Live
Active alerts for this county
Heat Advisory
Orange; Washington; Scott; Jefferson; Dubois; Crawford; Perry; Harrison; Floyd; Clark; Hancock; Breckinridge; Meade; Ohio; Grayson; Hardin; Bullitt; Jefferson; Oldham; Trimble; Henry; Shelby; Franklin; Scott; Harrison; Spencer; Anderson; Woodford; Fayette; Bourbon; Nicholas; Nelson; Washington; Mercer; Jessamine; Clark; Larue; Marion; Boyle; Garrard; Madison; Butler; Edmonson; Hart; Green; Taylor; Casey; Lincoln; Logan; Warren; Simpson; Allen; Barren; Monroe; Metcalfe; Adair; Russell; Cumberland; Clinton
Monroe County, Kentucky severe weather history spans 175 recorded events between 1971 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 62.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,586 nationally and #108 in Kentucky.
175
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$4.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Monroe County, Kentucky severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Monroe County, Kentucky severe weather history averages 3.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 64 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 16 events fall before 1990 and 159 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Monroe County, Kentucky record is flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $4.1M 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 Monroe County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 109 | 0 | $687K | 70 | 1971–2025 |
| Hail | 30 | 0 | $0 | 4 | 1982–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 17 | 0 | $100K | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Tornado | 13 | 0 | $4.1M | F2 | 1989–2024 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $30K | 0 | 2010–2013 |
| Flood | 2 | 1 | $10K | 0 | 2008–2019 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2010 |
Decade by decade
Monroe 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: 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-02-05 | EF3 | 22 | 63 | 50.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2008-02-06 | EF3 | 4 | 11 | 9.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 2009-10-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 15.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-03-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-05-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-12-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2021-05-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-12-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 11.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2011-04-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Monroe County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1, 2019 | Flood | GAMALIEL | 1 | 0 | $10K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A 19 year old female on Lyons Road attempted to drive through a low water crossing on the Rocky Branch of the East Fork of the Barren River just before 7 pm CST on New Year's Eve, but was washed away by the swollen creek's rising water. Her vehicle was carried downstream 500 yards, where it was discovered unoccupied the next day. After several days of searching, law enforcement located her body seven miles downstream on January 5, 2019.
The tornado crossed into Monroe County, Kentucky from Macon County, Tennessee. About two miles west of Gamaliel, the tornado destroyed two conventional homes and two mobile homes. Thirteen residents of the four homes took shelter in the basement of one of the homes. They escaped without injury, although they were trapped in rubble for 30 minutes. Several other homes were damaged in a subdivision a mile north of Gamaliel. The tornado ripped the roof off a brick home there. It tracked across rural Monroe County, uprooting and snapping large trees. On the north side of Tompkinsville, it destroyed a large wood frame warehouse and twisted a large steel frame metal building off its foundation. A nearby well built brick home had its roof and exterior walls swept away. It also destroyed a detached three car garage.
This EF3 tornado crossed into a wooded section of Monroe County from Allen County, and lifted near Highway 87 south of the town of Fountain Run. Several outbuildings were destroyed and a car was flipped on Circle D Lane. On Akersville Road, fences were downed and about 200,000 log feet of timber were knocked down.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
11,269
Population (ACS)
$116K
Median home value
22
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 29, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| 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 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 Monroe County, Kentucky?
175 events are on record between 1971 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $4.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Monroe County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 109 recorded events — 62.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Monroe County?
13 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 8 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Monroe County?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Monroe County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Monroe County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Monroe County as very low risk, placing it in the 27 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Monroe 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
- Metcalfe County 189
- Montgomery County 321
- Mercer County 196
- Morgan County 372
- Menifee County 225
- Muhlenberg County 392
Cite this page
“Monroe County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/monroe-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.