Washington County, Kentucky

What hazards hit Washington County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 100 since 1968. 47% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1968 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 Washington County had?

NOAA records 9 tornadoes in Washington County from 1996 to 2025, the strongest rated EF2, with 1 death and 19 injuries 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 10 tornadoes whose track touched Washington County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 9: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); 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 Washington County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the May 30, 2025 tornado (1 death and 14 injuries).

An NWS damage survey team determined that an EF2 tornado with peak winds of 125 mph, maximum width of 450 yards, and track length of 5.55 miles initially touched down on the morning of Friday, May 30th in southeastern Washington County, Kentucky. The tornado touched down on a ridgetop near the intersection of Coyle Lane and Long Run Road, initially snapping and twisting some hardwood trees, and throwing a chicken cage almost a quarter mile to the northeast of the path. From there, the tornado quickly intensified into solid EF-2 strength as a vortex within the parent circulation produced a third of a mile long swath of intense damage starting only about 100-200 yards from the touchdown point. Here, a well built barn with living quarters was completely swept off the concrete foundation and thrown into the valley below. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1267579)

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 Washington 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?

47% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1968 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 Washington County

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

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 29 flood or flash flood records for Washington County from 1997 to 2025, on 18 days, with 2 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Washington County ranks 1874th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $945,000 on 32 claims filed in Washington County; the most in one year was 10 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 Washington County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Washington County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $6.8 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 Washington County

1. Nelson County 411
2. Marion County 255
3. Mercer County 249
4. Anderson County 243
5. Boyle County 220
6. 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 Washington CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Washington County's FEMA declarations (CSV)29 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis