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Ballard County, Kentucky severe weather history spans 310 recorded events between 1958 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 43.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,723 nationally and #44 in Kentucky.
310
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
17
Direct injuries
$7.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Ballard County, Kentucky severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Ballard County, Kentucky severe weather history averages 4.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 109 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 18 events fall before 1990 and 292 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Ballard County, Kentucky record is flash flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $2.2M 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 Ballard County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 135 | 0 | $1.9M | 78 | 1969–2025 |
| Hail | 57 | 0 | $440K | 4.5 | 1967–2025 |
| Flood | 50 | 0 | $2.2M | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 33 | 1 | $1.7M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 21 | 0 | $1.6M | F3 | 1958–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 10 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2015 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2012–2014 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $30K | 0 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
Ballard County, Kentucky severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
24 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958-06-12 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-04-02 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 18.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-03-14 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 16.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2012-02-29 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 22.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2011-04-04 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 6.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-05-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 19.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-05-06 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 25.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1967-06-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-04-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-07-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Ballard County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 21, 2013 | Flash Flood | OSCAR | 1 | 0 | $10K |
| Jan 22, 1999 | Tornado | WICKLIFFE | 0 | 6 | $200K |
| Jan 22, 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | LA CENTER | 0 | 3 | $200K |
| Jun 13, 1958 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $25K | |
| Oct 24, 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | KEVIL | 0 | 2 | $25K |
| Apr 4, 2011 | Tornado | SLATER | 0 | 1 | $700K |
| Jul 5, 1987 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 | |
| Jul 4, 1987 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Major flash flooding prompted a declaration of a state of emergency for Ballard County. Numerous roads were flooded across the county, including at least 16 that were impassable. A 54-year-old man was killed near Barlow when he was swept away by floodwaters after trying to get out of his car. His body was washed one-quarter to one-half mile off the small county road into a wooded area. An elderly woman was rescued from a stranded vehicle near a bridge on State Highway 725 near Kevil. Flooding of Clayton Creek impacted a road near Bandana such that only the top of the bridge was visible. An emergency management official in La Center measured 9.12 inches of rain, most of which fell in 15 hours.
Record flooding occurred along the Mississippi River near and below the confluence of the Ohio River. The river gages at both Cairo, Illinois and New Madrid, Missouri measured record high levels exceeding the 1937 record flood. The activation of the New Madrid Floodway by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the evening of May 2 spared Ballard County from an even higher crest. With the detonation of the Mississippi River levee at Birds Point, Missouri, the Mississippi River dropped suddenly. Historic flooding of the Mississippi River inundated low-lying sections of Wickliffe. A few evacuations were required, and homes were sandbagged. All main arteries into and out of Wickliffe were closed except U.S. Highway 60. A section of U.S. Highway 51 was closed south of Wickliffe near a large paper mill. The paper mill was shut down for weeks. The bridge over the Ohio River on U.S. Highway 51/60/62 was closed when sections of the road leading to the bridge were covered by several feet of water.
Near Hinkleville, a man was trapped in a 60 by 80 foot farm building that was destroyed. He received four broken ribs. The roof was removed from a two-story house, and the garage was levelled. Several other homes sustained roof damage, including one with partial roof loss. Two mobile homes were overturned. Two large chicken barns about 45 feet wide by 250 yards long were destroyed, and two others were heavily damaged. Numerous farm buildings were destroyed, along with some grain bins. Dozens of large trees were snapped or uprooted. A mobile home was shifted slightly off its foundation at the end of the track along the McCracken County line. While damage was predominantly caused by the tornado, some damage southeast of Hinkleville was caused by straight-line winds. Peak winds were near 120 mph. Average path width was 250 yards.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
7,654
Population (ACS)
$146K
Median home value
28
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 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 |
| Jul 23, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Wickliffe 111
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Ballard County, Kentucky?
310 events are on record between 1958 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $7.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Ballard County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 135 recorded events — 43.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Ballard County?
24 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 19 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Ballard County?
28 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Ballard County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Ballard County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Ballard County as very low risk, placing it in the 40 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Ballard 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
- Anderson County 197
- Barren County 340
- Allen County 233
- Bath County 322
- Adair County 253
- Bell County 374
Cite this page
“Ballard County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/ballard-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.