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Union County, Kentucky severe weather history spans 276 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 31.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,922 nationally and #60 in Kentucky.
276
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
23
Direct injuries
$23.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Union County, Kentucky severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Union County, Kentucky severe weather history averages 4.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 85 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 38 events fall before 1990 and 238 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Union County, Kentucky record is flash flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $20.2M 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 Union County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 87 | 0 | $1.0M | 83 | 1961–2025 |
| Flood | 83 | 0 | $1.2M | 0 | 2000–2025 |
| Hail | 52 | 0 | $60K | 2.75 | 1974–2025 |
| Tornado | 29 | 0 | $20.2M | F3 | 1956–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 18 | 1 | $715K | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2015 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 2015–2015 |
Decade by decade
Union County, Kentucky severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
30 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 30 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-05-16 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 9.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-11-17 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 14.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-03-28 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 12.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-06-28 | EF3 | 0 | 12 | 14.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-04-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-03-02 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 6.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-22 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 15.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-04-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-04-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-07-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Union County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 25, 2018 | Flash Flood | HITESVILLE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 29, 1960 | Tornado | 0 | 12 | $2.5M | |
| May 17, 2025 | Tornado | SPRING GROVE | 0 | 4 | $15.0M |
| Feb 27, 1999 | Tornado | MORGANFIELD | 0 | 2 | $200K |
| Apr 2, 2024 | Tornado | SULLIVAN | 0 | 1 | $130K |
| Mar 14, 2019 | Tornado | HENSHAW | 0 | 1 | $60K |
| Mar 2, 2012 | Tornado | CHAPMAN | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| May 21, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | HENSHAW | 0 | 1 | $4K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A water rescue was conducted near Mason Creek on Highway 359. A vehicle was swept off the roadway by the flash flood. Fire department dive team members recovered the body of the victim from the submerged car. The 77-year-old victim was a local farmer.
An EF-3 tornado with peak winds of 155 mph impacted the south side of Morganfield, KY, on the evening of May 16, 2025. The tornado began along Bunger Road where ground scouring of newly-planted crops was seen. Moving east, the tornado intensified,|doing EF-3 damage to several homes on Highway 130, Robinson Road, US Highway 60, Terre Hill Road, and Wildlife Road. Some homes suffered near catastrophic damage, with most roofs and most exterior walls removed. The tornado weakened after it crossed Highway 56 moving east, lifting near Kit Harris Road. The tornado reached a peak width of around 500 yards and caused four minor injuries along its 9.94 miles track.
Major flooding continued on the Ohio River from April. At the Uniontown river gage, the flood crest of 56.94 feet on the morning of May 6 was about three feet higher than the 1997 flood. This was still over seven feet lower than the record crest set in 1937. The Ohio River floodgates were installed on Kentucky Highway 923 at Sturgis. This was the first time since the March 1997 flood that such actions were required. Sandbagging was done to protect some houses. Several county roads were closed, as was the main traffic artery through the county, U.S. Highway 60. There were at least 14 state highways and 18 county roads posted as closed in Union County.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
13,260
Population (ACS)
$105K
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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Uniontown 259
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Union County, Kentucky?
276 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $23.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Union County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 87 recorded events — 31.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Union County?
30 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 30 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Union County?
28 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Union County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Union County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Union County as very low risk, placing it in the 43 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Union 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
- Trimble County 152
- Warren County 583
- Trigg County 300
- Washington County 163
- Todd County 273
- Wayne County 311
Cite this page
“Union County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/union-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.