington, KY.
Historical Earthquake Events
A total of 1 historical earthquake event that had a recorded magnitude of 3.5 or above found in or near Lexington, KY.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Depth (km) | Latitude | Longitude |
| 33.2 | 1980-07-27 | 5.1 | 8 | 38.17 | -83.91 |
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 68 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Lexington, KY.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 1.3 | 1986-03-10 | 2 | 38°02'N / 84°30'W | 38°03'N / 84°27'W | 3.50 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 20 | 25.0M | 0 | Fayette |
| 3.1 | 2004-05-27 | 3 | 38°05'N / 84°32'W | 38°05'N / 84°30'W | 3.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 6 | 7.5M | 0 | Fayette |
| Brief Description: The tornado first touched down just east of Masterson Station Park on the subdivision road of Buck Lane. It continued east through the subdivision, causing F2 damage. The tornado then crossed an open field and creek, entering another subdivision. It appeared that the tornado reached its maximum F3 intensity in this section of the path. The tornado was on the ground intermittently as it moved to the east northeast. It struck a single house on State Road 1978, doing F2 damage. It crossed Georgetown Road and struck another subdivision near Citation Boulevard, doing F1 to F2 damage. It continued for a short distance into a field, and then lifted. There was straight line wind damage to the south of the tornado path, and additional straight line wind damage to the east after the tornado lifted. The tornado damaged 15 homes to some degree, and at least 50 home received moderate to severe damage. The hardest hit area was the Masterson Station subdivision. | |||||||||||
| 9.6 | 1963-04-21 | 2 | 38°05'N / 84°40'W | 2.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 3 | 25K | 0 | Woodford | |
| 11.4 | 1968-04-23 | 2 | 37°52'N / 84°35'W | 37°54'N / 84°32'W | 3.30 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Jessamine |
| 12.8 | 1974-04-03 | 4 | 38°14'N / 84°44'W | 37°30'N / 84°25'W | 53.50 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 37 | 250K | 0 | Scott |
| 13.3 | 1970-04-23 | 3 | 38°13'N / 84°36'W | 0.50 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Scott | |
| 13.7 | 1974-04-03 | 2 | 37°50'N / 84°26'W | 37°53'N / 84°22'W | 4.70 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Madison |
| 16.0 | 1974-04-03 | 2 | 38°14'N / 84°39'W | 38°18'N / 84°29'W | 10.00 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 20 | 2.5M | 0 | Scott |
| 16.3 | 1979-06-29 | 2 | 38°15'N / 84°44'W | 38°17'N / 84°27'W | 15.50 Miles | 40 Yards | 0 | 7 | 25K | 0 | Scott |
| 17.4 | 1974-04-03 | 4 | 37°44'N / 84°29'W | 37°53'N / 84°16'W | 15.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 7 | 20 | 0K | 0 | Madison |
| 18.9 | 1974-04-03 | 4 | 37°53'N / 84°16'W | 38°02'N / 84°04'W | 15.00 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 8 | 0K | 0 | Clark |
| 19.0 | 1982-06-16 | 2 | 37°59'N / 84°14'W | 38°04'N / 84°04'W | 12.00 Miles | 30 Yards | 0 | 4 | 250K | 0 | Clark |
| 19.4 | 1964-06-15 | 2 | 38°18'N / 84°38'W | 38°20'N / 84°31'W | 6.50 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Scott |
| 21.4 | 1965-11-26 | 2 | 38°02'N / 84°55'W | 38°03'N / 84°52'W | 2.70 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 8 | 2.5M | 0 | Anderson |
| 21.9 | 1979-06-29 | 2 | 38°16'N / 84°51'W | 38°15'N / 84°44'W | 6.20 Miles | 40 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Franklin |
| 21.9 | 1974-03-29 | 2 | 38°02'N / 84°54'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Anderson | |
| 21.9 | 1974-04-03 | 4 | 37°43'N / 84°30'W | 37°44'N / 84°29'W | 1.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Garrard |
| 21.9 | 1979-06-29 | 2 | 38°17'N / 84°27'W | 38°24'N / 84°17'W | 12.10 Miles | 40 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Harrison |
| 22.5 | 1974-04-03 | 4 | 38°07'N / 84°57'W | 38°20'N / 84°44'W | 18.90 Miles | 33 Yards | 4 | 85 | 250K | 0 | Franklin |
| 22.8 | 1990-05-21 | 2 | 37°45'N / 84°18'W | 0.50 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25.0M | 0 | Madison | |
| 23.5 | 2008-02-06 | 2 | 38°21'N / 84°22'W | 38°22'N / 84°19'W | 3.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 1 | 500K | 200K | Harrison |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The tornado touched down near 812 Mt. Vernon Road, damaging a home and a barn at that location. Along Connersville Road, the tornado lifted the roofs off three homes and damaged three others. It also destroyed several barns and outbuildings, and snapped numerous hardwood trees. It damaged a few more barns and trees before lifting about a half mile southwest of Cynthiana. Several businesses in the city of Cynthiana had sign damage from 70 mph straight line winds. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A cold front along with a strong upper level low produced a squall line that crossed central Kentucky. This set off widespread severe weather, and spawned several tornadoes. | |||||||||||
| 23.9 | 1972-04-21 | 2 | 37°54'N / 84°57'W | 37°56'N / 84°52'W | 5.10 Miles | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Mercer |
| 24.1 | 1996-05-28 | 2 | 37°59'N / 84°58'W | 37°58'N / 84°54'W | 8.00 Miles | 575 Yards | 0 | 1 | 1.0M | 0 | Anderson |
| Brief Description: Another tornado, from the supercell that caused extensive damage across Bullitt county, was formed near Fox Creek. It moved south of Lawrenceburg. Along Route 513 near the intersection of the Blue Grass Parkway and Route 127, 13 homes and several barns were damaged. 4 homes were destroyed. The worst damage was in the Gilbert's Creek road area 5 miles south of Lawrenceburg. A number of trees were snapped off. Damage was also noted near a car dealership in the same area. One women was injured by flying glass. The storm was an F2 on the Fujita scale. The tornado continued into Woodford county but weakened to an F0 as it did some damage to trees and limbs along Lillards Ferry Road. The tornado then lifted. | |||||||||||
| 24.7 | 1974-04-03 | 2 | 37°42'N / 84°52'W | 37°51'N / 84°44'W | 12.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Mercer |
| 25.0 | 2003-05-11 | 2 | 37°48'N / 84°54'W | 37°49'N / 84°48'W | 7.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 1 | 8 | 15.0M | 0 | Mercer |
| Brief Description: The tornado formed northwest of Harrodsburg as an F1 tornado. It moved east northeast and strengthened to an F2 as it moved to near Bohon Road. Between Bohon Road and US 127, high F1 to low F2 damage was observed. The tornado lifted east of highway 127 with no additional damage. A 29 year old female drowned when her mobile home on Bohon Road was blown about one hundred yards toward the Salt River. Forty homes in the area were damaged, and of these, 12 were destroyed. F29MH | |||||||||||
| 25.1 | 1955-03-04 | 3 | 37°43'N / 84°27'W | 37°40'N / 84°18'W | 8.90 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Madison |
| 25.4 | 1982-03-20 | 2 | 38°09'N / 85°01'W | 38°12'N / 84°51'W | 10.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Franklin |
| 25.8 | 1967-03-12 | 2 | 37°41'N / 84°22'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Mccreary | |||
| 26.5 | 1982-03-16 | 2 | 37°54'N / 84°05'W | 37°53'N / 84°01'W | 4.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Clark |
| 26.5 | 2009-05-08 | 3 | 37°39'N / 84°27'W | 37°45'N / 84°06'W | 20.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 2 | 15 | 0K | 0K | Madison |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The tornado first touched down in the Nina Ridge Road area three miles ESE of McCreary in Garrard County. The tornado caused EF-1 damage at this location before strengthening to EF-2 just before entering Madison County. Near the intersection of Highways 1295 and 52 in Madison County, the tornado reached EF-3 intensity. Near this intersection, two adults were killed when the mobile home they were in was picked up and thrown by the tornado. The bodies were recovered from a nearby pond. Five other occupants of the mobile home, including three children, were injured. A female relative in a brick home just yards away from the mobile home received only minor injuries despite being pinned under a collapsed wall in the house. The tornado weakened and lifted at times as it continued east across the county, but still caused significant damage. It tore much of the roof off a fire station on the south side of Richmond before moving over the Bluegrass Army Depot toward the community of Waco