States › Kentucky › 1974

Kentucky, 1974

The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.

144events recorded106 in 1973

72deaths recorded1,306 injuries

$70Mproperty damage (estimates)

1disaster declarations0 NFIP claims, $0 paid

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders.

Events by hazard

Tornado59

Wind59

Hail26

Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 1974 was 144 against 106 in 1973.

Counties with the most recorded events

County	Events in 1974
Christian County	8
Caldwell County	6
Hardin County	6
Jefferson County	5
Wayne County	5
Laurel County	4
Meade County	4
Pulaski County	4
Boone County	3
Breckinridge County	3
McCreary County	3
Madison County	3
Oldham County	3
Russell County	3
Spencer County	3
Union County	3
Anderson County	2
Boyle County	2
Butler County	2
Carlisle County	2
Daviess County	2
Franklin County	2
Garrard County	2
Grant County	2
Harrison County	2

Notable events

Date	County	Event type	Magnitude	Property damage	Deaths	Injuries
3 Apr 1974	Meade	Tornado	F5	$2,500,000	31	257
3 Apr 1974	Clinton	Tornado	F4	—	8	63
3 Apr 1974	Madison	Tornado	F4	—	7	20
3 Apr 1974	Pulaski	Tornado	F3	$2,500,000	6	30
3 Apr 1974	Jefferson	Tornado	F4	—	3	225
3 Apr 1974	Franklin	Tornado	F4	$250,000	4	85
3 Apr 1974	Hardin	Tornado	F4	$250,000	2	57
3 Apr 1974	Warren	Tornado	F3	$2,500,000	2	45
3 Apr 1974	Wayne	Tornado	F3	$2,500,000	2	40
3 Apr 1974	Wayne	Tornado	F4	—	2	17
3 Apr 1974	Boyle	Tornado	F3	—	1	33
3 Apr 1974	Nelson	Tornado	F4	$250,000	1	24
1 Apr 1974	Henry	Tornado	F3	$2,500,000	1	20
3 Apr 1974	Simpson	Tornado	F3	$2,500,000	1	12
3 Apr 1974	Rockcastle	Tornado	F3	$2,500,000	1	10
3 Apr 1974	Lincoln	Tornado	F3	—	—	65
3 Apr 1974	Taylor	Tornado	F4	—	—	53
3 Apr 1974	Scott	Tornado	F4	$250,000	—	37
3 Apr 1974	Cumberland	Tornado	F4	$25,000	—	33
3 Apr 1974	Harrison	Tornado	F3	$25,000	—	27
3 Apr 1974	Laurel	Tornado	F2	$2,500,000	—	22
3 Apr 1974	Boone	Tornado	F5	$2,500,000	—	20
3 Apr 1974	Scott	Tornado	F2	$2,500,000	—	20
3 Apr 1974	Henry	Tornado	F1	$25,000	—	18
3 Apr 1974	Breckinridge	Tornado	F5	$2,500,000	—	13
3 Apr 1974	McCreary	Tornado	F2	$25,000	—	11
3 Apr 1974	Boyle	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	10
29 Mar 1974	Hardin	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	8
3 Apr 1974	Clark	Tornado	F4	—	—	8
3 Apr 1974	Pulaski	Tornado	F3	$2,500,000	—	5
3 Apr 1974	Pulaski	Tornado	F3	—	—	5
3 Apr 1974	Green	Tornado	F4	$2,500,000	—	3
1 Apr 1974	Elliott	Tornado	F1	$250,000	—	3
3 Apr 1974	Wayne	Tornado	F3	$25,000,000	—	—
3 Apr 1974	Montgomery	Tornado	F3	$250,000	—	2
29 Mar 1974	Anderson	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	2
3 Apr 1974	Grayson	Tornado	F4	$250	—	2
29 Mar 1974	Russell	Tornado	F2	$25,000	—	1
3 Apr 1974	Clay	Tornado	F2	$2,500,000	—	—
3 Apr 1974	Laurel	Tornado	F3	$2,500,000	—	—

Up to 40 events with deaths, injuries, damage of $50,000 or more, or a tornado rating, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage.

Federal disaster declarations in 1974

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Counties
4 Apr 1974	DR-420	Major disaster	Tornado	Tornadoes	34

Flood insurance claims with a 1974 date of loss

No NFIP claims in Kentucky carry a 1974 date of loss. The NFIP claims file begins with 1978 losses.

Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (1 Oct 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 1 Oct 2026.