68
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$2.6M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Caldwell County, Kentucky: 68 recorded events between 1968 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 81. That places the county #2,576 nationally and #116 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Caldwell County, Kentucky: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Caldwell County is the 2000s, when 20 of the county's 68 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Caldwell County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 38.4% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #2,576 for this hazard and #116 within Kentucky, putting it in the 18.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Caldwell County with 17 recorded events, while Feb is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 5, 1987 | 61 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 2025 | PRINCETON | 59 | $0 |
| May 17, 2025 | LAKEVIEW | 81 | $2.1M |
| May 26, 2024 | DULANEY | 70 | $75K |
| Jul 30, 2023 | PRINCETON | 52 | $0 |
| Jul 24, 2023 | PRINCETON | 50 | $25K |
| Jul 24, 2023 | FREDONIA | 56 | $5K |
| Apr 13, 2022 | PRINCETON | 52 | $0 |
| Nov 18, 2017 | CRIDER | 56 | $4K |
| Mar 1, 2017 | PRINCETON | 67 | $5K |
| Jul 7, 2016 | PRINCETON | 56 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Caldwell County
- Hail 46
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An NWS damage survey found straight line wind damage associated with winds of 80 to 93 mph impacted Princeton, KY, on the evening of Friday, May 16, 2025. The most severe damage occurred in downtown Princeton, where a business lost its roof and several homes suffered minor to major damage due to trees falling onto homes. Numerous large tree limbs were downed across the city. Emergency management also reported power poles snapped, a tree fell onto a house on U.S. 62 on the west side of Princeton, while another tree falling onto a house on W Green St, destroying it.
A couple miles southeast of Farmersville, a barn was levelled. Nearby barns were damaged, along with roofs of houses. Trees were blown down, mainly across northern parts of the county. Several roads were blocked, including Highways 139 and 70 near Creswell. Power outages occurred.
A microburst with peak winds estimated near 80 mph raked parts of Caldwell County. Dozens of tree limbs and at least a dozen trees were blown down. Power lines were downed by a fallen tree. The roof of a farm shed was blown off. Two windows were blown out of a storefront in downtown Princeton. Several small signs were blown down. The path of the microburst began along Highway 91 northwest of Princeton. The path extended southeastward across the city of Princeton, reaching a maximum width of 4000 yards. The path length was just over 9 miles.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Caldwell County, Kentucky?
68 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Caldwell County between 1968 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Caldwell County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Caldwell County measured 81.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Caldwell County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Caldwell County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/caldwell-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.