Tornado Climatology of LaRue County

January 18, 1929
Counties:  Hardin, LaRue
F-scale:  F3
Deaths:  1
Injuries:  5
Path width:    800 yards
Path length:  10 miles
Time:  4:00pm
Narrative:  One "substantial" home and four barns were destroyed as a tornado moved northeast at Sonora.  Many other buildings were damaged.  This day's wind damage throughout the state of Kentucky totalled $1,000,000.

March 22, 1952
Counties:  LaRue
F-scale:  F3
Deaths:
Injuries:   18
Path width:   300 yards
Path length:
Time:  12:05am
Grazulis Narrative:  Moved northeast across the south part of Hodgenville.  The tornado destroyed nine cottages as well as the county fairgrounds.  A dozen other homes were unroofed.  About forty other homes had minor damage.
Noted discrepancies:  SPC, Grazulis, and  Storm Data give a time of 12:05am,  NCDC 12:03am.  SPC gives a path width of 10 yards, NCDC 30 yards, Grazulis 100 yards, Storm Data 300 yards.  Would tend to believe Storm Data's width.

April 14, 1972
Counties:  LaRue, Nelson
F-scale:  F1
Deaths:
Injuries:
Path width:
Path length:
Time:  1:10am
Noted discrepancies:  NCDC only includes LaRue County.  Storm Data says the tornado unroofed a home in LaRue County before crossing the Rolling Fork River in Nelson County at New Haven.
Notes:  Will map this as touching down just barely inside LaRue County.  (SPC's lat/lon is actually in Nelson County).

June 11, 1985
Counties:  LaRue
F-scale:  F0
Deaths:
Injuries:
Path width:
Path length:
Time:  5:00pm
Noted discrepancies:  None

March 28, 1997
Counties:  Hart, LaRue
F-scale:  F3
Deaths:  1
Injuries:  15
Path width:
Path length:
Time:  6:04pm
Noted discrepancies:  SPC/NCDC endpoint lat/lon for this tornado is in LaRue County, and narrative at NCDC includes LaRue County.  LaRue County is also included for this tornado at the NCDC website.  For this project this tornado was mapped all the way to the SPC/NCDC ending lat/lon in LaRue County.  Upon further investigation it appears that this tornado was split into two at SPC.  Storm Data says this twister touched down at Bonnieville in Hart County and moved to Magnolia in LaRue County before lifting.  Hammonville was struck.  The tornado crossed I-65 at Exit 71.

March 28, 1997
Counties:  Green, LaRue, Marion
F-scale:  F2
Deaths:
Injuries:
Path width:
Path length:
Time:  6:25pm
Notes:  Storm Data says this tornado touched down in Creal, crossed KY 61, KY 2762, KY 210, entered LaRue County, hit Pleasant Ridge, entered Marion County, dissipating three miles west of Saint Joseph.  Cannot find Creal on any map.

January 2, 2006
Counties:  LaRue
F-scale:  F1
Deaths:  0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  175 yards
Path length:  6 miles
Time:  2:50pm
Notes:  This tornado touched down near Talley in southwest LaRue County, and was intermittently on the ground until lifting just east of Tanner.  Near Talley, the tornado lifted the roof off of a home.  A home on Upton-Talley Road had the front porch and much of the roof removed.  The tornado also did moderate damage to barns and destroyed several outbuildings, and moved a 2700 pound motorboat 220 feet.  In the Oak Hill area two barns and some outbuildings were destroyed.  Another barn and a home were damaged.

February 29, 2012
County:  LaRue
EF-Scale:  EF-2
Deaths:  0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  200 yards
Path length:  1.7 miles
Time:  11:05am EST
Notes: A National Weather Service Survey Team in conjunction with Larue County EMA determined a tornado began near Kyle Lane which is 2 miles west of Hodgenville. It began as a very narrow 80 yard tornado as a mainly elevated funnel cloud/tornado near tree top level. It did some minor roof and shingle damage...uprooted some cedar trees and damaged some fencing. The tornado crossed Tanner Road and lifted just west of downtown Hodgenville. The tornado was rated an EF1 at this location. The length of this touchdown was .90 miles. The same tornado once again touched down on the east side of main street at the State Farm Insurance agency and Citizens Union Bank. This tornado touchdown was much stronger. Two cars moved several feet and were turned 45 degrees with one on top of the other in the State Farm parking lot. The tornado increased in width to 200 yards on Wobegon Way significantly damaging several homes. This included large sections of roof structure being removed and exterior walls collapsing at 202 Woebegone Way. It went into a wooded area narrowing in Miami Court to about 75 yards and becoming more elevated. It damage many roofs with the heaviest damage at a day care center in a residential home off Miami Court. The twister knocked down many power lines down and twisted and snapped trees and did roof damage to several homes and then crossing highway 210. Next it snapped and uprooting some trees and doing some roof damage to a couple of homes before lifting 200 yards downwind. The length of this touchdown was .80 miles. A second tornado touched down just south of Woebegone Way in a wooded area. Another information statement will follow shortly.

