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Marion County, Kentucky severe weather history spans 214 recorded events between 1964 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 58.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,356 nationally and #83 in Kentucky.
214
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
7
Direct injuries
$7.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Marion County, Kentucky severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Marion County, Kentucky severe weather history averages 3.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 69 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 24 events fall before 1990 and 190 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Marion County, Kentucky record is flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $5.1M 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 Marion County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 125 | 0 | $903K | 80 | 1967–2025 |
| Hail | 38 | 0 | $5.1M | 4.5 | 1964–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 29 | 0 | $87K | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Tornado | 12 | 0 | $685K | F2 | 1973–2023 |
| Flood | 8 | 1 | $50K | 0 | 2011–2023 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $250K | 0 | 2018–2018 |
| Debris Flow | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2025–2025 |
Decade by decade
Marion County, Kentucky severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
13 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 11 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-12-11 | EF3 | 1 | 31 | 14.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1997-03-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-08-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 15.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2022-01-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-12-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-06-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-11-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-10-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-25 | EF1 | 0 | 2 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-07-18 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Marion County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 16, 2023 | Flood | BRADFORDSVILLE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 30, 2013 | Tornado | PHILLIPSBURG | 0 | 2 | $25K |
| May 1, 2002 | Hail | LEBANON | 0 | 2 | $30K |
| May 26, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| Dec 11, 2021 | Tornado | JESSIETOWN | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The tornado touched down about three quarters of a mile southwest of Bradfordsville near the intersection of Bradfordsville and Thornton Roads. A mobile home was rolled over and two homes suffered shingle damage. An outbuilding also sustained minor damage, and several small trees were downed. From here, the tornado moved east-northeast into Bradfordsville, doing significant tree damage, snapping power poles, and destroying several outbuildings, one of which collapsed onto a speedboat. When the tornado lifted, the parent thunderstorm continued to cause extensive tree damage on the eastern side of Bradfordsville. Structural and tree damage from the tornado was consistent with an EF-0 tornado.
A weak EF-0 tornado with estimated winds of 80 to 85 mph briefly touched down along Calvary Road around 7 miles southwest of Bradfordsville. Although this twister had a path length estimated of only a tenth of a mile, it did destroy a mobile home, injuring two occupants. It also slid a shed off of its foundation.
The Marion County emergency manager reported street flooding on several locations around the county. In Lebanon, up to 2 feet of water flooded several intersections. Water entered several businesses and blocked a few intersections.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
19,749
Population (ACS)
$168K
Median home value
23
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 |
| Apr 10, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Dec 12, 2021 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, AND TORNADOES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Marion County, Kentucky?
214 events are on record between 1964 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $7.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Marion County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 125 recorded events — 58.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Marion County?
13 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 11 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Marion County?
23 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Marion County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Marion County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Marion County as very low risk, placing it in the 30 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Marion 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
- Magoffin County 305
- Marshall County 375
- Madison County 401
- Martin County 211
- McLean County 178
- Mason County 236
Cite this page
“Marion County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/marion-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.