Mercer County, Kentucky

What hazards hit Mercer County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 129 since 1968. 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 Mercer County had?

NOAA records 15 tornadoes in Mercer County from 1972 to 2025, the strongest rated F2, with 1 death and 17 injuries recorded in the county. That is 20th 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 15 tornadoes whose track touched Mercer County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 15, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 1 person.

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 Mercer County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the May 26, 2024 thunderstorm wind (1 death).

A National Weather Service damage survey determined that a swath of straight-line winds peaking at 80 to 85 mph occurred along a 12 mile path stretching from just west of Harrodsburg in Mercer County, to just east of Herrington Lake in Garrard County. 70 mph winds began in Riverview Estates where numerous large limbs and trees were downed, along with a few back porch awnings that were lifted and thrown on top of their respective roofs. Minor shingle damage was also noted. Farther east on Scenic Circle, more large tree limbs were downed. Winds were estimated around 70 mph here. More sporadic damage was noted eastward through Harrodsburg. Sporadic damage to large tree limbs and a few uprooted trees were noted along Kentucky Route 152 east toward Burgin. More large limbs and trees were downed in Burgin, with everything laying in a general ENE direction, along with storm motion. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1189048)

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

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: 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 Mercer 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 Mercer County. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Mercer County

FEMA's register lists 26 declarations that include Mercer County: 19 major disasters, 7 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (12) and severe ice storm (3).

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 Mercer County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 29 flood or flash flood records for Mercer County from 1996 to 2026, on 25 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Mercer County ranks 976th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $5.0 million on 187 claims filed in Mercer County; the most in one year was 35 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 Mercer County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Mercer County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $12.1 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 Mercer County

1. Mercer County 249
2. Anderson County 243
3. Woodford County 238
4. Jessamine County 232
5. Garrard County 224
6. Boyle County 220
7. Washington County 202

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 Mercer CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Mercer County's FEMA declarations (CSV)26 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis