Tornado Climatology of Breckinridge County

March 19, 1849
Counties:  Breckinridge
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Narrative:  Tornado hit Big Spring.  Possibly a significant tornado, comparable to a tornado in the same area March 27, 1890.

March 27, 1890
Counties:  Ohio, Grayson, Breckinridge, Hardin
F-scale:  F4
Deaths:  7
Injuries:  40
Path width:  1200 yards
Path length:  60 miles (probably a family of tornadoes)
Time:  8:00pm
Narrative:  Moved east-northeast from seven miles northwest of Hartford.  Many miles of forest were leveled, and small farm communities were wiped out.  Homes were said to have "vanished" near Sulphur Springs (where two people were killed) and near Falls of Rough (where three people were killed).  The last damage was near Rineyville, where two people were killed in one home.

April 3, 1974
Counties:  Breckinridge, Meade, Harrison IN
F-scale:  F5
Deaths:  31
Injuries:  270
Path width:
Path length:  32 miles
Time:  2:20pm
Grazulis narrative:  Touching down five miles southwest of Hardinsburg, Breckinridge County, the tornado passed along the northern edge of that town, with F3 damage to homes.  Thirteen people were injured and 35 homes were destroyed as the funnel moved to the northeast across Breckinridge County and into Meade County.  The tornado gradually enlarged and intensified as it approached Brandenburg.  The funnel devastated that town and crossed the Ohio River into Harrison County, Indiana.  At Brandenburg 128 homes were completely destroyed, many of them levelled and swept away.  Thirty businesses were destroyed and damage totalled over ten million dollars.  There were 28 deaths in the Brandenburg area.  The F4 damage occurred from north of Irvington, into Indiana.
Noted discrepancies:  SPC and NCDC give a time of 2:20pm, Grazulis gives 3:25pm, Storm Data 3:30pm.  SPC and NCDC give a path length of 32 miles, Grazulis gives 34.  SPC and NCDC give a path width of 430 yards, Grazulis give 800 yards.

May 30, 1979
Counties:  Breckinridge
F-scale:  F1
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Time:  6:20pm
Notes:  Storm Data has this tornado cross US 60, moving in a north-northeast direction.  It touched down on the Brunfield Farm.

June 6, 1990
Counties:  Breckinridge
F-scale:  F0
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Time:  1:53pm
Noted discrepancies:  None

May 18, 1995
Counties: Breckinridge
F-scale: F2
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Path width: 200 yards
Path length: 1 mile
Time: 3:40pm
Grazulis narrative: Tornado damaged some homes at New Bethel.  A mobile home park was damaged, as were a McDonald's roof and a Kroger roof.
Noted discrepancies:  NWS ranks this as an F2, Grazulis says F1.  It is not listed in Storm Data.  Grazulis lists this at 4:40pm.

April 28, 2002
Counties: Perry, Breckinridge, Meade
F-Scale: F2
Deaths:
Injuries: 7
Path width:
Path length:
Time: 2:05am
Noted discrepancies: SPC lists a path width of 50 yards, NCDC and Storm Data list 150 yards.  Storm Data takes this tornado from 3/10 of a mile southwest of Tobinsport to 1.8 miles east northeast of Tobinsport.  Storm Data mentions that this tornado crossed into Kentucky from Perry County...hitting Irvington, two miles east northeast of Cloverport, and two and a half miles south of Garrett.

May 8, 2003
Counties: Breckinridge
F-scale: F0
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Time: 8:00pm
Notes: Storm Data says this tornado took place near the Ohio River from two and a half miles south of Holt to 3.8 miles southwest of Stephensport.

June 12, 2004
Counties: Breckinridge
F-scale: F0
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Time: 11:55am
Notes: Storm Data takes this tornado from half a mile south to .7 miles east of Hardinsburg.  It touched down just east of Old US 60 near the Breckinridge Emergency Management Center.  It then struck Meadowside Apartments and Cody Lane.

October 18, 2007
Counties: Breckinridge
EF-scale: EF2
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Path width: 300 yards
Path length: 3 miles
Time: 9:26pm to 9:33pm CDT
Notes: Touchdown was a mile east-northeast of Stinnettsville.  The tornado moved northeast and produced major damage in Rosetta where it destroyed the Fountain of Faith Church.  A 4500 pound tractor was moved seven feet and a 16-foot trailer was wrapped around a tree.  The tornado lifted near the intersection of KY 333 and M. H. Dowell Road.

October 9, 2009
County: Breckinridge
EF-scale: EF0
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Path width: 100 yards
Path length: 0.5 mile
Time: 2:20am - 2:21am CDT
Notes: Several mobile homes were damaged and trees were snapped on Lyons-Daughtery Road.  Two barns were destroyed.

May 21, 2010
Counties:  Breckinridge, Hardin
F-scale:  EF1
Deaths:  0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  75 yards
Path length:  1.75 mile
Time:  7:28pm CDT/8:28pm EDT
Narrative:  A barn was significantly damaged west of Big Spring, and a mobile home was partially unroofed southeast of Big Spring.  There was also some tree damage.

April 19, 2011
Counties:  Breckinridge, Meade
EF-Scale:  EF-0
Deaths:  0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  50 yards
Path length:  11 miles (skipping)
Time:  11:54pm EDT
Notes:  This tornado touched down 7.3 miles southwest of Payneville and skipped to 4.3 miles west of Brandenburg.  It reached its peak strength on Sirocco Road where a carport attached to a house blew across a field, trees were snapped or uprooted, a barn door was blown in, and shingles were blown off of a nearby house.

June 19, 2011
Counties:  Breckinridge
EF-Scale:  EF-2
Deaths:  0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  180 yards
Path length:  1 mile
Time:  6:39am CDT
Notes:  The tornado touched down at the west end of A.H. Wilson Road with EF-0 strength and a width of 60 yards.  A dozen trees were snapped, uprooted, and twisted.  A barn collapsed when an oak tree fell on it.  A rock garden was blown 25 yards upwind.  The tornado proceeded to Route 79/259 and struck a home just north of A.H. Wilson Road with EF-2 strength.  A roof was torn off and thrown 60 yards.  A 30x50 foot barn was thrown 200 yards and metal sheeting was thrown 300 yards.  A second barn had metal sheeting thrown 500 yards.  Power lines were leaning over Route 79/259.  The tornado dissipated after snapping and uprooting a few trees between Route 79/259 and Harned Locust Hill Road.

June 19, 2011
Counties:  Breckinridge
EF-Scale:  EF-0
Deaths:  0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  60 yards
Path length:  0.1 mile
Time:  6:43am CDT
Notes:  On Route 1401 southeast of Harned a large well constructed barn, 30x50x80 feet, lost roof panels that were thrown 200 yards.

March 2, 2012
Counties:  Hancock, Breckinridge
EF-Scale:  EF-2
Deaths:  0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  200 yards
Path length:  17.4 miles
Time:  2:38pm CST
Notes:  Aerial photos were matched perfectly with radar signatures to determine that the initial start point of the tornado occurred 4.5 miles south southwest of Hawesville in Hancock County along route 2181. Vinyl siding was ripped off a home and small outbuildings were damaged. The tornado continued east across route 69 toward Cloverport, intermittently touching down and doing damage to small outbuildings. 4 miles west of Cloverport, additional minor damage was done to a group of homes along 2169. Minor damage to buildings occurred just on the western outskirts of Cloverport, then the tornado lifted over the town, touching down again less than a mile east of the community, where numerous hardwood trees were observed to be uprooted from aerial photos. All of the damage was consistent with EF-0 wind speeds between 70 and 80 mph.

The National Weather Service would like to thank volunteer general aviation pilots Mark Powers and Josh Kieffer for flying the damage path in N16NA and Austin Lassell for aerial photography. The pilots are associated with the Kentuckiana Volunteer Aviators.

The tornado track continued at a residence on New Bethel Cloverport Rd. where 2 structures were destroyed. This damage is consistent with an EF-2 tornado and 110 to 115 mph winds. The tornado continued east to near B Flood road with additional structural damage consistent with EF-1 damage and 90 mph winds.

Tree damage continued along the path with additional EF-2 damage occurring at two chicken farms where a 200 yd long chicken barn was destroyed and hundreds of chickens were killed and/or lost. This is consistent with EF-2 damage and 120 mph wind. An additional smaller chicken coop also sustained damage at the end of Silas Miller Road, consistent with EF-1 damage.

The end of the path was surveyed east at Hwy 259 where another metal structure was damaged and several trees where downed. This damage was consistent with EF-1 damage and 90 mph winds.

May 10, 2016
County:  Breckinridge
EF-Scale:  EF1
Deaths:   0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  25 yards
Path length:  0.4 mile
Time:  2:22pm - 2:23pm CDT
Notes: A very narrow and intense damage path of rotating winds of 90-95 mph was embedded within a 3-mile wide area of straight-line winds. The tornado left a distinct path in the vegetation and destroyed a part of a large metal barn near the Rosetta General Store. It also caused the walls of 2 adjacent outbuildings and a garage to buckle out.