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Bourbon County, Kentucky severe weather history spans 213 recorded events between 1966 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 57.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,366 nationally and #85 in Kentucky.
213
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$1.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Bourbon County, Kentucky severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Bourbon County, Kentucky severe weather history averages 3.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 75 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 23 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 Bourbon County, Kentucky record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $627K in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Bourbon County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 122 | 2 | $627K | 90 | 1966–2025 |
| Flood | 42 | 1 | $470K | 0 | 2006–2019 |
| Flash Flood | 25 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Hail | 18 | 0 | $15K | 2.75 | 1973–2017 |
| Tornado | 4 | 0 | $430K | F0 | 1997–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2009 |
Decade by decade
Bourbon County, Kentucky severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
6 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 5 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964-06-15 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 49.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-04-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 12.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-10-07 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 1.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-12-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-07-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-06-16 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Bourbon County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25, 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | MILLERSBURG | 1 | 2 | $10K |
| Sep 23, 2018 | Flood | BRENTSVILLE | 1 | 0 | $15K |
| Jun 29, 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | NORTH MIDDLETOWN | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Oct 7, 2014 | Tornado | PARIS | 0 | 1 | $250K |
| Aug 16, 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | PARIS | 0 | 1 | $5K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A female interning at Silver Springs Stud Farm was returning from lunch on Brentsville Road when she drove into water from a flooded stream over the roadway. The stream swept the vehicle into a deep pool off the road. Within moments, the top of the car was several feet below the surface of the water. The victim's body was recovered several hours later from the backseat of the vehicle.
A fatality occurred near the Bourbon – Clark County line. A man was killed after stopping to remove debris from a county road. Strong winds toppled a tree next to the road, hitting him. Several other trees were downed across the county as winds gusted as high as 60 mph.
The NWS conducted a storm survey in northern Bourbon County and determined two concentrated areas of straight line wind damage. The first area was along the 700 to 800 block of Ruddles Mill Road. Several barns sustained significant damage with debris being thrown 1000 yards east. Several trees were split or uprooted. Most of the barns that sustained damage were on hilly surfaces. At Hillcroft Farm, 1818 Millersburg Road, a large metal barn sustained significant roofing damage. Further south on Highway 68 at Alder Nest Farms, a roof on a metal barn collapsed. During the survey, sporadic tree damage could be seen along Highway 68 and 27. The duration of the thunderstorm wind event was 3 minutes.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
20,240
Population (ACS)
$229K
Median home value
22
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| 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 |
| Nov 26, 2024 | Tropical Storm | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE HELENE | DR |
| Apr 10, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Mar 28, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Paris 191
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Bourbon County, Kentucky?
213 events are on record between 1966 and 2025, causing 3 direct deaths and $1.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Bourbon County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 122 recorded events — 57.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Bourbon County?
6 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 5 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Bourbon County?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Bourbon County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Bourbon County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Bourbon County as very low risk, placing it in the 39 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Bourbon 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
- Boone County 380
- Boyd County 271
- Bell County 374
- Boyle County 177
- Bath County 322
- Bracken County 188
Cite this page
“Bourbon County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/bourbon-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.