Adair County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Adair County: 6.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by KY GS (6).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Mar 28, 1997Tornado$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong F3 tornado touched down in the Cane Valley area destroying 15 mobile homes, 14 homes, a business, a church and 12 barns. Also, 26 homes, 2 businesses and 2 churches were heavily damaged. 51 homes were destroyed and 50 damaged across northern Adair county. The tornado moved northeast skipping at times to Pellyton before lifting. Only 7 minor injuries were reported, however. Many people sought refugee in one of the damaged churches.

2. Apr 16, 1998Tornado$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A series of three tornadoes cut a long path of destruction across south central Kentucky during the late afternoon and early evening of April 16. Three people were killed, two in Barren county and one in Metcalfe, as the tornadoes moved through. A 78 year old man was killed by fallen debris from his house in Wisdom accounting for the Metcalfe county death. In Glasgow of Barren county, a 67 year old man was killed in his mobile home and a 47 year old man was killed by flying debris off his greenhouse. The Glasgow area of Barren county and the Pellyton area of Adair county were hardest hit sustaining F3 damage. In Glasgow, 1 house was destroyed and 45 were badly damaged. 35 mobile…

3. Mar 2, 2012Hail$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An extensive hail storm brought widespread damaging hail to Adair County with insurance claims for automobiles and homes expected to exceed 1 million dollars. In Columbia, over 150 skylights at a Wal-Mart were smashed. A lengthy swath of hail fell from a supercell thunderstorm that traveled from Nell, over 10 miles southwest of Columbia, through Columbia. Extensive damage to windows, siding, roofs and gutters was noted along a west to east path along State Highway 80 southwest of Columbia, and near the intersection of State Highways 704 and 55 just south of town.

4. Nov 5, 2018Tornado$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This skipping tornado first touched down along Campbellsville Rd near the community of Cane Valley, where it downed power lines as it snapped tree limbs and uprooted several large trees. Moving eastward over open fields, it tore most of the roof off a barn at the end of Doug White Road, plastering insulation from the barn onto the northeast side of the adjacent home. To the north of the barn and home, it tossed a 1500 lb. hay roll southeast over a fence. From here, the tornado raced east-northeast over more fields, where it snapped the tops off a few trees before it hit the next farm, at Milky Way Lane on Mt. Carmel Road. Here it destroyed one large outbuilding and tore much of…

5. May 31, 1998Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous thunderstorms developed near and north of the Ohio River by late afternoon and dropped south and east across central Kentucky producing widespread severe weather. A brief F2 tornado touched down at Pellyton producing heavy damage to a brick house and destroying several mobile homes. Meanwhile, Marion, Taylor, Russell and Adair counties had widespread flash flooding with numerous roads under water, a few bridges washed out and cars washed away and water entering many homes and businesses. Five families in Calvary in Marion county were forced from their homes due to the high waters. Otherwise, severe thunderstorm winds knocked down numerous trees and power lines across the…

6. Apr 25, 2015Tornado$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An NWS Storm Survey found that the tornado first touched down 6 miles southeast of Columbia along Dale Morrison Road. Numerous trees were uprooted, a 145-foot barn was destroyed, and the top sheared off an adjacent silo. The tornado then moved east into a wooded area, snapping and uprooting trees. It damaged three more barns and uprooted more trees along Montpelier Rd. A home near the intersection of Montpelier Rd and Old Montpelier Rd sustained minor siding damage.

7. Jan 2, 2006Tornado$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The first tornado touched down near Columbia. It destroyed a mobile home and removed the roof from a house. Other homes and mobile homes were damaged. The tornado lifted and the parent cell travelled into northeast Adair County. The second tornado touched down in the Pellyton area, about 13 miles to the northeast of the first touchdown. Several homes and barns in the area were damaged before the tornado lifted again.

8. May 2, 2010Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous roads across the county were closed due to flash flooding. A total of eight to ten inches of rain fell across Adair county from May 1-2.

9. Jan 2, 2006Tornado$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The first tornado touched down near Columbia. It destroyed a mobile home and removed the roof from a house. Other homes and mobile homes were damaged. The tornado lifted and the parent cell travelled into northeast Adair County. The second tornado touched down in the Pellyton area, about 13 miles to the northeast of the first touchdown. Several homes and barns in the area were damaged before the tornado lifted again.

10. Mar 20, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$60,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A large tool shed was blown down on Sand Lick Road. The roof was blown off a small shed at a residence on Cane Valley Mill Road. Several trees were blown down across State Highway 80.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

Neighbouring counties

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.