Estill County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Kentucky Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Estill County is about the same as Kentucky average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Estill County is lower than Kentucky average and is lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #46
| Estill County | 0.08 |
| Kentucky | 0.24 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #1
| Estill County | 0.0000 |
| Kentucky | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #77
| Estill County | 110.00 |
| Kentucky | 136.89 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 14,207 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Estill County were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 2 | Cold: | 91 | Dense Fog: | 40 | Drought: | 56 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 2,370 | Hail: | 2,983 | Heat: | 72 | Heavy Snow: | 179 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 38 | Landslide: | 2 | Strong Wind: | 112 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 7,656 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 8 | Winter Storm: | 92 | Winter Weather: | 123 |
| Other: | 383 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Estill County.
Historical Earthquake Events
A total of 1 historical earthquake event that had a recorded magnitude of 3.5 or above found in or near Estill County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Depth (km) | Latitude | Longitude |
| 33.1 | 1980-07-27 | 5.1 | 8 | 38.17 | -83.91 |
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 45 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Estill County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 4.0 | 1977-08-03 | 2 | 37°42'N / 83°55'W | 37°42'N / 83°52'W | 2.30 Miles | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Estill |
| 8.2 | 1961-06-09 | 3 | 37°40'N / 83°50'W | 37°40'N / 83°48'W | 1.30 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 38 | 2.5M | 0 | Estill |
| 10.0 | 1961-06-09 | 3 | 37°40'N / 83°48'W | 37°40'N / 83°46'W | 1.30 Miles | 150 Yards | 1 | 25 | 2.5M | 0 | Lee |
| 13.2 | 1982-03-16 | 2 | 37°53'N / 84°01'W | 37°53'N / 83°57'W | 4.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Powell |
| 14.5 | 1982-03-16 | 2 | 37°54'N / 84°05'W | 37°53'N / 84°01'W | 4.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Clark |
| 16.1 | 1978-08-30 | 2 | 37°52'N / 83°49'W | 37°52'N / 83°43'W | 5.20 Miles | 800 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Powell |
| 17.0 | 2009-05-08 | 3 | 37°39'N / 84°27'W | 37°45'N / 84°06'W | 20.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 2 | 15 | 0K | 0K | Madison |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The tornado first touched down in the Nina Ridge Road area three miles ESE of McCreary in Garrard County. The tornado caused EF-1 damage at this location before strengthening to EF-2 just before entering Madison County. Near the intersection of Highways 1295 and 52 in Madison County, the tornado reached EF-3 intensity. Near this intersection, two adults were killed when the mobile home they were in was picked up and thrown by the tornado. The bodies were recovered from a nearby pond. Five other occupants of the mobile home, including three children, were injured. A female relative in a brick home just yards away from the mobile home received only minor injuries despite being pinned under a collapsed wall in the house. The tornado weakened and lifted at times as it continued east across the county, but still caused significant damage. It tore much of the roof off a fire station on the south side of Richmond before moving over the Bluegrass Army Depot toward the community of Waco in the eastern part of the county. After doing extensive damage to mainly roofs in a subdivision of brick homes near Waco, the tornado destroyed a mobile home in the area, carrying two teenage male occupants of the home through the air before dropping them near an elementary school 300 yards away. The teens miraculously received only minor injuries. The tornado weakened significantly from this point on, doing only minor roof damage and downing trees as it continued eastward before lifting near the end of Drowning Creek Road. The tornado was up to 150 yards wide with maximum estimated wind speeds up to 140 mph. Approximately 150 homes received damage, the most severe being several brick homes where only interior walls remained standing in the wake of the tornado. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A long-lived bow echo that had produced widespread wind damage over southern Illinois moved east into Kentucky during the late morning hours. As it moved east, the system encountered a strengthening low-level jet across the Ohio Valley, which helped modify the motion of the line, resulting in training storms of extremely heavy rain that caused flash flooding. Individual storms developing ahead of the line continued to produce damaging winds, with two storms producing tornadoes, before the main area of convection moved through. NWS damage surveys determined the tornado in south-central Kentucky to be EF-1 in intensity, while the east-central Kentucky was ranked as a strong EF-3. The EF-3 tornado resulted in two fatalities and numerous injuries. | |||||||||||
