Tornado Climatology of Spencer County

February 19, 1884
Counties:  Nelson, Spencer
F-scale:  F2
Deaths:  1
Injuries:  30
Path width:  200 yards
Path length: 9 miles
Time: 4:30pm
Narrative:  Moved east from south of High Grove, to seven miles west of Fairfield, to two miles east of Fairfield.  A man was killed in a tobacco barn, and thirty people were injured in the High Grove area as at least six homes were destroyed.  The funnel may have been aloft over Fairfield.  This tornado was part of the "Enigma Outbreak", when sixty tornadoes swept through the southeast United States.

April 3, 1974
Counties:  Hardin, Nelson, Spencer
F-scale:  F4
Deaths:  3
Injuries:  81
Path width:  400 yards
Path length: 40 miles
Time:  3:45pm
Eyewitness narrative: I was 15 years old at the time and I lived on KY 44 just east of Elk Creek in Spencer County. The storm came up from near Cox's Creek where the Whitney Horse Farm was damaged, crossing Lilly Pike where several homes, barns, and trailers were demolished, across Murray Road, and then across KY 44 and on to the Elk Creek community. On Murray Road a father and son were in their milking barn when they saw the storm approach. They got under some heavy equipment for shelter and the barn came down around them. They were rescued several hours later as workers and neighbors cleared Murray Road of trees and debris. The father was taken to the hospital in critical condition but the son was OK. As the twister crossed Murray Road and Elk Creek it was about 300 yards wide. The tornado broke into vortices at my home on KY 44 and circled around the house. Our neighbors between us and the creek lost their roof, which landed 300 yards to the east of their home mostly intact. Witnesses said that the main tornado broke into two vortices, the larger one of which hit the house to our west while the other went to the east and damaged a farm on Carl Monroe Road just south of KY 44. My home was in between the two vortices and was spared. The two vortices came together on the north side of KY 44 across from my house and destroyed a large tobacco barn. Debris from the barn could be seen circling the tornado and was thrown to the southeast. I saw the tornado start to rope out at this point. It touched down again in Elk Creek but didn't do much more damage.
Grazulis narrative:  Moved northeast from northwest of Elizabethtown, destroying businesses as it passed two miles north of that town along the miracle mile strip on US 31W.  Two people were killed in this area.  One person was killed as 15 homes were destroyed near Cox's Creek, Nelson County.  The funnel lifted two miles north of Fairfield.  Nelson County lost 52 homes and about 100 barns.
Noted discrepancies:  Grazulis takes this tornado into Bullitt County as well.  The path Grazulis describes seems to keep the tornado just barely inside Nelson County, though it does indeed come very close to the Bullitt County line.  Grazulis lifts the tornado two miles north of Fairfield, but SPC/NCDC take it to north of Wakefield.  Storm Data may begin this tornado at Colesburg in Hardin County...then it reports continuous damage from 3 miles north of Boston to Samuels to 2 miles north of Fairfield.  Storm Data lists Hardin, Nelson, and Spencer counties.  SPC/NCDC give a path length of 38 miles, Grazulis gives 42 miles.  SPC gives a path width of 10 yards, NCDC 30 yards, Grazulis 400 yards.  Grazulis' path width is probably the most correct.

July 26, 1984
Counties:  Spencer
F-scale:  F2
Deaths:  0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  70 yards
Path length:  2 1/2 miles
Time:  4:00pm
Grazulis narrative:  Several barns were destroyed or unroofed near Taylorsville.  Trees three feet in diameter were twisted off eight feet above the ground.
Noted discrepancies:  None

April 3, 1989
Counties:  Spencer
F-scale:  F0
Deaths:
Injuries:
Path width:
Path length:
Time:  11:15pm
Notes:  Storm Data says this tornado touched down three miles east of Waterford.

May 28, 1996
Counties:  Jefferson KY, Bullitt, Spencer
F-scale:  F4
Deaths:
Injuries:  10
Path width:
Path length:
Time:  4:40pm
Noted discrepancies:  NCDC narrative does not match up with the lat/lons given for Jefferson County.
Notes:  Storm Data says this tornado formed four miles northwest of Brooks...hit Holsclaw Hill Road...Top Hill Road...near the I-65 Brooks exit...Pioneer Village...Hillview...the Northfield subdivision in Mount Washington...crossed KY 55...passed one and a half miles south of Taylorsville...near Taylorsville Lake Dam...ending just east of Little Mount.

March 19, 2005
Counties:  Spencer
F-scale:  F0
Deaths:  0
Injuries:  0
Path width:
Path length:  1/4 mile
Time:  3:40pm
Notes:  This tornado struck Brier Hill.

February 6, 2008
Counties:  Spencer
EF-scale:  EF0
Deaths:  0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  220 yards
Path length:  0.7 miles
Time:  12:38am EST to 12:40am EST
Notes: This small tornado destroyed two mobile homes and did extensive roof and tree damage.

February 6, 2008
Counties:  Spencer
EF-scale:  EF0
Deaths:  0
Injuries:  1
Path width:  220 yards
Path length:  0.6 miles
Time:  12:43am EST to 12:45am EST
Notes: This brief twister destroyed two barns and did heavy damage to several other barns and homes.