Marshall County, Kentucky

County storm and disaster record · FIPS 21157 · population 31,629 · 302 sq mi

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 830 records for Marshall County, Kentucky from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 684 days; the most frequent are severe thunderstorm wind events (170 records). 445 of them are forecast-zone records, which the National Weather Service files once per zone: a county covered by several zones receives each one, so a single storm can add several records on the same day. The deadliest single record is the March 4, 1964 tornado: 3 deaths and 16 injuries. FEMA has issued 29 declarations naming the county since 1975, 27 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Winter Storm” on January 24, 2026.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $100,000
  • $100,000 or more
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more, or a death
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
  • 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
  • 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
Storm records
830on 684 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded
14131 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$109Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes
25strongest EF4
FEMA declarations
29latest 2026

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.

What hazards hit Marshall County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 170 since 1967. 42% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1967 fell in May and June. 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.

Marshall County: records by hazard, 1950 to June 30, 2026
HazardRecordsDaysFirst, lastKilledInjuredDamageRank in state
Severe thunderstorm wind 170 129 1967-2026 0 9 $6.5M 29 of 118
Winter storms 101 101 1996-2026 4 9 $27M 17 of 118
Hail 93 71 1980-2026 0 0 $16M 6 of 118
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds 87 86 1997-2026 0 0 – 10 of 118
Heat 79 79 1997-2025 0 5 – 8 of 118
Floods 72 63 1996-2025 1 1 $6.3M 32 of 118
High wind and dust storms 71 71 1997-2025 0 1 $16M 8 of 118
Extreme cold 64 63 1996-2026 1 0 $34K 10 of 118
Drought 42 42 1996-2026 0 0 $16M 7 of 118
Tornadoes 25 22 1951-2023 8 106 $21M 5 of 118
Heavy rain 22 22 2003-2015 0 0 – 3 of 118
Lightning 2 2 2007-2007 0 0 $17K 37 of 118
Wildfires 2 2 2004-2005 0 0 – 6 of 118

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 Marshall County had?

NOAA records 25 tornadoes in Marshall County from 1951 to 2023, the strongest rated EF4, with 8 deaths and 106 injuries recorded in the county. That is 5th of 118 Kentucky counties and 157th 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 28 tornadoes whose track touched Marshall County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 25: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 64 people, 8 of them in Marshall County.

The deadliest and strongest tornadoes that touched Marshall County, whole tracks
DateTornadoRatingPathKilled
2021-12-10 20:54, as SPC files itMayfield to HartfordCrossed KY, TNEF4168.53 mi57
1964-03-04 11:30, as SPC files itUnnamedF418.5 mi3
1968-04-03 23:50, as SPC files itMurrayF450.6 mi2
2005-11-15 13:45, as SPC files itBentonF344 mi1
1951-11-13 17:50, as SPC files itCalvertF32 mi1
2016-05-10 13:44, as SPC files itBentonEF319.03 mi0
1970-04-24 00:55, as SPC files itGilbertsvilleF325.4 mi0

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Kentucky.

Every tornado record filed for Marshall County (25)
Every tornado recorded in Marshall County, newest first
DatePlaceCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2023-07-01 Oak Level, Marshall County EF0 15.98 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $24K
2022-04-13 Tatumsville, Marshall County EF0 0.69 mi x 25 yd 0 0 $8K
2022-04-13 Briensburg, Marshall County EF0 0.88 mi x 25 yd 0 0 $10K
2021-12-10 Harvy, Marshall County EF4 18.08 mi x 2,450 yd 2 54 –
2020-01-11 Benton, Marshall County EF1 2.34 mi x 25 yd 0 0 $34K
2019-06-23 Tatumsville, Marshall County EF1 0.23 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $1.2M
2019-06-21 Gilbertsville Airport, Marshall County EF1 0.76 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $577K
2018-06-23 Calvert City, Marshall County EF0 0.52 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $1K
2016-12-26 Elva, Marshall County EF0 1.44 mi x 40 yd 0 0 $5K
2016-05-10 Harvy, Marshall County EF1 3.68 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $61K
2014-10-02 Walnut Grove, Marshall County EF1 0.38 mi x 125 yd 0 0 $93K
2013-10-31 Calvert City, Marshall County EF0 0.5 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $44K
2013-04-18 Oak Level, Marshall County EF0 1.39 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $10K
2005-11-15 Brewers, Marshall County F3 19.5 mi x 500 yd 1 20 $12M
2003-06-11 Briensburg, Marshall County F1 0.2 mi x 80 yd 0 0 $56K
2003-05-06 Briensburg, Marshall County F1 0.5 mi x 80 yd 0 0 –
2003-05-06 Briensburg, Marshall County F0 0.5 mi x 80 yd 0 0 –
2003-05-06 Benton, Marshall County F1 2 mi x 100 yd 0 0 –
2003-04-25 Sharpe, Marshall County F1 1.5 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $48K
2002-07-10 Gilbertsville, Marshall County F0 0.5 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $41K
1973-04-19 Marshall County F1 0.1 mi x 33 yd 0 0 –
1970-04-24 Marshall County F3 1.9 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $250K step
1968-04-04 Marshall County F4 5.1 mi x 100 yd 1 5 –
1964-03-04 Marshall County F4 13.6 mi x 250 yd 3 16 $250K step
1951-11-13 Marshall County F3 2 mi x 33 yd 1 11 $250K step

