Spencer County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Spencer County: 0.
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.

River crests

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 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. May 28, 1996Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The supercell that crossed the Ohio River from Harrison county produced the second a most destructive tornado in its long history. This second tornado formed 4 miles northwest of Brooks at 540 pm est in extreme south central Jefferson county. The tornado was initially estimated at F0-F1 intensity and moved east-southeast and quickly strengthened as it moved into north central Bullitt county near Holsclaw Hill road and Top Hill road where numerous trees were snapped off and some tree bark was stripped. At 545 pm est, the tronado then crossed near the Brooks exit at interstate 65 turning over 5 tractor trailers and damaging a Comfort Inn, Arby's and a Cracker Barrel. From there the…

2. Apr 4, 2008Flash Flood$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Three mobile homes had water in them and the families had to be evacuated. Numerous roads around the county were closed due to high water, and some roads were washed out.

3. Mar 1, 1997Flood, Spencer$580,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   4 to 9 inches of rain fell in less than 24 hours causing widespread flooding and/or flash flooding resulting in numerous water covered and closed roads, evacuations and rescues. Most of these counties were declared disaster areas and given federal assistance. The exceptions were Clinton, Cumberland, Garrard, Green, Lincoln, Madison and Marion. Many homes and businesses were effected during the flooding and flash flooding. Damage amounts include flooding and flash flooding totals over the 2 day period.

4. Feb 6, 2008Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado destroyed two barns, and did heavy damage to several other barns and homes.

5. Feb 6, 2008Tornado$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado destroyed two mobile homes, and did extensive roof and tree damage.

6. Mar 2, 2012Hail$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Spencer County Emergency Management reported that tennis ball-sized hail damaged numerous building and cars in Mount Eden.

7. Mar 1, 2017Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A NWS Storm Survey team found straight line wind damage of approximately 50 to 60 mph just east of Whitfield, Kentucky on the Bullitt and Spencer County lines, and east into Spencer County. There was damage to a RV and its shed. In Spencer County, a roof was blown off of an older barn, and an older shed was moved off its piers. In addition, numerous cedar trees were blown over and large branches of hardwood trees were broken off. Overall, damage extended 1.25 miles east of where it began on the Spencer and Bullitt County line. The duration of the thunderstorm wind event was approximately 1 minute.

8. Jun 17, 2019Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A vehicle attempted to navigate a flooded low water crossing that was flowing with water at the time. A family of four was in the vehicle. The mother and two children were rescued. The father's body was found several hours later downstream.

9. Jul 13, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees and power lines were blown down. Unspecified structural damage was reported.

10. May 2, 2010Flood$75,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Four to six inches of rain across Spencer county May 1-2 led to areal flooding in spots across the county on the 2nd.

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

106°F2 times, most recently Jul 7, 2012

All-time low

−22°FJan 19, 1994

Warmest night

83°F3 times, most recently Jun 29, 2024

Coldest day

1°FJan 20, 1985

Wettest day

7.22 inMar 1, 1997

Snowiest day

15.5 inJan 17, 1994

Hottest year

2024mean 61.9°F

Coldest year

1960mean 54.5°F

Wettest year

201868.83 in

Driest year

195330.38 in

Snowiest season

50.1 in1977-78

Station Louisville International Airport (USW00093821), 480 ft elevation, 22.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% 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 USW00093821.
• 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.