Tornado Climatology of Warren County

December 29, 1865
Counties:  Warren
F-scale:
Deaths:
Injuries:
Path width:
Path length:
Time:
Narrative:  A tornado unroofed and blew out the walls of a bank in Bowling Green.

April 22, 1887
Counties:  Warren
F-scale:  F2
Deaths:  0
Injuries:  5
Path width:  125 yards
Path length:  3 miles
Time:
Narrative:  A tornado hit near Boat Island on the Barren River.  One home and at least six barns were destroyed.

May 8, 1918
Counties:  Warren
F-scale:  F2
Deaths: 2
Injuries:   7
Path width: 
Path length:  5 miles
Time:  afternoon
Narrative:  Barns or outbuildings were destroyed on eight farms.  Two people died in a turnip house on the Wright Farm near Oakland.  Wheat, orchard grass, strawberries, and garden crops were ruined near Smith's Grove.  The Cook Hazelip Building in Smith's Grove was unroofed.  Trees and telephone poles were knocked down.

October 16, 1925
Counties:  Warren, Edmonson, Hart
F-scale:  F3
Deaths: 1
Injuries:  44
Path width:  300 yards
Path length:  45 miles (probably a family of tornadoes)
Time:  4:00pm
Notes:  A family of tornadoes and downbursts moved from six miles west of Bowling Green to beyond Munfordville.  Homes were wrecked near Kuykendall's Store west of Bowling Green and in Davenport on Barren River Pike.  Three houses and four barns were blown into the Barren River at Thomas Landing, injuring ten people.  A car was blown off the road, over a fence, and into a field.  The vehicle landed on its tires and the driver survived, despite the top half of the car getting sheared off.  Additional damage occurred in the Richardsville area.  In Edmonson County, barns and a hotel were torn apart near Mammoth Cave National Park, along with the home of a cave tour guide.  In Hart County the tornado and its attendant straight-line winds mowed down a path five miles wide.  Three people were injured as houses were unroofed and barns destroyed.  Canmer and Woodsonville were the hardest struck districts.  Seven barns were blown down near Munfordville.

April 3, 1957
Counties:  Warren
F-scale:   F1
Deaths: 
Injuries:
Path width: 
Path length: 
Time:   5:30pm
Grazulis Narrative:
Noted discrepancies:   SPC gives a path length of 1/10 of a mile...NCDC gives nothing.  SPC gives a path width of 10 yards, NCDC gives nothing.

April 22, 1958
Counties:  Warren
F-scale:   F1
Deaths: 
Injuries:
Path width: 
Path length: 
Time:  9:00am
Noted discrepancies:  SPC gives a path length of 1/10 of a mile...NCDC gives nothing.  SPC gives a path width of 10 yards, NCDC gives nothing.

May 26, 1968
Counties:  Warren
F-scale:  F2
Deaths:
Injuries:
Path width:
Path length:
Time:  3:30pm
Grazulis narrative:  One barn was destroyed and another was damaged at Smiths Grove.
Noted discrepancies:  SPC gives a path length of 1/10 of a mile and a width of 10 yards...NCDC gives nothing for either.

April 27, 1971
Counties:  Butler, Warren (from Muhlenberg)
F-scale:  F3
Deaths:  1
Injuries:
Path width:
Path length:
Time:  8:20pm CDT
Grazulis narrative:  Skipped east-southeast from four miles east of Drakesboro, to near Ennis, South Hill, and Riverside.  A six room brick veneer home was completely destroyed, as were several large trailers.  There were two injuries in one, and a death in another.  Many homes sustained damage.  South Hill, where several people were injured and trailers were swept away, and Dunbar were especially hard hit.  Cherry Chapel Church near Richardsville was destroyed.  Damage was found along Stringtown Road in Butler County.
Noted discrepancies:  SPC and NCDC list no injuries, Grazulis lists 20, Storm Data lists 7.  SPC lists a path length of 27 miles, NCDC 28 miles, Grazulis and Storm Data 30 miles.  Grazulis ends this tornado closer to Riverside, SPC and NCDC end it closer to Richardsville (both in Warren County).  According to Storm Data, radar first showed a hook echo four miles east of Drakesboro.  The storm struck South Hill, 1.75 miles east of Ennis, and "probably" on to Riverside and Richardsville.

