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McCreary County, Kentucky severe weather history spans 309 recorded events between 1967 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 56.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,732 nationally and #46 in Kentucky.
309
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
25
Direct injuries
$3.8M
Property damage
The record
What the McCreary County, Kentucky severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, McCreary County, Kentucky severe weather history averages 5.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 113 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 15 events fall before 1990 and 294 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the McCreary County, Kentucky record is tornado, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $2.9M 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 McCreary County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 173 | 0 | $2.9M | 80 | 1969–2024 |
| Hail | 67 | 0 | $0 | 3 | 1969–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 24 | 0 | $49K | 0 | 1996–2020 |
| Flood | 18 | 0 | $78K | 0 | 2000–2021 |
| Heavy Rain | 15 | 0 | $500 | 0 | 2009–2025 |
| Tornado | 10 | 2 | $760K | F4 | 1967–2020 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2014–2014 |
Decade by decade
McCreary County, Kentucky severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
10 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 7 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974-04-03 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 16.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1967-03-12 | EF3 | 0 | 5 | 23.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-04-08 | EF2 | 2 | 9 | 11.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-04-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 18.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1974-04-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-04-03 | EF2 | 0 | 11 | 27.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-05-10 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 2.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-03-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-05-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-06-13 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in McCreary County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 8, 1980 | Tornado | 2 | 9 | $250K | |
| Apr 4, 1974 | Tornado | 0 | 11 | $25K | |
| May 10, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Straight line wind caused significant damage to the Pine Knot area. During a church service, the roof of a church was torn apart, along with terrible structural damage. The steeple was completely blown off and destroyed. The church was declared a total loss. The picnic shelter next door was completely flattened. Miraculously, nobody sustained injuries, omitting a couple of scrapes and bruises. Several outbuildings were damaged and blown off of foundations. Several trailer homes suffered roof damage and were blown off of their foundations. Numerous large trees in the area were blown down and several motor vehicles sustained damage.
A supercell thunderstorm tracked across McCreary County during the late evening hours of March 12th. A National Weather Service Jackson survey team found intermittent damage along the entire path. There were three distinct areas of damage where the tornado touched down. On Chitwood Ridge Rd, several hardwood trees were snapped off. There was also a house with some roof damage.||The next area of tornado damage was on the northern side of Whitley City along north Highway 1651, where more hardwood trees were snapped off along with some damage to a few two-story buildings.||Finally, the third area of tornado damage was northeast of Whitley City on Stephens Farm Rd. A tree landed on a house, leading to major damage. There were also several more houses with roof damage and additional trees snapped off.
Emergency Management observed portions of Yamacraw Boat Dock Rd west of Stearns along with a concrete boat ramp washed out due to flood waters. The road bed under the road and boat ramp washed down the hill side causing everything to crack and break loose, sliding down the hillside.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
16,867
Population (ACS)
$85K
Median home value
23
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 29, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| May 23, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | 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 |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in McCreary County, Kentucky?
309 events are on record between 1967 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $3.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in McCreary County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 173 recorded events — 56.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed McCreary County?
10 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 7 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover McCreary County?
23 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include McCreary County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is McCreary County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates McCreary County as very low risk, placing it in the 25 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the McCreary 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
- McCracken County 525
- McLean County 178
- Lyon County 144
- Madison County 401
- Logan County 352
- Magoffin County 305
Cite this page
“McCreary County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/mccreary-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.