Jefferson County, Kentucky

What hazards hit Jefferson County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 679 since 1957. 42% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1957 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 Jefferson County had?

NOAA records 34 tornadoes in Jefferson County from 1964 to 2025, the strongest rated F4, with 3 deaths and 250 injuries recorded in the county. That is 6th of 118 Kentucky counties and 178th of 3,080 U.S. 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 33 tornadoes whose track touched Jefferson County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 34: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 3 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 Jefferson County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 28, 2026 flood (1 death).

Three people went swimming in the swollen Floyds Fork at Broad Run Park when one of them, a man in his 20s, got pulled under by the current. Given recent rains the river was elevated, but still within its banks. The Mt Washington, Floyds Fork, gauge was around 12.5 feet at the time.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1357871)

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 Jefferson 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 1957 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 Jefferson County

FEMA's register lists 25 declarations that include Jefferson County: 19 major disasters, 6 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (12) 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 Jefferson County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 245 flood or flash flood records for Jefferson County from 1996 to 2026, on 121 days, with 4 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Jefferson County ranks 88th of 2,942 U.S. counties. The 100 counties with the most claims

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $98.8 million on 5,557 claims filed in Jefferson County; the most in one year was 1,560 in 1997. 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 Jefferson County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Jefferson County Relatively High overall, with an expected annual loss of $342 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 Jefferson County

1. Jefferson County 1,264
2. Hardin County 543
3. Clark County, IN 535
4. Harrison County, IN 467
5. Oldham County 383
6. Shelby County 376
7. Bullitt County 372
8. Floyd County, IN 337
9. Spencer County 211

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