in the eastern part of the county. After doing extensive damage to mainly roofs in a subdivision of brick homes near Waco, the tornado destroyed a mobile home in the area, carrying two teenage male occupants of the home through the air before dropping them near an elementary school 300 yards away. The teens miraculously received only minor injuries. The tornado weakened significantly from this point on, doing only minor roof damage and downing trees as it continued eastward before lifting near the end of Drowning Creek Road. The tornado was up to 150 yards wide with maximum estimated wind speeds up to 140 mph. Approximately 150 homes received damage, the most severe being several brick homes where only interior walls remained standing in the wake of the tornado. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A long-lived bow echo that had produced widespread wind damage over southern Illinois moved east into Kentucky during the late morning hours. As it moved east, the system encountered a strengthening low-level jet across the Ohio Valley, which helped modify the motion of the line, resulting in training storms of extremely heavy rain that caused flash flooding. Individual storms developing ahead of the line continued to produce damaging winds, with two storms producing tornadoes, before the main area of convection moved through. NWS damage surveys determined the tornado in south-central Kentucky to be EF-1 in intensity, while the east-central Kentucky was ranked as a strong EF-3. The EF-3 tornado resulted in two fatalities and numerous injuries. | |||||||||||
| 26.9 | 1964-06-15 | 2 | 38°20'N / 84°31'W | 38°24'N / 83°56'W | 31.90 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Scott |
| 27.1 | 2009-05-08 | 2 | 37°39'N / 84°28'W | 37°39'N / 84°27'W | 1.00 Mile | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Garrard |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The tornado first touched down in the Nina Ridge Road area three miles ESE of McCreary in Garrard County. The tornado caused EF-1 damage at this location before strengthening to EF-2 just before entering Madison County. Near the intersection of Highways 1295 and 52 in Madison County, the tornado reached EF-3 intensity. Near this intersection, two adults were killed when the mobile home they were in was picked up and thrown by the tornado. The bodies were recovered from a nearby pond. Five other occupants of the mobile home, including three children, were injured. A female relative in a brick home just yards away from the mobile home received only minor injuries despite being pinned under a collapsed wall in the house. The tornado weakened and lifted at times as it continued east across the county, but still caused significant damage. It tore much of the roof off a fire station on the south side of Richmond before moving over the Bluegrass Army Depot toward the community of Waco in the eastern part of the county. After doing extensive damage to mainly roofs in a subdivision of brick homes near Waco, the tornado destroyed a mobile home in the area, carrying two teenage male occupants of the home through the air before dropping them near an elementary school 300 yards away. The teens miraculously received only minor injuries. The tornado weakened significantly from this point on, doing only minor roof damage and downing trees as it continued eastward before lifting near the end of Drowning Creek Road. The tornado was up to 150 yards wide with maximum estimated wind speeds up to 140 mph. Approximately 150 homes received damage, the most severe being several brick homes where only interior walls remained standing in the wake of the tornado. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A long-lived bow echo that had produced widespread wind damage over southern Illinois moved east into Kentucky during the late morning hours. As it moved east, the system encountered a strengthening low-level jet across the Ohio Valley, which helped modify the motion of the line, resulting in training storms of extremely heavy rain that caused flash flooding. Individual storms developing ahead of the line continued to produce damaging winds, with two storms producing tornadoes, before the main area of convection moved through. NWS damage surveys determined the tornado in south-central Kentucky to be EF-1 in intensity, while the east-central Kentucky was ranked as a strong EF-3. The EF-3 tornado resulted in two fatalities and numerous injuries. | |||||||||||
| 27.3 | 1974-04-03 | 3 | 38°20'N / 84°26'W | 38°29'N / 84°11'W | 17.00 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 27 | 25K | 0 | Harrison |
| 27.9 | 1974-04-03 | 4 | 38°03'N / 85°04'W | 38°07'N / 84°57'W | 7.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Anderson |
| 29.3 | 1977-10-01 | 2 | 37°37'N / 84°30'W | 2.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 16 | 250K | 0 | Laurel | |
| 30.1 | 1982-03-16 | 2 | 37°53'N / 84°01'W | 37°53'N / 83°57'W | 4.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Powell |
| 30.8 | 1974-04-03 | 3 | 37°35'N / 84°47'W | 37°42'N / 84°43'W | 8.70 Miles | 33 Yards | 1 | 33 | 0K | 0 | Boyle |
| 32.6 | 1974-04-03 | 2 | 37°41'N / 84°56'W | 37°42'N / 84°52'W | 3.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 10 | 250K | 0 | Boyle |
| 33.3 | 1982-03-20 | 2 | 38°07'N / 85°11'W | 38°09'N / 85°01'W | 10.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Shelby |
| 33.8 | 1951-02-20 | 2 | 38°16'N / 85°03'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Shelby | |||
| 34.3 | 1972-08-19 | 2 | 37°34'N / 84°19'W | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Madison | |||
| 34.5 | 1996-04-20 | 2 | 37°34'N / 84°18'W | 37°34'N / 84°18'W | 2.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 10 | 12.8M | 0 | Madison |
| Brief Description: A tornado touched down on the on the East side of interstate 75 at the Ky 21 exit at 445 am est. There the tornado destroyed a Sunoco gasoline station and ripped the roof of a Howard Johnson's motel. The tornado moved East-Northeast across the South side of Berea to just East of Ky 25 before dissapating around 450 am est. The tornado damaged around 800 homes and 40 businesses. 35 houses were destroyed or eceived major damage, while 26 business were destroyed or received major damage. Home damage was estimated at 6.7 million dollars...while damage to businesses was estimated at 6.1 million dollars. There were only minor injuries reported with the most serious being a broken collar bone. The tornado caused a storage tank to topple on the Parker Seal plant which produces O-rings for the space shuttle mission. Also damaged were parts of Berea College. Most of the damage there was due to fallen and uprooted trees. The "Old Town" section of Berea, where craftspeople make and sell high quality furiniture and other goods saw several businesses badly damaged. The roof of the town's old train depot, now a tourist center, caved in. Many homes were reported as flattened. The Red Cross, Salvation Army and 130 members of the National Guard were sent to aid the cleanup effort. The National Weather Service storm survey the damage path revealed an F2 tornado embedded in straight-line winds. | |||||||||||
| 35.3 | 1974-04-03 | 3 | 37°59'N / 83°53'W | 38°02'N / 83°49'W | 4.90 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Montgomery |
| 36.4 | 1974-04-03 | 3 | 38°29'N / 84°11'W | 38°31'N / 84°09'W | 2.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Robertson |
| 37.5 | 1986-07-12 | 2 | 38°35'N / 84°33'W | 0.10 Mile | 73 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Preble | |
| 37.6 | 1971-07-18 | 2 | 38°20'N / 85°05'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Henry | |||
| 38.7 | 2008-02-06 | 2 | 38°16'N / 85°12'W | 38°18'N / 85°05'W | 7.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 175K | 0K | Shelby |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: Most of the damage caused by this tornado was concentrated in the Flood Road area, as it intensified while moving to the northeast. The tornado destroyed a large, well built barn, and threw the structure 50 yards. It moved an 18 thousand pound trailer four feet, and flipped it. Another barn was destroyed, and every shingle was blown off a well constructed roof top. Several other homes suffered some degree of roof damage. Besides the structural damage, around 40 large hardwood trees were uprooted along the path. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A cold front along with a strong upper level low produced a squall line that crossed central Kentucky. This set off widespread severe weather, and spawned several tornadoes. | |||||||||||
| 38.9 | 1974-04-03 | 3 | 37°30'N / 84°52'W | 37°35'N / 84°47'W | 7.20 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 65 | 0K | 0 | Lincoln |
| 38.9 | 1996-04-20 | 2 | 37°27'N / 84°46'W | 37°32'N / 84°32'W | 12.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 7 | 1.5M | 0 | Lincoln |
| Brief Description: A tornado embedded in straight-line winds moved through Lincoln county destroying or damaging 20 houses and mobile homes and 6 buildings. DES coordinator Winfred Todd reported the damage path went from near McKinney across the western part of the county to Preachersville across the eastern part of the county near the Garrard county line. Also damaged or destroyed were the Faith Temple Church, two show pavillions at the county fairgrounds 3 miles south of Stanford and a giant 70 by 70 foot screen at the Stanford Drive-In. The Maywood area was perhaps the hardest hit. A home was picked up and slammed down 50 to 100 feet away and shredded. 7 people had minor injuries including a 2 year old girl who was ripped from her house and placed under a tree. The girl's house collapsed into the basement. | |||||||||||
| 39.0 | 2008-02-06 | 2 | 37°41'N / 85°03'W | 37°41'N / 85°03'W | 1.00 Mile | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 15K | 0K | Washington |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This tornado touched down on Russell Lane about eight miles east-northeast of Springfield. The tornado completely blew away a large, well-constructed out-building. Six-by-six inch posts were snapped and piled up, while metal sheeting was blown about a quarter of a mile away. Concrete joists weighing two hundred pounds were displaced. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A cold front along with a strong upper level low produced a squall line that crossed central Kentucky. This set off widespread severe weather, and spawned several tornadoes. | |||||||||||
| 40.6 | 1977-08-03 | 2 | 37°42'N / 83°55'W | 37°42'N / 83°52'W | 2.30 Miles | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Estill |
| 41.6 | 1978-08-30 | 2 | 37°52'N / 83°49'W | 37°52'N / 83°43'W | 5.20 Miles | 800 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Powell |
| 41.7 | 1982-03-20 | 2 | 38°13'N / 85°14'W | 1.00 Mile | 30 Yards | 0 | 8 | 25.0M | 0 | Shelby | |
| 42.1 | 1990-06-02 | 2 | 38°14'N / 85°14'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Shelby | |
| 43.3 | 2006-01-02 | 2 | 37°24'N / 84°46'W | 37°28'N / 84°37'W | 8.70 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 2 | 350K | 0 | Lincoln |
| Brief Description: Two people were injured as an F2 tornado swept through western and central Lincoln County. A man received minor injures when a barn he was in collapsed around him. An elderly woman was hospitalized with a broken collar bone and nose. She had been sucked out of her mobile home by strong winds when she tried to open her front door. In all, eight mobile homes were destroyed, with most of the damage being concentrated south of the McKinney area. At one location, the storm survey team found that the tornado had embedded two by six boards firmly into the ground. | |||||||||||
| 43.6 | 2004-05-27 | 2 | 38°23'N / 85°14'W | 38°24'N / 85°06'W | 7.80 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 2 | 2.5M | 0 | Henry |
| Brief Description: The tornado first touched down IN an open area east of Smithfield in southwest Henry County. It then moved east and crossed highway 55 north of Eminence. The tornado reached its maximum intensity as it moved between U.S. 421 and the Eminence-Point Pleasant Road. The tornado finally crossed Sweeney Lane and weakened or lifted. South of the tornado path, straight line winds caused some structural damage along with widespread tree damage. Twenty-five homes were destroyed in the storm, and 326 others received some degree of damage. | |||||||||||
| 44.1 | 1964-06-15 | 2 | 38°24'N / 83°56'W | 38°25'N / 83°44'W | 10.90 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Fleming |
| 45.0 | 1996-05-28 | 3 | 38°03'N / 85°29'W | 38°02'N / 85°10'W | 14.00 Miles | 850 Yards | 0 | 0 | 1.0M | 0 | Spencer |
| Brief Description: The supercell that crossed the Ohio River from Harrison county produced the second a most destructive tornado in its long history. This second tornado formed 4 miles northwest of Brooks at 540 pm est in extreme south central Jefferson county. The tornado was initially estimated at F0-F1 intensity and moved east-southeast and quickly strengthened as it moved into north central Bullitt county near Holsclaw Hill road and Top Hill road where numerous trees were snapped off and some tree bark was stripped. At 545 pm est, the tronado then crossed near the Brooks exit at interstate 65 turning over 5 tractor trailers and damaging a Comfort Inn, Arby's and a Cracker Barrel. From there the tornado continued into the towns of Pioneer Village, Hillview and Mount Washington. Widespread severe structural damage occurred to over 1000 homes in these towns. 10 people required hospital care. The worst injury was from a man who was treated for broken ribs. The tornado was rated a strong F3 in Pioneer Village and Hillview, where winds were estimated at around 200 mph. F4 damage occurred to at least one house in Hillview which was totally leveled. Here wind speeds were estimated at 210 to 220 mph. The path width across Bullitt county was around 1/3 of a mile. Eyewitnesses and the National Weather Service survey as well as video footage revealed multiple-vortices within the parent tornado. This multiple-vortex tornado appeared to consolidate into one funnel as it moved through the Northfield subdivision near Mount Washington at 558 pm est. Here, the tornado was categorized as an F3 with wind speeds up to 200 mph. The tornado then moved into Spencer County 3 miles west of Mount Washington at 608 pm est. The tornado passed over Route 55, 1 1/2 miles south of Route 44 and Taylorsville at around 630 pm est damaging a few homes. It then passed very close to the Taylorsville Lake Dam and the ranger station at the Taylorsville lake. There, it sank and destroyed several boats, snapped and debarked numerous trees while maintaining its F3 intensity. The path width here was from 1/3 to 1/2 of a mile. Damage patterns again again suggesting multiple-vortices. The tornado then dissapated around 645 pm est just east of Little Mount. The total path length across the 3 countiess was estimated at 30 miles. | |||||||||||
| 45.1 | 1974-04-03 | 3 | 37°26'N / 84°55'W | 37°30'N / 84°52'W | 5.20 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Casey |
| 45.3 | 1961-06-09 | 3 | 37°40'N / 83°50'W | 37°40'N / 83°48'W | 1.30 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 38 | 2.5M | 0 | Estill |
| 45.7 | 1968-04-23 | 4 | 38°40'N / 84°22'W | 38°42'N / 84°13'W | 8.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 4 | 350 | 25.0M | 0 | Pendleton |
| 46.3 | 1984-07-26 | 2 | 38°02'N / 85°21'W | 2.50 Miles | 70 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Spencer | |
| 46.8 | 1961-06-09 | 3 | 37°40'N / 83°48'W | 37°40'N / 83°46'W | 1.30 Miles | 150 Yards | 1 | 25 | 2.5M | 0 | Lee |
| 47.1 | 1974-04-03 | 4 | 37°56'N / 85°25'W | 38°00'N / 85°18'W | 7.70 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Spencer |
| 49.0 | 1964-03-25 | 2 | 38°17'N / 85°27'W | 38°30'N / 85°07'W | 23.40 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Shelby |
| 49.1 | 1959-02-10 | 3 | 38°38'N / 85°00'W | 1.50 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 6 | 2.5M | 0 | Carroll | |
| 49.8 | 1990-06-02 | 3 | 38°26'N / 85°18'W | 38°24'N / 85°16'W | 2.00 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Henry |
| 50.0 | 2008-02-06 | 2 | 37°48'N / 85°22'W | 37°49'N / 85°22'W | 1.00 Mile | 300 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0K | Nelson |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The tornado destroyed or heavily damaage two shop buildings at a construction company. A couple trailers on the company site were rolled over. Farther along the tornado's path, it knocked a mobile home off the foundation, and rolled it over two nearby cars. Two occupants of the mobile home were injured. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A cold front along with a strong upper level low produced a squall line that crossed central Kentucky. This set off widespread severe weather, and spawned several tornadoes. | |||||||||||
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.