Ohio County, Kentucky

What hazards hit Ohio County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 171 since 1969. 44% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1969 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 Ohio County had?

NOAA records 14 tornadoes in Ohio County from 1954 to 2026, the strongest rated EF3, with 0 deaths and 1 injury recorded in the county. 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 11 tornadoes whose track touched Ohio County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 14: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); 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 Ohio County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the February 17, 2025 flood (1 death and $10,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

In the early morning hours, a man was driving to work on Parks Ridge Road when he drove into water over the roadway. Rough River which bends near and under Parks Ridge Road was flooded at the time. One of his windows was half way down, and another, in the back on the right side of the vehicle, was all the way down. Investigators believe the man exited the vehicle out the open back window. The car and man were found separately on opposite banks three days later in flood waters. The exact time of the incident is unknown, but reporting made reference to it still being dark at the time.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1256801)

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 Ohio 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?

44% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1969 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 Ohio County

FEMA's register lists 31 declarations that include Ohio County: 23 major disasters, 8 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (16) 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 Ohio County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 101 flood or flash flood records for Ohio County from 1997 to 2026, on 84 days, with 1 death. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Ohio County ranks 2212th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $180,000 on 15 claims filed in Ohio County; the most in one year was 3 in 2011. 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 Ohio County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Ohio County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $13.9 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 Ohio County

1. Daviess County 1,057
2. Muhlenberg County 845
3. McLean County 631
4. Breckinridge County 403
5. Ohio County 402
6. Butler County 367
7. Grayson County 361
8. 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 Ohio CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Ohio County's FEMA declarations (CSV)31 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis