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Fulton County, Kentucky severe weather history spans 230 recorded events between 1959 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 39.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,253 nationally and #74 in Kentucky.
230
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
9
Direct injuries
$7.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Fulton County, Kentucky severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Fulton County, Kentucky severe weather history averages 3.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 65 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 30 events fall before 1990 and 200 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Fulton County, Kentucky record is flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $3.5M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Fulton County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 91 | 0 | $915K | 86 | 1959–2025 |
| Hail | 48 | 0 | $54K | 3 | 1959–2025 |
| Flood | 37 | 1 | $1.2M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 31 | 0 | $3.5M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 15 | 1 | $1.9M | F2 | 1962–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2015 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2025–2025 |
Decade by decade
Fulton County, Kentucky severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
18 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 13 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-12-10 | EF4 | 57 | 515 | 168.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2021-05-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-03-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-03-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2014-04-28 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 12.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2010-05-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-05-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 24.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-04-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 35.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-12-11 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 10.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2025-11-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.6 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Fulton County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 11, 2021 | Tornado | STATE LINE | 1 | 5 | $0 |
| Mar 1, 2018 | Flood | HICKMAN | 1 | 0 | $100K |
| Jul 4, 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Countywide | 0 | 2 | $75K |
| Jan 24, 1964 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $3K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Moderate flooding continued on the Mississippi River from late February. At New Madrid, Missouri, the river crested at 41.4 feet on March 5, well above the flood stage of 34 feet. A Hickman city police officer perished after attempting to drive through a flooded area on the night of March 2. The 45-year-old male was seen on the roof of his submerged patrol SUV shortly before being swept away with the vehicle. The victim and his vehicle were recovered from a flooded field early on the morning of March 3. Floodgates were raised at Hickman to protect the city. However, bottomland roads and cropland outside the floodwall were submerged. The cropland was mostly dormant this early in the season. Kentucky Highway 94 was closed in the bottomlands west of Hickman, along with several other state roads. The Dorena, MO to Hickman, KY ferry was closed due to the fast river currents and water over roads.
Widespread flash flooding occurring in Hickman. Numerous roads were closed or impassable. Five homes in Hickman were evacuated due to flash flooding. Numerous streets remained closed through the morning. An area along Kentucky 94 in the downtown Hickman area was blocked for several days where a mudslide occurred, taking trees with it. Kentucky 125 was blocked near the Hickman city limits. The Fulton County mesonet site located two miles east of Hickman observed 11.28 of rain in 33 hours from 3 AM August 3rd through 12 noon August 4th. This broke the previous 2-day rainfall record for Fulton County, which was 9.80 back on January 1-2, 1966. The 24-hour record also was shattered, with 9.69 occurring between 8 AM August 3rd and 8 AM August 4th. The previous 24-hour record for the county was 7.24 set back on September 23, 2006.
Record flooding occurred on the Mississippi River. At the New Madrid, Missouri river gage, the flood crest of 48.35 feet on the night of May 5 broke the previous record (set in 1937) by a few inches. Historic flooding of the Mississippi River severely tested the strength of levees and floodwalls protecting Hickman. Numerous sand boils formed, but the levees remain intact. The bottomlands in the Hickman area were evacuated, and Kentucky Highway 94 was closed in many areas.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
6,409
Population (ACS)
$79K
Median home value
26
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Apr 24, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Apr 3, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | EM |
| Feb 16, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES | EM |
| Jul 23, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Dec 12, 2021 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, AND TORNADOES | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Hickman 104
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Fulton County, Kentucky?
230 events are on record between 1959 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $7.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Fulton County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 91 recorded events — 39.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Fulton County?
18 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 13 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Fulton County?
26 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Fulton County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Fulton County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Fulton County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 47 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Fulton County, Kentucky severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Franklin County 252
- Gallatin County 161
- Floyd County 543
- Garrard County 172
- Fleming County 258
- Grant County 211
Cite this page
“Fulton County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/fulton-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.