Madison County, Kentucky

What hazards hit Madison County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 216 since 1956. 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 Madison County had?

NOAA records 18 tornadoes in Madison County from 1955 to 2023, the strongest rated F4, with 9 deaths and 51 injuries recorded in the county. That is 59th 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 19 tornadoes whose track touched Madison County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 18: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 9 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 Madison County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 27, 2026 flash flood (2 deaths).

Two people were trapped and drowned in a basement apartment on the 300 block of University Drive after the outside entrance, 10 feet below ground level, filled with water.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1357859)

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 Madison 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?

Records by month in Madison County. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Madison County

FEMA's register lists 28 declarations that include Madison County: 21 major disasters, 7 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (12) and flood (5).

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 Madison County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 92 flood or flash flood records for Madison County from 1997 to 2026, on 56 days, with 7 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Madison County ranks 1141st of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $3.5 million on 138 claims filed in Madison County; the most in one year was 33 in 2010. 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 Madison County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Madison County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $36.7 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 Madison County

1. Estill County 594
2. Fayette County 554
3. Madison County 459
4. Rockcastle County 437
5. Jackson County 430
6. Clark County 242
7. Jessamine County 232
8. Garrard County 224

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 Madison CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Madison County's FEMA declarations (CSV)28 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis