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Wayne County, Kentucky severe weather history spans 311 recorded events between 1968 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 67.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,719 nationally and #43 in Kentucky.
311
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
62
Direct injuries
$29.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Wayne County, Kentucky severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Wayne County, Kentucky severe weather history averages 5.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 101 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 23 events fall before 1990 and 288 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Wayne County, Kentucky record is tornado, responsible for 4 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $28.6M 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 Wayne County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 211 | 0 | $777K | 100 | 1970–2026 |
| Hail | 55 | 0 | $72K | 2.75 | 1968–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 22 | 0 | $38K | 0 | 1997–2024 |
| Tornado | 9 | 4 | $28.6M | F4 | 1974–2021 |
| Flood | 6 | 0 | $2K | 0 | 1997–2019 |
| Heavy Rain | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2019 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2004–2025 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $75K | 0 | 2019–2019 |
Decade by decade
Wayne County, Kentucky severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
9 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974-04-03 | EF4 | 10 | 113 | 38.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1974-04-03 | EF4 | 5 | 6 | 11.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1974-04-03 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 16.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-04-03 | EF3 | 2 | 45 | 13.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-04-03 | EF3 | 0 | 5 | 18.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-05-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-04-11 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 8.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1998-04-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 18.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-02-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.7 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Wayne County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 1974 | Tornado | 2 | 40 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 4, 1974 | Tornado | 2 | 17 | $0 | |
| Nov 15, 1989 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 | |
| Apr 11, 2008 | Tornado | WAIT | 0 | 1 | $1.0M |
| Apr 28, 2002 | Hail | MONTICELLO | 0 | 1 | $500 |
| Jun 1, 1987 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An EF2 tornado with maximum winds near 130 mph entered Wayne County from Clinton County along Pleasant Ridge Road. The tornado maintained a continuous 7 mile track east northeast before lifting 1.5 miles southwest of Monticello near Furnace Mountain.
An EF2 tornado touched down 1 mile south of Betsey in the Meadow Creek area. The tornado had a path length of 1/4 of a mile and a path width of 100 yards. The estimated wind speeds associated with the tornado were 110 to 120 mph. The tornado downed numerous trees. The twister also blew part of the roof off of a brick home, causing the corner of an outside wall to collapse.
The tornado narrowed as it crossed from Clinton County (Louisville, KY County Warning Area) into Wayne County, with some straight line wind damage noted. The winds|generally were from the west to southwest surrounding the tornado.|The straight line winds of 65 to 75 mph damaged 2 barns.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
19,602
Population (ACS)
$136K
Median home value
25
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 29, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| May 23, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | 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
- Monticello 132
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Wayne County, Kentucky?
311 events are on record between 1968 and 2026, causing 4 direct deaths and $29.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Wayne County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 211 recorded events — 67.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Wayne County?
9 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 5 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Wayne County?
25 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Wayne County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Wayne County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Wayne County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 55 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Wayne 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
- Washington County 163
- Webster County 217
- Warren County 583
- Whitley County 477
- Union County 276
- Wolfe County 289
Cite this page
“Wayne County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/wayne-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.