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

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 Marshall County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the April 16, 2026 thunderstorm wind ($2,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

The 12 most recent records kept for Marshall County
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-04-16 Thunderstorm WindFairdealing, Marshall County 52 kt wind 0 0 $2K
2026-04-16 Thunderstorm WindGilbertsville, Marshall County 52 kt wind 0 0 $1K
2026-04-16 Thunderstorm WindPalma, Marshall County 52 kt wind 0 0 $1K
2026-04-16 Thunderstorm WindTatumsville, Marshall County 61 kt wind 0 0 $2K
2026-04-16 HailPalma, Marshall County 2.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-04-16 HailOak Level, Marshall County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-04-16 HailBenton, Marshall County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-04-16 HailSharpe, Marshall County 2.00 in hail 0 0 $45K
2026-04-09 DroughtMarshall County · forecast zone Marshall 0 0 –
2026-02-27 Dense FogMarshall County · forecast zone Marshall 0 0 –
2026-02-15 Dense FogMarshall County · forecast zone Marshall 0 0 –
2026-01-26 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillMarshall County · forecast zone Marshall 0 0 –

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

Records with deaths or injuries in Marshall County, most deaths first
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
1964-03-04 TornadoMarshall County F4 13.6 mi x 250 yd 3 16 $250K step
2021-12-10 TornadoHarvy, Marshall County This historic EF-4 tornado was associated with a very long-track supercell that originally formed over eastern Arkansas. The supercell produced a nearly continuous tornado damage path from northeast Arkansas across western Tennessee and western Kentucky. The starting point of this particular tornado was in northwest ... EF4 18.08 mi x 2,450 yd 2 54 –
2005-11-15 TornadoBrewers, Marshall County The long-track tornado entered Marshall County from extreme northwest Calloway County. As the tornado moved quickly northeast across Marshall County, it reached its peak intensity of 200 MPH as it approached the Kentucky Lake resort campgrounds and boatyards. Until the tornado reached U.S. Highway 641 south of Benton, ... F3 19.5 mi x 500 yd 1 20 $12M
1951-11-13 TornadoMarshall County F3 2 mi x 33 yd 1 11 $250K step
2022-02-23 Winter WeatherMarshall County · forecast zone Marshall Widespread sleet and freezing rain occurred during the evening of the 23rd, followed by some patchy freezing drizzle or light rain overnight. A heavier round of precipitation on the 24th had little if any impact due to temperatures inching just above freezing. Sleet accumulations were under one-half inch, and ice ... 1 5 –
1968-04-04 TornadoMarshall County F4 5.1 mi x 100 yd 1 5 –
2015-02-20 Winter StormMarshall County · forecast zone Marshall A winter storm brought hazardous conditions to western Kentucky. South of the Henderson/Owensboro area, the precipitation type was primarily heavy sleet and snow at the beginning of the storm, then freezing rain became the primary precipitation type. One-half to one inch of sleet and snow accumulated rather quickly, ... 1 1 –
2025-02-20 Cold/Wind ChillMarshall County · forecast zone Marshall A 62 year old man died of hypothermia while staying in a camper with little or no heat. The fatality occurred to the east of Briensburg near Kentucky Lake. The death was pronounced on the 22nd, but likely occurred on the 20th or 21st. 1 0 –

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

The costliest records in Marshall County since 1993, damage in 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2003-05-04 HailCalvert City, Marshall County 2.75 in hail 0 0 $16M
2008-09-14 High WindMarshall County · forecast zone Marshall 65 kt wind 0 0 $15M
2005-11-15 TornadoBrewers, Marshall County F3 19.5 mi x 500 yd 1 20 $12M
2007-09-01 DroughtMarshall County · forecast zone Marshall 0 0 $3.1M
2016-07-07 Flash FloodSharpe, Marshall County 0 0 $2.5M
2002-07-10 Thunderstorm WindGilbertsville, Marshall County 87 kt wind 0 2 $1.6M
2025-02-16 FloodBenton, Marshall County 0 0 $1.5M
2019-06-23 TornadoTatumsville, Marshall County EF1 0.23 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $1.2M

Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $250K, in the dollars of the day) holds: March 4, 1964 (tornado, Marshall County, 3 killed); November 13, 1951 (tornado, Marshall County, 1 killed); April 24, 1970 (tornado, Marshall County).

