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Livingston County, Kentucky severe weather history spans 225 recorded events between 1963 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 37.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,281 nationally and #77 in Kentucky.
225
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
10
Direct injuries
$7.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Livingston County, Kentucky severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Livingston County, Kentucky severe weather history averages 3.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 82 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 9 events fall before 1990 and 216 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flood, with $4.8M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Livingston County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 85 | 0 | $867K | 78 | 1963–2025 |
| Hail | 62 | 0 | $55K | 2.5 | 1966–2025 |
| Flood | 32 | 0 | $4.8M | 0 | 2008–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 21 | 0 | $689K | 0 | 1996–2021 |
| Tornado | 12 | 0 | $1.1M | F3 | 1970–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 9 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2004–2015 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2004–2018 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2004–2004 |
Decade by decade
Livingston County, Kentucky severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
17 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 9 touched down inside it and 8 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-11-17 | EF3 | 3 | 34 | 42.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2002-04-28 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 22.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1970-04-24 | EF3 | 0 | 13 | 25.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 2025-04-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2018-04-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-01-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-01-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-04-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1972-04-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-06-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Livingston County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 24, 1970 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $0 | |
| Jan 24, 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | IUKA | 0 | 3 | $75K |
| May 8, 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | SMITHLAND | 0 | 1 | $60K |
| May 5, 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | SMITHLAND | 0 | 1 | $40K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The tornado moved across the Ohio River from Pope County, Illinois into Livingston County, Kentucky. The tornado passed just south of Smithland. The most intense damage in Livingston County was rated EF-2 with estimated 125 mph peak winds. Several mobile homes were destroyed. Thousands of trees were snapped or uprooted as the tornado passed mainly through forested hilly terrain. The black tornado funnel was videotaped as it moved across parts of the county. The tornado continued east into Lyon County, Kentucky. The total path length of this tornado was 42 miles. The parent supercell tracked from southeast Missouri across the Mississippi River through the Paducah area, then east to the Kentucky Lake area of western Kentucky.
The tornado crossed the Ohio River from Pope County, Illinois into Livingston County in densely forested areas interspersed with some farmland. The average width of this upper-end F1 tornado was close to 300 yards. Peak winds were estimated near 110 MPH. One mobile home was destroyed, and roofs were partially torn off two houses. Eighteen homes sustained minor damage, consisting mostly of roofing and siding blown off. Twenty barns were heavily damaged or destroyed. Six silos were destroyed, including two of rebar-reinforced concrete construction. The tornado was videotaped by a camper from a bluff overlooking the Ohio River. The footage was shot from within Pope County, Illinois looking east across the river.
Major flooding continued on the Ohio River from late February. At the Smithland Lock and Dam, the river crested at 50.14 feet on the 2nd. Flood stage is 40 feet. This crest was a little over a foot lower than the Flood of March, 1997. Several homes were evacuated in the county. Numerous roads were flooded and closed, including several state roads. The flooding threatened some parts of Smithland, where a large sandbagging operation was conducted. Highway 137 was flooded and closed from Highway 60 through the Birdsville area.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
8,903
Population (ACS)
$126K
Median home value
29
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| May 23, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| 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 24, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Feb 16, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Smithland 103
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Livingston County, Kentucky?
225 events are on record between 1963 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $7.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Livingston County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 85 recorded events — 37.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Livingston County?
17 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 9 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Livingston County?
29 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Livingston County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Livingston County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Livingston County as very low risk, placing it in the 27 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Livingston 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
- Lincoln County 207
- Logan County 352
- Lewis County 206
- Lyon County 144
- Letcher County 285
- McCracken County 525
Cite this page
“Livingston County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/livingston-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.