87
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$1.0M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Union County, Kentucky: 87 recorded events between 1961 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 83. That places the county #2,372 nationally and #107 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Union County, Kentucky: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Union County is the 2000s, when 19 of the county's 87 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Union County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 31.5% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #2,372 for this hazard and #107 within Kentucky, putting it in the 24.6 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Union County with 21 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 1998 | HENSHAW | 50 | 0 | 1 | $4K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 2025 | CULLEN | 74 | $25K |
| Mar 31, 2025 | HENSHAW | 50 | $1K |
| Mar 15, 2025 | STURGIS MUNI ARPT | 52 | $1K |
| Mar 15, 2025 | PRIDE | 61 | $60K |
| Jul 30, 2024 | SPRING GROVE | 56 | $20K |
| May 8, 2024 | MORGANFIELD ARPT | 65 | $8K |
| May 8, 2024 | CULLEN | 61 | $3K |
| May 8, 2024 | SULLIVAN | 61 | $20K |
| Apr 2, 2024 | RALEIGH | 61 | $20K |
| Mar 3, 2023 | MORGANFIELD | 55 | $20K |
Other hazards here
More from Union County
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Substantial damage occurred in downtown Morganfield. Large trees were uprooted. Several metal roofs were torn off businesses and apartments. Downtown business fronts were damaged, and a few partially collapsed. Roof debris became entangled in power lines. Two windows were blown out of a furniture store. Utility poles were snapped. Kentucky Route 56 was closed downtown because of street lamps on the ground, downed trees, and roof debris. A few miles north of Morganfield, strong winds downed a large tree and some tree limbs up to 2 inches in diameter.
State police reported numerous trees and power lines were blown down. Siding was stripped from downtown businesses. Winds knocked over a wall and damaged bleachers at Sturgis Elementary School. An estimated 10 to 15 homes were damaged by felled trees, and other trees were down over roads. Roofs were ripped off storage buildings at a lumberyard, and some roofing material was blown three blocks down U.S. Highway 60. Sturgis was still cleaning up from wind damage that occurred during a thunderstorm on June 12.
Scattered wind damage extended from about three miles north of Morganfield to Morganfield, and then extended southwest to about ten miles southwest of Morganfield around Kentucky Highway 109. Dozens of trees were uprooted. Trees and power lines were blown down throughout the east side of Morganfield. Several barns and small sheds were damaged by winds estimated up to 85 mph. Large sections of roofing were blown off at least a couple barns. Numerous areas of corn were blown down. The majority of the damage was from Morganfield west and southwest.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Union County, Kentucky?
87 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Union County between 1961 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Union County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Union County measured 83.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Union County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Union County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/union-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.