February 29, 2012
County:  LaRue
EF-Scale:  EF-2
Deaths:  0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  100 yards
Path length:  0.9 mile
Time:  11:12am EST
Notes:  A National Weather Service Survey Team in conjunction with Larue County EMA determined a second tornado just south of Miami Court and moved east through a wooded area. Several witnesses saw two different tornado near the Miami Court and Wobegone Way area. The second funnel cloud/tornado was near tree top level. It was only 50 yards wide twisting many trees and was rated a EF0. As it crossed Highway 210 the twister increased to 100 yards wide and became stronger. It damaged a large working garage and damaged two homes off of Highway 916 including a new well, almost finished new constructed home which experienced significant exterior wall damage. Workers working on the home heard a loud roar while seeking shelter and observed the twister striking and uprooting some trees. A dumpster full of old building material was thrown 75 yards and snapped one telephone pole. The twister lifted in a field a couple of hundred yards downwind. The twister was rated EF2 at this location.

June 26, 2013
Counties: LaRue
EF-Scale: EF2
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Path width: 300 yards
Path length: 7 miles
Time: 10:25pm EDT
Notes:  The tornado initially touched down near the Hardin-LaRue County line between routes 210 and 61 just north of Tonieville.  From there the tornado moved northeast.  On Castleman Road, just north of the intersection with Carter Brothers Road, a metal shop building had its metal sheet roof taken off and thrown downwind 150 yards.  The garage doors were bent and pushed in.  Insulation was everywhere.  Several trees were uprooted.  Here the tornado was estimated to be EF1 with a maximum wind speed of 105 mph.  On Carter Brothers Road a large RV inside a metal shed was blown onto its side and the shed was destroyed.  A two-story pole tobacco barn was also destroyed.  Red and white oak and walnut trees were sheared off.  Across the road a metal livestock building was destroyed.  Here the tornado was estimated at EF2 with 115mph winds.  Next, along KY 1607, not far from Salem Church Road and Dan Dunn Road, a silo was crumbled and some parts of a corn field were mashed sown.  Some bradford pear trees were uprooted on Dan Dunn Road.  Considerable damage occurred on parts of Slack Road.  A one room schoolhouse was destroyed.  A dairy farming operation lost several barns, along with some trees that were uprooted.  The worst damage was at the dairy farm where winds were estimated around 135 mph, or high-end EF2.  Also on Slack Road a two-story house lost its entire roof.  Insulation was caked onto the entire back side of the house opposite the direction of travel of the tornado.  A shed was blown down and some trees were uprooted.  The winds at this location were estimated around 120 mpg (EF2).  The exact end point of the tornado was difficult to determine as it went into a thickly wooded area with limited access.  The tornado may have skipped a few times along its path.

June 23, 2017
County:  LaRue
EF-Scale:  EF1
Deaths:   0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  75 yards
Path length:  5.1 miles
Time:  5:37pm - 5:45pm EDT
Notes: The tornado first downed a large tree on McDowell Road 2.8 miles south of Hodgenville. It damaged tree tops at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park as it moved northeast. At the end of Earl Jones Road the tornado destroyed one cinder block and wood barn and damaged the roof of another, scattering debris several hundred yards. The tornado then skipped intermittently over primarily open farmland for before uprooting and snapping several trees along Leafdale Road west of KY 470.

March 25, 2021
County:  LaRue
EF-Scale: EF1
Deaths:   0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  75 yards
Path length: 4.7 mi
Time: 10:44pm EDT
Notes:  A bow echo moving at over 50 mph produced sporadic straight-line wind damage with a distinct tornadic path, primarily along Slack Road in Roanoke. The tornado touched down about a half mile west of 1598 Carter Brothers Road. Aerial photography from a NOAA NWS drone showed distinct swirls along several farmers' properties with damage to a half dozen barns and numerous uprooted and snapped trees. Cedar trees were the most common tree that sustained damage during this tornado. At 1598 Carter Brothers Road a riding lawn mower was thrown about 50 yards and the garbage can flew 150 yards. There were also trees facing in nearly every direction that were snapped, twisted, or uprooted. Winds at this location were between 90 and 95 mph. There were indications that this was an intermittent skipping tornado. Along Dan Dunn Road several barns sustained significant roof and wall damage, and a chain link fence was bent at 90 degrees along every support post. The most significant damage was found at 3000 Slack Road. Two barns were destroyed and a well-built one story home suffered significant roof and side damage. Insulation and metal siding were thrown in multiple directions. At the end of the property drone photography showed trees going in nearly every direction. Wind speeds in this location were estimated to be 100 mph. Residents at the house said they could feel the intense pressure and everything trying to suck out of the house.