Russell County, Kentucky

What hazards hit Russell County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 139 since 1970. 42% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1970 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 Russell County had?

NOAA records 9 tornadoes in Russell County from 1971 to 2025, the strongest rated F4, with 2 deaths and 72 injuries recorded in the county. That is 55th 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 9 tornadoes whose track touched Russell County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 9, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 20 people, 2 of them in Russell County.

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 Russell County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the February 29, 2012 tornado ($257,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

An EF-2 tornado touched down just north of Russell Springs west of Route 127. The complete track of the tornado was 7.2 miles across Russell and Casey Counties. It intensified east of Route 127 with the worst damage occurring along a 1.5 mile stretch from Route 76 east over Oak Grove Road to Pattie Ridge Road. On Route 76, two mobile homes were totally destroyed and a modular built home was heavily damaged and moved off its foundation. The tornado tracked for a total of 5.8 miles before crossing the border into Casey County. The tornado first touched down north of Russell Springs in northern Russell County west of Highway 127 where it did minor damage to trees, barns, and outbuildings. It intensified as it moved east, with the worst damage occurring along a 1.5 mile stretch from Highway 76 eastward over Oak Grove Road to Pattie Ridge Road. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 359076)

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 Russell 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 1970 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 Russell County

FEMA's register lists 23 declarations that include Russell County: 17 major disasters, 6 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (13) and snowstorm (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 Russell County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 21 flood or flash flood records for Russell County from 1997 to 2022, on 19 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Russell County ranks 2685th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $104,000 on 3 claims filed in Russell County; the most in one year was 2 in 2019. 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 Russell County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Russell County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $7.2 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.

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

Counties that share a border with Russell County

1. Pulaski County 900
2. Wayne County 406
3. Adair County 291
4. Casey County 286
5. Russell County 227
6. Clinton County 203
7. Cumberland County 180

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 Russell CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Russell County's FEMA declarations (CSV)23 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis