Pendleton County, KY tornado history
9 tornadoes have crossed or touched down in Pendleton County, KY from 1950 through 2025, according to the NOAA Storm Prediction Center, ranking 70th of 120 Kentucky counties with a tornado on record. 2 were rated F3/EF3 or stronger by the National Weather Service. The most recent was on April 8, 2020 (EF1, 19.2-mile path); the strongest, on April 23, 1968, was rated F4. The deadliest, on April 23, 1968, killed 6 along its path.
Tornadoes whose recorded path crosses the county, or that the NWS listed in it. Paths run straight from start to end point, as SPC records them.
Source: National Storms (nationalstorms.com), CC BY 4.0, data from NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports.
Every tornado in Pendleton County, KY
| Date | Rating | Path length | Deaths / injuries | Started in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 8, 2020 | EF1 | 19.2 mi | 0 / 0 | Grant County, KY |
| Dec 23, 2015 | EF1 | 3.8 mi | 0 / 3 | Pendleton County, KY |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 20.4 mi | 3 / 13 | Campbell County, KY → OH |
| Apr 23, 2011 | EF1 | 4.3 mi | 0 / 0 | Grant County, KY |
| Jun 4, 2008 | EF0 | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 | Pendleton County, KY |
| May 8, 1996 | F2 | 2.0 mi | 0 / 2 | Pendleton County, KY |
| Nov 15, 1989 | F1 | 0.2 mi | 0 / 2 | Pendleton County, KY |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F4 | 78.7 mi | 6 / 364 | Pendleton County, KY → OH |
| Jul 19, 1956 | F2 | 21.4 mi | 0 / 0 | Pendleton County, KY |
More: Kentucky tornado history · Pendleton County hail history · Kentucky damaging wind
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center (SPC) Severe Weather Database (SVRGIS) tornado file, 1950–2025, and SPC preliminary storm reports for 2026 (data through November 7, 2026). Ratings are the ones the National Weather Service assigned: Fujita (F) scale before Feb 1, 2007, Enhanced Fujita (EF) after. Paths are drawn as straight lines from the start to the end point SPC records; real paths curve. City and county boundaries: US Census Bureau.
NWS Damage Survey Paths in Pendleton County
The National Weather Service mapped the path of 1 tornado in Pendleton County in damage surveys (1 EF1). On the map, those paths follow the survey, colored by the EF rating of each stretch, instead of a straight line from start to end.
| Date | Rating | Peak wind | Path length | Max width | Deaths / injuries | On the ground | Surveyed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 8, 2020 | EF1 | 100 mph | 19.3 mi | 400 yd | 0 / 0 | 02:47–03:07 UTC | NWS Wilmington, OH |
Source: NOAA National Weather Service Damage Assessment Toolkit (DAT): the tornado paths and EF-rating zones NWS survey teams mapped after each storm. Survey data are preliminary and can be revised; NOAA's official record is Storm Data (NCEI). Paths are simplified to about 30 m. Times are when the tornado was on the ground, in UTC.