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 Marshall 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).

Marshall County: records per decade (the 2020s to June 30, 2026)
Hazard1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020-26
Severe thunderstorm wind0141236395325
Winter storms––––9294221
Hail000614263413
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds––––5203725
Heat––––51137 z26
Floods––––10172421

Heat in the 2010s: 37 records against 11 in the decade before, 37 of them forecast-zone records. Cells marked z rose mostly through zone records. The local National Weather Service office files these once per forecast zone, so a change in how it draws its zones or splits a storm into records moves this count as much as the weather does; read it beside the Marshall County days with a record above.

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 1967 fell in May and June. The two busiest months are in violet.

The values, month by month

Jan 92 · Feb 81 · Mar 67 · Apr 107 · May 78 · Jun 83 · Jul 89 · Aug 50 · Sep 25 · Oct 40 · Nov 46 · Dec 72 (records).

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

Federal disaster declarations for Marshall County

FEMA's register lists 29 declarations that include Marshall County: 22 major disasters, 7 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (15) and flood (3).

Declarations including Marshall County, newest first
DeclaredNumberTypeTitle
2026-01-24EM-3633Winter StormSevere Winter Storm
2025-05-23DR-4875Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes
2025-04-24DR-4864Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
2025-04-03EM-3626Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2025-02-24DR-4860Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
2025-02-16EM-3624Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, and Landslides
2024-07-23DR-4804Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Landslides, and Mudslides
2023-04-10DR-4702Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
2021-12-12DR-4630TornadoSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, and Tornadoes
2021-12-11EM-3575TornadoSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, and Tornadoes
2020-03-28DR-4497BiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
2020-03-13EM-3469BiologicalCovid-19
2019-04-17DR-4428Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
2016-08-26DR-4278Severe StormSevere Storm, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
2015-05-12DR-4218FloodSevere Winter Storm, Snowstorm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
2015-04-30DR-4216SnowstormSevere Winter Storms, Snowstorms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
2011-05-04DR-1976Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2010-05-11DR-1912Severe StormSevere Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Tornadoes
2009-05-29DR-1841Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding and Mudslides
2009-02-05DR-1818Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storm and Flooding
2009-01-28EM-3302Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storm
2008-10-09DR-1802Severe StormSevere Wind Storm Associated With Tropical Depression Ike
2005-12-01DR-1617Severe StormSevere Storms and Tornadoes
2005-09-10EM-3231HurricaneHurricane Katrina
2005-02-08DR-1578SnowstormSevere Winter Storm and Record Snow
1997-03-04DR-1163Severe StormSevere Storm, Flooding, and Tornadoes
1996-01-13DR-1089SnowstormBlizzard of 96
1989-02-24DR-821FloodSevere Storms & Flooding
1975-03-29DR-461FloodSevere Storms & Flooding

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 Marshall County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 72 flood or flash flood records for Marshall County from 1996 to 2025, on 63 days, with 1 death. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Marshall County ranks 1501st of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.2 million on 68 claims filed in Marshall County; the most in one year was 17 in 2011. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

The values, year by year

1978: 1 · 1979: 3 · 1982: 1 · 1984: 1 · 1996: 2 · 1997: 1 · 1998: 2 · 2001: 5 · 2006: 5 · 2009: 2 · 2010: 4 · 2011: 17 · 2013: 4 · 2016: 12 · 2017: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2025: 3; the other years: 0.

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 Marshall County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Marshall County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $22.2 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.

National Risk Index ratings for Marshall County (December 2025 release), by FEMA's rating, then score
HazardRisk ratingExpected annual lossModeled frequency
Ice StormRelatively High$1.2M1.5 a year (modeled)
EarthquakeRelatively Moderate$7.9Monce in about 112 years (modeled)
Strong WindRelatively Moderate$1.3M3.8 a year (modeled)
Winter WeatherRelatively Moderate$164K6.7 a year (modeled)
DroughtRelatively Moderate$404K7.1 modeled event-days a year
HailRelatively Low$582K2.9 a year (modeled)
Heat WaveRelatively Low$932K9.8 modeled event-days a year
LandslideRelatively Low$5Konce in about 2 years (modeled)

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

Counties that share a border with Marshall County

  1. McCracken County 1,031
  2. Calloway County 892
  3. Graves County 892
  4. Marshall County 830
  5. Trigg County 718
  6. Livingston County 699
  7. Lyon County 573

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

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