Bourbon County, Kentucky

What hazards hit Bourbon County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 123 since 1966. 47% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1966 fell in June and July. The rank column places the county among Kentucky's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Bourbon County had?

NOAA records 4 tornadoes in Bourbon County from 1997 to 2024, the strongest rated EF1, with 0 deaths and 1 injury recorded in the county. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 5 tornadoes whose track touched Bourbon County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 4: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Kentucky.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Bourbon County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the September 23, 2018 flood (1 death and $18,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

A female interning at Silver Springs Stud Farm was returning from lunch on Brentsville Road when she drove into water from a flooded stream over the roadway. The stream swept the vehicle into a deep pool off the road. Within moments, the top of the car was several feet below the surface of the water. The victim's body was recovered several hours later from the backseat of the vehicle.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 783701)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Bourbon County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

47% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1966 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Bourbon County

FEMA's register lists 22 declarations that include Bourbon County: 15 major disasters, 7 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (9) and flood (4).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Bourbon County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 88 flood or flash flood records for Bourbon County from 1996 to 2023, on 73 days, with 2 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Bourbon County ranks 609th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $6.5 million on 395 claims filed in Bourbon County; the most in one year was 73 in 2015. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Bourbon County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Bourbon County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $10.8 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Bourbon County

1. Fayette County 554
2. Bath County 435
3. Montgomery County 431
4. Scott County 344
5. Harrison County 285
6. Bourbon County 279
7. Clark County 242
8. Nicholas County 185

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in KentuckyEvery Kentucky tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Severe thunderstorm wind in KentuckyThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, by county, year and month
• The Kentucky recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Bourbon CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Bourbon County's FEMA declarations (CSV)22 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis