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Grayson County, Kentucky severe weather history spans 310 recorded events between 1958 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 50.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,723 nationally and #44 in Kentucky.
310
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
26
Direct injuries
$56.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Grayson County, Kentucky severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Grayson County, Kentucky severe weather history averages 4.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 96 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 40 events fall before 1990 and 270 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Grayson County, Kentucky record is tornado, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $55.9M 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 Grayson County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 156 | 0 | $472K | 96 | 1958–2026 |
| Hail | 84 | 0 | $31K | 3 | 1978–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 36 | 0 | $60K | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Tornado | 20 | 3 | $55.9M | F4 | 1959–2026 |
| Flood | 7 | 0 | $260K | 0 | 1996–2018 |
| Heavy Rain | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2012 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $15K | 0 | 2012–2016 |
Decade by decade
Grayson County, Kentucky severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
16 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 12 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-12-10 | EF4 | 57 | 515 | 168.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1974-04-03 | EF4 | 0 | 2 | 14.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-01-21 | EF3 | 3 | 0 | 6.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2000-05-23 | EF3 | 0 | 16 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-04-21 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-05-07 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 58.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2012-02-29 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 2.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-03-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-04-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Grayson County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 21, 1959 | Tornado | 3 | 0 | $250K | |
| May 23, 2000 | Tornado | LEITCHFIELD | 0 | 16 | $50.0M |
| Apr 22, 1972 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $250K | |
| Jun 26, 2016 | Lightning | GRAYSON | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250 | |
| Mar 2, 2012 | Hail | CANEYVILLE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Feb 29, 2012 | Tornado | WEST CLIFTY | 0 | 1 | $50K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A storm survey was done by NWS personnel on Wednesday May 24. The survey found severe damage to residential and industrial structures. Three vortices combined into a single tornado north of Leitchfield, then moved east to southeast at 40 to 45 mph. The path moved through the northeast and east sections of Leitchfield and beyond. (Path length and width are estimated). The structural damaged evidenced the presence of an F3 tornado, with maximum winds around 175 mph. Houses that were virtually destroyed, but still had parts of their structure remaining above the main floor, were the basis of the F3 evaluation. Severe damage to nearby factories also supported the F3 evaluation.
The tornado touched down near several large metal outbuildings destroying two and heavily damaging two others. Insulation from the largest building was spattered on to south and east facing walls and vehicles on the east side of the complex. Metal roofing material was lofted into nearby trees and spread up to a quarter of a mile to the east. Beyond this initial touchdown area, only minor roof damage and tree damage – both uprooted trees and snapped trunks- occurred before the tornado lifted 1/2 mile to the east on Childress Road.
Downburst winds gusted to as high as 85 mph in a one-half mile by one-half mile swath of winds centered on Kentucky Highway 259 4.2 miles north of Leitchfield, KY. The winds destroyed a small barn, peeled metal roof panels from two other buildings, and overturned an RV. The winds also uprooted and snapped the trunks of several trees, and debris blowing into power lines helped snap four utility poles.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
26,707
Population (ACS)
$165K
Median home value
29
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 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 |
| Apr 10, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Grayson County, Kentucky?
310 events are on record between 1958 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths and $56.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Grayson County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 156 recorded events — 50.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Grayson County?
16 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 Grayson County?
29 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Grayson County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Grayson County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Grayson County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 45 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Grayson 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
- Graves County 432
- Green County 227
- Grant County 211
- Greenup County 326
- Garrard County 172
- Hancock County 182
Cite this page
“Grayson County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/grayson-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.