| 18.8 | 1990-05-21 | 2 | 37°45'N / 84°18'W | 0.50 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25.0M | 0 | Madison | |
| 19.0 | 1977-10-01 | 2 | 37°31'N / 83°53'W | 37°23'N / 83°43'W | 12.80 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Owsley |
| 20.3 | 1996-04-20 | 2 | 37°34'N / 84°18'W | 37°34'N / 84°18'W | 2.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 10 | 12.8M | 0 | Madison |
| Brief Description: A tornado touched down on the on the East side of interstate 75 at the Ky 21 exit at 445 am est. There the tornado destroyed a Sunoco gasoline station and ripped the roof of a Howard Johnson's motel. The tornado moved East-Northeast across the South side of Berea to just East of Ky 25 before dissapating around 450 am est. The tornado damaged around 800 homes and 40 businesses. 35 houses were destroyed or eceived major damage, while 26 business were destroyed or received major damage. Home damage was estimated at 6.7 million dollars...while damage to businesses was estimated at 6.1 million dollars. There were only minor injuries reported with the most serious being a broken collar bone. The tornado caused a storage tank to topple on the Parker Seal plant which produces O-rings for the space shuttle mission. Also damaged were parts of Berea College. Most of the damage there was due to fallen and uprooted trees. The "Old Town" section of Berea, where craftspeople make and sell high quality furiniture and other goods saw several businesses badly damaged. The roof of the town's old train depot, now a tourist center, caved in. Many homes were reported as flattened. The Red Cross, Salvation Army and 130 members of the National Guard were sent to aid the cleanup effort. The National Weather Service storm survey the damage path revealed an F2 tornado embedded in straight-line winds. | |||||||||||
| 21.2 | 1972-08-19 | 2 | 37°34'N / 84°19'W | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Madison | |||
| 21.4 | 1974-04-03 | 4 | 37°53'N / 84°16'W | 38°02'N / 84°04'W | 15.00 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 8 | 0K | 0 | Clark |
| 22.0 | 1967-03-12 | 2 | 37°41'N / 84°22'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Mccreary | |||
| 22.5 | 1955-03-04 | 3 | 37°43'N / 84°27'W | 37°40'N / 84°18'W | 8.90 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Madison |
| 22.6 | 1954-06-01 | 2 | 37°17'N / 84°07'W | 37°27'N / 83°54'W | 16.40 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Laurel |
| 22.7 | 1974-04-03 | 3 | 37°59'N / 83°53'W | 38°02'N / 83°49'W | 4.90 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Montgomery |
| 23.8 | 1974-04-03 | 4 | 37°44'N / 84°29'W | 37°53'N / 84°16'W | 15.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 7 | 20 | 0K | 0 | Madison |
| 25.1 | 1982-06-16 | 2 | 37°59'N / 84°14'W | 38°04'N / 84°04'W | 12.00 Miles | 30 Yards | 0 | 4 | 250K | 0 | Clark |
| 26.4 | 1974-04-03 | 2 | 37°50'N / 84°26'W | 37°53'N / 84°22'W | 4.70 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Madison |
| 27.2 | 2009-05-08 | 2 | 37°39'N / 84°28'W | 37°39'N / 84°27'W | 1.00 Mile | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Garrard |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The tornado first touched down in the Nina Ridge Road area three miles ESE of McCreary in Garrard County. The tornado caused EF-1 damage at this location before strengthening to EF-2 just before entering Madison County. Near the intersection of Highways 1295 and 52 in Madison County, the tornado reached EF-3 intensity. Near this intersection, two adults were killed when the mobile home they were in was picked up and thrown by the tornado. The bodies were recovered from a nearby pond. Five other occupants of the mobile home, including three children, were injured. A female relative in a brick home just yards away from the mobile home received only minor injuries despite being pinned under a collapsed wall in the house. The tornado weakened and lifted at times as it continued east across the county, but still caused significant damage. It tore much of the roof off a fire station on the south side of Richmond before moving over the Bluegrass Army Depot toward the community of Waco in the eastern part of the county. After doing extensive damage to mainly roofs in a subdivision of brick homes near Waco, the tornado destroyed a mobile home in the area, carrying two teenage male occupants of the home through the air before dropping them near an elementary school 300 yards away. The teens miraculously received only minor injuries. The tornado weakened significantly from this point on, doing only minor roof damage and downing trees as it continued eastward before lifting near the end of Drowning Creek Road. The tornado was up to 150 yards wide with maximum estimated wind speeds up to 140 mph. Approximately 150 homes received damage, the most severe being several brick homes where only interior walls remained standing in the wake of the tornado. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A long-lived bow echo that had produced widespread wind damage over southern Illinois moved east into Kentucky during the late morning hours. As it moved east, the system encountered a strengthening low-level jet across the Ohio Valley, which helped modify the motion of the line, resulting in training storms of extremely heavy rain that caused flash flooding. Individual storms developing ahead of the line continued to produce damaging winds, with two storms producing tornadoes, before the main area of convection moved through. NWS damage surveys determined the tornado in south-central Kentucky to be EF-1 in intensity, while the east-central Kentucky was ranked as a strong EF-3. The EF-3 tornado resulted in two fatalities and numerous injuries. | |||||||||||
| 28.9 | 1974-04-03 | 4 | 37°43'N / 84°30'W | 37°44'N / 84°29'W | 1.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Garrard |
| 29.8 | 1977-10-01 | 2 | 37°37'N / 84°30'W | 2.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 16 | 250K | 0 | Laurel | |
| 30.0 | 1974-04-03 | 3 | 37°17'N / 84°11'W | 37°18'N / 84°10'W | 1.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 1 | 10 | 2.5M | 0 | Rockcastle |
| 34.0 | 1974-04-03 | 2 | 37°11'N / 83°57'W | 37°13'N / 83°55'W | 2.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Clay |
| 35.0 | 1968-04-23 | 2 | 37°52'N / 84°35'W | 37°54'N / 84°32'W | 3.30 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Jessamine |
| 35.5 | 1974-04-03 | 4 | 38°14'N / 84°44'W | 37°30'N / 84°25'W | 53.50 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 37 | 250K | 0 | Scott |
| 36.0 | 1974-04-03 | 3 | 37°09'N / 84°17'W | 37°17'N / 84°11'W | 10.70 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Laurel |
| 36.8 | 1986-03-10 | 2 | 38°02'N / 84°30'W | 38°03'N / 84°27'W | 3.50 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 20 | 25.0M | 0 | Fayette |
| 37.8 | 1984-05-06 | 2 | 37°08'N / 84°05'W | 37°10'N / 84°01'W | 5.00 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 8 | 2.5M | 0 | Laurel |
| 39.2 | 1973-06-29 | 3 | 37°08'N / 84°05'W | 0.50 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Laurel | |
| 39.2 | 2001-06-02 | 2 | 37°08'N / 84°05'W | 37°08'N / 84°05'W | 7.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 10 | 17.1M | 0K | Laurel |
| Brief Description: A strong F2 tornado with wind estimates between 135 and 155 miles per hour ripped through downtown London during the evening hours. The Carnaby Square shopping center was hard hit. The tornado was reported by eye witnesses to have been nearly stationary in the parking lot for nearly 4 minutes. During this time several automobiles including a large moving van were overtured. A 20 by 30 foot chunk of 4 inch thick blacktop from the parking lot was torn up and thrown approximately 100 feet. Merchandise from one of the stores was later found 25 miles to the east. The tornado lifted before crossing U.S. Highway 25. The tornado touched down again along Bellinger Street between 6:15 and 6:20 pm where several homes received major damage. One duplex lost its entire roof as a mother and her two sons took shelter on the second floor. A mobile home used for storage was demolished. One block over on Morgan Street several brick and framed homes lost their entire roofs. A framed home placed on a block foundation was blown 15 feet away from the foundation. The storm lifted as if approached the Rolling Acres Subdivision. Witnesses reported seeing two funnel clouds at this time as the storm continued moving east. Damage was confined to large trees and some shingle damage on roofs of homes. The storm again dropped a tornado as it approached a ball park just northwest of the intersection of Kentucky Highway 192 and 80. Three of the four teams in the park took refuge in the concession stand and the fourth team remained in the dugout where parents covered the children while laying on the ground. One mid sized truck was tossed from the parking lot approximately 150 feet. Fencing from both ball diamonds was blown away. The last major damage occurred at a mobile home sales lot near the intersection of Kentucky Highway 192 and the Daniel Boone Parkway. Eight mobile homes weighing 8 to 12 tons were totaled. Emergency management officials reported that there were 10 minor injuries with the most serious being a broken arm. Eighteen residences were destroyed, 21 received major damage while 84 received minor damage. Twenty-six businesses suffered major damage. One church received major damage with another receiving minor damage. Thirty vehicles were destroyed and three 18 wheel tractor trailers were overturned. | |||||||||||
| 40.0 | 1996-04-20 | 2 | 37°27'N / 84°46'W | 37°32'N / 84°32'W | 12.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 7 | 1.5M | 0 | Lincoln |
| Brief Description: A tornado embedded in straight-line winds moved through Lincoln county destroying or damaging 20 houses and mobile homes and 6 buildings. DES coordinator Winfred Todd reported the damage path went from near McKinney across the western part of the county to Preachersville across the eastern part of the county near the Garrard county line. Also damaged or destroyed were the Faith Temple Church, two show pavillions at the county fairgrounds 3 miles south of Stanford and a giant 70 by 70 foot screen at the Stanford Drive-In. The Maywood area was perhaps the hardest hit. A home was picked up and slammed down 50 to 100 feet away and shredded. 7 people had minor injuries including a 2 year old girl who was ripped from her house and placed under a tree. The girl's house collapsed into the basement. | |||||||||||
| 40.4 | 2004-05-27 | 3 | 38°05'N / 84°32'W | 38°05'N / 84°30'W | 3.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 6 | 7.5M | 0 | Fayette |
| Brief Description: The tornado first touched down just east of Masterson Station Park on the subdivision road of Buck Lane. It continued east through the subdivision, causing F2 damage. The tornado then crossed an open field and creek, entering another subdivision. It appeared that the tornado reached its maximum F3 intensity in this section of the path. The tornado was on the ground intermittently as it moved to the east northeast. It struck a single house on State Road 1978, doing F2 damage. It crossed Georgetown Road and struck another subdivision near Citation Boulevard, doing F1 to F2 damage. It continued for a short distance into a field, and then lifted. There was straight line wind damage to the south of the tornado path, and additional straight line wind damage to the east after the tornado lifted. The tornado damaged 15 homes to some degree, and at least 50 home received moderate to severe damage. The hardest hit area was the Masterson Station subdivision. | |||||||||||
| 42.8 | 1974-04-03 | 2 | 36°58'N / 84°07'W | 37°11'N / 83°57'W | 17.50 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 22 | 2.5M | 0 | Laurel |
| 43.1 | 1974-04-03 | 3 | 37°35'N / 84°47'W | 37°42'N / 84°43'W | 8.70 Miles | 33 Yards | 1 | 33 | 0K | 0 | Boyle |
| 43.7 | 2006-01-02 | 2 | 37°24'N / 84°46'W | 37°28'N / 84°37'W | 8.70 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 2 | 350K | 0 | Lincoln |
| Brief Description: Two people were injured as an F2 tornado swept through western and central Lincoln County. A man received minor injures when a barn he was in collapsed around him. An elderly woman was hospitalized with a broken collar bone and nose. She had been sucked out of her mobile home by strong winds when she tried to open her front door. In all, eight mobile homes were destroyed, with most of the damage being concentrated south of the McKinney area. At one location, the storm survey team found that the tornado had embedded two by six boards firmly into the ground. | |||||||||||
| 46.0 | 1974-04-03 | 2 | 37°42'N / 84°52'W | 37°51'N / 84°44'W | 12.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Mercer |
| 46.4 | 1974-04-03 | 3 | 37°02'N / 84°24'W | 37°09'N / 84°17'W | 10.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 6 | 30 | 2.5M | 0 | Pulaski |
| 46.8 | 1963-04-21 | 2 | 38°05'N / 84°40'W | 2.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 3 | 25K | 0 | Woodford | |
| 48.2 | 1974-04-03 | 3 | 37°30'N / 84°52'W | 37°35'N / 84°47'W | 7.20 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 65 | 0K | 0 | Lincoln |
| 48.7 | 1964-06-15 | 2 | 38°20'N / 84°31'W | 38°24'N / 83°56'W | 31.90 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Scott |
| 49.0 | 2003-05-11 | 2 | 37°48'N / 84°54'W | 37°49'N / 84°48'W | 7.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 1 | 8 | 15.0M | 0 | Mercer |
| Brief Description: The tornado formed northwest of Harrodsburg as an F1 tornado. It moved east northeast and strengthened to an F2 as it moved to near Bohon Road. Between Bohon Road and US 127, high F1 to low F2 damage was observed. The tornado lifted east of highway 127 with no additional damage. A 29 year old female drowned when her mobile home on Bohon Road was blown about one hundred yards toward the Salt River. Forty homes in the area were damaged, and of these, 12 were destroyed. F29MH | |||||||||||
| 49.2 | 1965-04-25 | 2 | 37°12'N / 84°39'W | 37°16'N / 84°39'W | 4.60 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Pulaski |
| 49.9 | 1979-06-29 | 2 | 38°17'N / 84°27'W | 38°24'N / 84°17'W | 12.10 Miles | 40 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Harrison |
| 49.9 | 1964-06-15 | 2 | 38°24'N / 83°56'W | 38°25'N / 83°44'W | 10.90 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Fleming |
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.