Woodford County, Kentucky

What hazards hit Woodford County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 128 since 1961. 51% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1961 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 Woodford County had?

NOAA records 9 tornadoes in Woodford County from 1963 to 2024, the strongest rated F2, with 0 deaths and 3 injuries recorded in the county. That is 38th 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 7 tornadoes whose track touched Woodford 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 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 Woodford County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the December 22, 2004 ice storm ($391,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

A winter storm began with freezing rain, then changed over to sleet and snow over parts of south central and east central Kentucky. Ice accumulations up to one half inch were reported, with up to an inch of snow or sleet on top. Some structural failures were reported, mainly in outbuildings and awnings covering service stations. A few flights were cancelled out of Bluegrass Field in Lexington. Many residents were without power for an extended time period, mainly in Franklin, Harrison, and Scott Counties. Trees and limbs brought down by the weight of the ice blocked many area streets and roads.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 5428113)

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 Woodford 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?

51% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1961 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 Woodford County

FEMA's register lists 25 declarations that include Woodford County: 18 major disasters, 7 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (12) 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 Woodford County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 26 flood or flash flood records for Woodford County from 1996 to 2022, on 19 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Woodford County ranks 495th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $17.0 million on 509 claims filed in Woodford County; the most in one year was 78 in 1997. 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 Woodford County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Woodford County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $13.0 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 Woodford County

1. Fayette County 554
2. Scott County 344
3. Franklin County 310
4. Mercer County 249
5. Anderson County 243
6. Woodford County 238
7. Jessamine County 232

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 Woodford CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Woodford County's FEMA declarations (CSV)25 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis