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Marshall County, Kentucky severe weather history spans 375 recorded events between 1951 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 43.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,356 nationally and #22 in Kentucky.
375
Recorded events
8
Direct deaths
116
Direct injuries
$30.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Marshall County, Kentucky severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Marshall County, Kentucky severe weather history averages 5.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 130 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 28 events fall before 1990 and 347 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Marshall County, Kentucky record is tornado, responsible for 7 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $10.6M 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 Marshall County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 164 | 0 | $4.3M | 96 | 1967–2025 |
| Hail | 89 | 0 | $10.1M | 2.75 | 1980–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 38 | 0 | $2.9M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Flood | 30 | 1 | $2.1M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 25 | 7 | $10.6M | F4 | 1951–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 22 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2015 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2022 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $12K | 0 | 2007–2007 |
Decade by decade
Marshall County, Kentucky severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
31 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 21 touched down inside it and 10 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 |
| 1964-03-04 | EF4 | 3 | 24 | 18.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1968-04-03 | EF4 | 2 | 30 | 50.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2005-11-15 | EF3 | 1 | 20 | 44.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1951-11-13 | EF3 | 1 | 11 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-05-10 | EF3 | 0 | 10 | 19.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1970-04-24 | EF3 | 0 | 13 | 25.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-04-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1971-12-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1966-06-06 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 18.5 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Marshall County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 4, 1964 | Tornado | 3 | 16 | $250K | |
| Dec 11, 2021 | Tornado | HARVY | 1 | 54 | $0 |
| Nov 15, 2005 | Tornado | BREWERS | 1 | 20 | $8.0M |
| Nov 13, 1951 | Tornado | 1 | 11 | $250K | |
| Apr 4, 1968 | Tornado | 1 | 5 | $0 | |
| Feb 12, 2020 | Flood | GILBERTSVILLE ARPT | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 18, 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | OLIVE | 0 | 3 | $150K |
| Jun 11, 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | DRAFFENVILLE | 0 | 2 | $15K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Flooding of the Tennessee River resulted in one fatality. A 37-year-old female walked into a flooded area while she was trying to reach a friend on a towboat on the water. The victim was swept off a normally dry walkway leading to the towboat. Fields, woods, and a few access roads in river bottomlands were flooded.
Significant areal flooding occurred on the northern and eastern sides of the city of Benton due to the arrival of extremely high water levels on the Clarks River, which had reached record levels upstream at Almo, and accompanying branches and streams. Many businesses on the north side of town near Main Street sustained water intrusion with vast areas completely covered. Rainfall amounts were around 5 to 6.5 inches with the KY Mesonet site 4 miles north of Benton recording 6.4 inches of rain on the 15th.
A very brief tornado with maximum estimated winds of 100 mph damaged part of a marina on Kentucky Lake. A 50-yard section of the marina was twisted and overturned. This was one of three sections that extended into Kentucky Lake. A boat that was docked in this part of the marina was lifted onto the debris. The entire marina structure was shifted several feet and pulled away from the shore, dislodging several spud poles that anchored the floating marina structure to the lake bottom.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
31,743
Population (ACS)
$174K
Median home value
29
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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Benton 115
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Marshall County, Kentucky?
375 events are on record between 1951 and 2025, causing 8 direct deaths and $30.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Marshall County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 164 recorded events — 43.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Marshall County?
31 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 21 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Marshall County?
29 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Marshall County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Marshall County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Marshall County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 62 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Marshall 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
- Marion County 214
- Martin County 211
- Magoffin County 305
- Mason County 236
- Madison County 401
- Meade County 278
Cite this page
“Marshall County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/marshall-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.