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Crittenden County, Kentucky severe weather history spans 156 recorded events between 1958 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 40.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,677 nationally and #114 in Kentucky.
156
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
10
Direct injuries
$8.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Crittenden County, Kentucky severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Crittenden County, Kentucky severe weather history averages 2.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 53 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 20 events fall before 1990 and 136 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Crittenden County, Kentucky record is flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $5.8M 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 Crittenden County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 63 | 0 | $583K | 78 | 1958–2025 |
| Hail | 29 | 0 | $254K | 2 | 1981–2023 |
| Flood | 25 | 1 | $420K | 0 | 2006–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 22 | 0 | $920K | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Tornado | 12 | 0 | $5.8M | F3 | 1967–2006 |
| Heavy Rain | 4 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2006–2015 |
| Dust Devil | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2025–2025 |
Decade by decade
Crittenden 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: 12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-11-06 | EF3 | 0 | 5 | 11.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-04-28 | EF3 | 0 | 26 | 22.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-01-03 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 24.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-05-04 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-05-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-04-11 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 36.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-12-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-09-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2003-05-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-05-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Crittenden County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 2008 | Flood | FRANCES | 1 | 0 | $20K |
| Nov 6, 2005 | Tornado | MATTOON | 0 | 5 | $300K |
| Jan 3, 2000 | Tornado | CRAYNE | 0 | 3 | $5.0M |
| May 5, 2003 | Tornado | MATTOON | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jan 18, 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | MATTOON | 0 | 1 | $20K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A young girl drowned in floodwaters on Highway 855 between Frances and Salem shortly before sunrise. The child was a passenger in a vehicle driven by her mother. The vehicle plunged into about eight feet of water that was over the road at a creek crossing. The vehicle immediately began floating, and both the mother and child exited. The mother lost her grip on the child, and the child immediately went under water. A boat was used to locate the child within ten minutes. Rescue workers retrieved the child, who was caught up in debris or tree limbs in about eight feet of water. The child was given CPR and rushed to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The area is known to flood by local residents, and it was marked by an orange high water sign. The mother was new to the area and likely unfamiliar with the flooding problems there. About 5.5 inches of rain had fallen the night before the drowning. Countywide, numerous roads were covered with water. Several roads were closed for a few days, including Highway 120.
Although the tornado tracked about 15 miles through the county with estimated top winds of 160 MPH, damage was relatively light due to the rural nature of the land. Based on aerial surveys, structures that were heavily damaged or destroyed included 85 homes, 5 to 10 businesses, and 50 to 80 barns and outbuildings. Three people in the Crayne area were transported to a hospital for non life-threatening injuries. About 35 National Guard personnel were deployed to Crittenden County, primarily for damage assessment and security operations. An emergency shelter was opened to accomodate roughly 25 homeless persons.
Flooding caused by torrential thunderstorm downpours forced the closure of U.S. Highway 60 and U.S. Highway 641 in Marion for about 45 minutes. Part of First Street was impassable after a culvert was pushed out of place, causing tree limbs to flow under the asphalt and push up through it. Several businesses reported minor to moderate water damage. The county high school and the county courthouse sustained minor flooding damage. Floodwaters along U.S. Highway 60 swept a man's parked car into a nearby creek. A 500-gallon propane tank behind a house floated away. Substantial damage such as washed out culverts was reported on at least a dozen rural roads. The Sheridan area received significant flooding damage. Unofficial rainfall amounts were around 3 inches in an hour. The heaviest rainfall was in northern and central parts of the county.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
8,979
Population (ACS)
$127K
Median home value
28
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| May 23, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| 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 Crittenden County, Kentucky?
156 events are on record between 1958 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $8.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Crittenden County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 63 recorded events — 40.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Crittenden County?
13 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 12 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Crittenden County?
28 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Crittenden County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Crittenden County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Crittenden County as very low risk, placing it in the 30 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Crittenden 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
- Clinton County 174
- Cumberland County 148
- Daviess County 553
- Clay County 333
- Edmonson County 222
- Clark County 198
Cite this page
“Crittenden County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/crittenden-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.