Hancock County, Kentucky

What hazards hit Hancock County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 122 since 1958. 42% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1958 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 Hancock County had?

NOAA records 9 tornadoes in Hancock County from 1952 to 2026, the strongest rated F3, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. That is 29th of 118 Kentucky counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. 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 9 tornadoes whose track touched Hancock County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 9, the same count); 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 Hancock County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the September 8, 2018 tornado ($7,052 in damage in 2025 dollars).

This tree-top level tornado did all of its damage 20 to 30 feet above ground. Never more than 50 yards wide, the first evidence of the tornado touching down was one mile south of the water tower on Thomas Lane, where it downed several large branches that blocked the road. Moving northeast over forested land, the next evidence was more tree trunks and branches snapped on Poplar Grove Rd just north of the intersection with Hilldale Rd. The tornado then continued to skip northeast, snapping branches and trunks to the west of Frank Luttrell Rd, before crossing the road and causing minor roof damage to the metal roof of a barn and snapping more tree limbs a third of a mile southeast of North Hancock Elementary School. The tornado dropped small branches and leaves along its path as it continued northeast. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 783662)

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 Hancock 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?

42% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1958 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 Hancock County

FEMA's register lists 25 declarations that include Hancock County: 19 major disasters, 6 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (14) and biological (2).

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 Hancock County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 31 flood or flash flood records for Hancock County from 1996 to 2023, on 24 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Hancock County ranks 2321st of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $53,000 on 11 claims filed in Hancock County; the most in one year was 3 in 2025. 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 Hancock County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Hancock County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $7.8 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 Hancock County

1. Daviess County 1,057
2. Spencer County, IN 785
3. Breckinridge County 403
4. Ohio County 402
5. Perry County, IN 291
6. Hancock County 228

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 Hancock CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Hancock County's FEMA declarations (CSV)25 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis