Graves County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Graves County: 24.
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.

Claims by ZIP code

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.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jan 26, 2009Ice Storm, Graves$22.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This historic, prolonged ice storm was called the biggest disaster in modern Kentucky history by the governor of Kentucky. The storm produced at least one inch of ice across western Kentucky. Locally very destructive icing around 1.5 inches occurred from the Mississippi River counties east across Paducah and Madisonville to Owensboro. This resulted in unprecedented damage to utility infrastructure in western Kentucky. One hundred percent of residents in the hardest-hit counties from the Mississippi River to Madisonville were affected by power outages. A utility company serving areas from Ballard to Livingston Counties reported that 20 percent of its system had to be rebuilt. The…

2. Sep 14, 2008High Wind, Graves$8.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Frequent wind gusts from 60 to nearly 80 mph caused widespread damage in western Kentucky. The low pressure center that was the remnant of Hurricane Ike raced northeast at 40 to 50 mph across Missouri and Illinois. The center passed between Carbondale and St. Louis on its way toward the northeastern states. The rapid speed of the low pressure system contributed to this high wind event. ||Several counties reported hundreds of structures sustained roof and siding damage. Other counties reported dozens of damaged structures. The county of Crittenden alone estimated 1,500 homes sustained some degree of wind damage. Extensive tree damage occurred. Thousands of trees were uprooted and…

3. May 10, 2016Tornado$3.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Dozens of structures were destroyed, including mobile homes, businesses, barns, and garages. Several homes received major damage or were destroyed. Many dozens of other homes and businesses received minor damage, mainly loss of shingles and fascia. Several dozen cars were damaged or destroyed. Some cars were tossed around and lofted atop other cars or structures. Thousands of trees were snapped, uprooted, or broken. The tornado was captured on video or camera by numerous individuals. The tornado appeared to have more than one vortex at several different points along its path. The tornado moved through some residential and commercial neighborhoods just outside the northern city…

4. May 1, 2011Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread flooding continued from April into May across western Kentucky. Following excessive rain in April, a final dose of heavy rain came between April 30 and May 2. Numerous rounds of showers and thunderstorms produced additional average rainfall amounts of 4 to 6 inches, which caused isolated flash flooding. Between 9 and 22 inches of rain fell across the region between April 22 and May 3. Most creeks and streams flooded for an extended period of time. Some of the flooding was major. Numerous roads were flooded and closed, including some major state roads such as U.S. Highways 62, 60, and 51. Some schools delayed or cancelled classes due to the large number of flooded roads.…

5. Jan 11, 2020Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down at the intersection of Little Bethel Church Road and Woodson Road, traveled along and just north of Woodson Road, went across State Route 129 and ended just east of Stubblefield Road. The tornado traveled east-northeast at 60 mph for two consecutive miles. Much of the damage path width was 100 yards or less, but peaked at 235 yards wide just east of Route 129. The tornado hit a farm/out building and did damage to several trees along Woodson Road. It intensified at Route 129, and then hit a chicken farm with substantial damage to 3 of the 6 buildings. A 4th building was moderately damaged. Two buildings at each end had minor damage. Metal roofing was…

6. Jul 19, 2023Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Historic flash flooding struck parts of far western Kentucky. Among the hardest hit counties was Graves County, which had not completely recovered from a catastrophic tornado in December of 2021. The city of Mayfield, which bore the brunt of the December 2021 tornado, experienced catastrophic flooding that inundated dozens of homes, businesses, schools, and various other institutions. The governor of Kentucky visited the city of Mayfield to tour the damage. Some smaller communities suffered catastrophic damage, such as Arlington in Carlisle County, where multiple homes were flooded. Swiftly moving water through Arlington prompted water rescues from emergency services. Widespread…

7. Feb 21, 2018Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A number of roads were flooded and closed in the river bottoms of the Clarks River and its tributaries. Water was over Kentucky Highway 131 at the Graves/McCracken County line. A secondary road was washed out at the intersection of Whitis and Watkins Road northeast of Hickory. Total road damage in Graves County was estimated over one million dollars.

8. Jun 25, 2023Thunderstorm Wind$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread major damage to trees and power lines was reported in a path across southern Graves County. The area from Wingo to Sedalia was in the most concentrated damage path. Trees were down across numerous roads. Power poles were snapped in the Wingo area. A garage was blown off its foundation near Wingo. A jeep was moved about 40 feet and pushed into a fence. Shingles were blown off houses. Trees landed on houses and vehicles. An empty school bus was demolished. About 1,000 utility customers were still without power the following morning, mostly in the Wingo area.

9. Oct 14, 2012Tornado$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Top wind speeds were estimated near 105 mph. The average path width was 130 yards. Two dozen homes and several businesses received minor damage, mainly to shingles, siding, and fascia. There was moderate damage to one business, which was partially unroofed. Windows were blown out, and cars were moved over. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down. A high school football stadium was extensively damaged. The damage path began about one-quarter mile southeast of the Highway 80 and Purchase Parkway intersection. The moderately damaged business was located near the beginning of the damage path. A man was hospitalized after a section of wind-blown roof from the damaged business…

10. Feb 23, 2018Flood$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Roads were covered by water in and around the Farmington community.

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.

All-time high

108°FJun 29, 2012

All-time low

−15°FJan 20, 1985

Warmest night

82°FJul 16, 1980

Coldest day

1°FJan 20, 1985

Wettest day

7.49 inSep 5, 1985

Snowiest day

14.0 inDec 22, 2004

Hottest year

2024mean 61.7°F

Coldest year

1958mean 55.6°F

Wettest year

201174.85 in

Driest year

196328.20 in

Snowiest season

35.7 in1977-78

Station Paducah (USW00003816), 506 ft elevation, 23.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1949 to October 26, 2026; 99.9% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

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, station USW00003816.
• 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.
• 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.