December 15, 1971
Counties:  Warren
F-scale:  F0
Deaths:
Injuries:
Path width:
Path length:
Time:  8:30am
Noted discrepancies:  Storm Data says this tornado touched down at Beech Bend Park four miles northwest of Bowling Green...should say northeast.

May 10, 1973
Counties:  Warren
F-scale:  F1
Deaths:
Injuries:
Path width:
Path length:
Time:  10:45am
Grazulis narrative:
Noted discrepancies:  SPC gives a path width of 10 yards, NCDC 30 yards.
Notes:  Storm Data reports damage on the north side of Bowling Green.

June 20, 1973
Counties:  Warren
F-scale:  F1
Deaths:
Injuries:
Path width:
Path length:
Time:  8:00pm
Noted discrepancies:  SPC gives a path width of 10 yards, NCDC 30 yards.  The SPC and NCDC longitude (-88.45) for this tornado is in Marshall County.  If changed to -86.45 it is in Warren County (right in Bowling Green).  Storm Data reports damage on a farm just south of Bowling Green.  Even if using -86.45, that would put the tornado right in the city of Bowling Green, not on a  farm south of town.  More research reveals that this very small tornado hit the Kenneth Hardcastle property between Hardcastle and Greenhill east-southeast of Bowling Green.

April 3, 1974
Counties:  Simpson, Warren, Barren
F-scale:  F3
Deaths:  3
Injuries:  57
Path width:
Path length:
Time:  3:45pm
Grazulis narrative:  Moved northeast from west of Gold City to east of Smiths Grove.  One person was killed in Simpson County at Temperance as seven homes and 40 barns were destroyed.  Two people died in Warren County:  one at Three Forks and one at Rocky Springs.
Noted discrepancies:  SPC, NCDC, and Grazulis give a time of 3:45pm...Storm Data says 4:45pm.  SPC and NCDC give a path length of 31 miles...Grazulis says 25 miles.  SPC gives a path width of 10 yards...NCDC 30 yards...Grazulis nothing.

May 12, 1978
Counties:  Butler, Warren
F-scale:  F2
Deaths:  0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  400 yards
Path length:  15 miles
Time:  9:45pm
Grazulis narrative:  Moved east-northeast from six miles south of Morgantown near KY 79, damaging or destroying three farm homes and fifteen barns.
Notes:  A home was moved off its foundation and lost a wall on "Guy Hadley" (Hadley Shearer?) Road.  Trees were uprooted and a car was lifted and spun around.
Noted discrepancies:  This tornado is not included in the SPC database or at the NCDC website (despite listing 32 tornadoes elsewhere across the country that day), but is listed in Storm Data and Grazulis.  The Bowling Green newspaper said the damage occurred around 10:30pm.

August 11, 1983
Counties:  Warren
F-scale:  F1
Deaths:
Injuries:  6
Path width:
Path length:
Time:  2:00pm
Notes:  Storm Data says this tornado struck the Greenwood Trailer Park on the north side of Bowling Green.

July 26, 1984
Counties:  Warren
F-scale:  F1
Deaths:
Injuries:
Path width:
Path length:
Time:  4:00pm
Notes:  Storm data places this tornado just south of Smiths Grove.

March 22, 1991
Counties:  Logan, Warren (from Todd)
F-scale:  F2
Deaths:  1
Injuries:  12
Path width:  400 yards
Path length:
Time:  5:50pm
Grazulis narrative:  Skipped northeast from 6 1/2 miles southeast of Trenton to southwest of Allensville to near Lickskillet to near Auburn and Richardsville.  Southeast of Trenton the tornado was on the ground for a mile and a half and destroyed a barn and a trailer.  Twelve homes were destroyed in the touchdown near Allensville.  Churches and a tied-down trailer were destroyed near Lickskillet.  An 11-year-old boy was killed in the trailer.  Several barns were destroyed farther to the northeast.
Noted discrepancies:  SPC and NCDC give a path length of 39 miles, Grazulis gives 45 miles, and Storm Data says 25 miles.

April 15, 1994
Counties:  Warren
F-scale:  F1
Deaths:
Injuries:
Path width:
Path length:
Time:  9:15am
Noted discrepancies:  Not listed at NCDC.

May 18, 1995
Counties:  Warren
F-scale:  F2
Deaths:  0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  100 yards
Path length:  2 1/2 miles
Time:  4:25pm
Grazulis narrative:  A tornado moved northeast from five miles west of Bowling Green.  Homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed.
Noted discrepancies:  This tornado is not listed at NCDC.  However, in addition to Grazulis' information, the Bowling Green newspaper reported tornado damage on Hammett Hill Road.

May 18, 1995
Counties:  Warren
F-scale:  F2
Deaths:  0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  100 yards
Path length:  1 1/2 miles
Time:  4:30pm
Grazulis narrative:  A tornado was intermittently on the ground near Bowling Green.  Numerous homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed on the north side of Bowling Green.
Noted discrepancies:  This tornado is not listed at NCDC.

May 18, 1995
Counties:  Warren
F-scale:  F2
Deaths:  0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  100 yards
Path length:  5 miles
Time:  4:47pm
Grazulis narrative:  A tornado was intermittently on the ground about five miles east of Bowling Green.  Several homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed.
Noted discrepancies:  This tornado is not listed at NCDC. However, in addition to Grazulis' information, the Bowling Green newspaper reported tornado damage on Porter Pike.

March 1, 1997
Counties:  Warren
F-scale:  F0
Deaths:
Injuries:
Path width:
Path length:
Time:  4:26am
Notes:  Storm Data puts this tornado on Garrett Hollow Road.

June 16, 1997
Counties:  Warren
F-scale:  F0
Deaths:
Injuries:
Path width:
Path length:
Time:  6:21pm
Notes:  Storm Data puts this tornado at Richardsville.

April 16, 1998
Counties:  Logan, Warren, Allen, Barren
F-scale:  F3
Deaths:  2
Injuries:  9
Path width:
Path length:  58 miles
Time:  2:35pm
Notes:  After researching this tornado (see discrepancies below), including reviewing radar data, it appears this tornado touched down at Chandlers Chapel in northeast Logan County, moving through Warren County crossing I-65 about seven and a half miles south of Bowling Green, continuing eastward into northernmost Allen County passing just north of Meador, then turning to the northeast near Finny, Haywood, three miles south of Glasgow, and ending at the Metcalfe County line near where the parkway crosses the border.  The worst damage was in Barren County.  Homes on Needmore School Road southwest of Haywood were extensively damaged, and a mobile home was flipped over near the intersection of Riddle Road and KY 249.  In Glasgow one person was killed in his mobile home and another was killed by flying debris.  In the Glasgow area one house was destroyed (F3 damage) and 45 badly damaged.  Winds estimated at 175mph near Glasgow damaged or destroyed 35 mobile homes and 25 barns. 
Noted discrepancies:  SPC mistakenly replaces Warren County with Lawrence County.  SPC gives a beginning latitude of 36.92...NCDC gives 36.95.  SPC gives a path width of 100 yards, NCDC gives 200 yards.  The lat/lons given for this event are all over the place.  Going by the beginning lat/lon in Logan County and the ending lat/lon in Barren County, the track would go through the south side of Glasgow and would end at the Barren/Metcalfe county line, which agrees with the narrative given at NCDC.  However, this path would completely miss Allen County.  Storm Data has it in Logan County (Chandlers Chapel to six miles east of Chandlers Chapel), Warren County (ten miles southwest of Bowling Green to sixteen miles southeast of Bowling Green), Allen County (three miles west of Meador to two miles east of Meador), and Barren County (fourteen miles southwest of Glasgow to ten miles east of Glasgow, with Glasgow hard hit).

May 24, 2000
Counties:  Warren
F-scale:  F0
Deaths:
Injuries:
Path width:
Path length:
Time:  6:45pm
Noted discrepancies:  SPC lists a path width of 20 yards, NCDC 27 yards, Storm Data 25 yards.

November 15, 2005
Counties:  Warren
F-scale:  F1
Deaths:  0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  150 yards
Path length:  1 mile
Time:  6:07pm
Notes:  This tornado touched down in the Woodburn area.  It did F1 damage to at least three businesses, six homes, and numerous barns and outbuildings.

June 11, 2009
Counties: Warren, Edmonson, Barren
EF-scale:  EF1
Deaths:  0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  150 yards
Path length:  18 miles (skipping)
Time:  7:00pm CDT
Notes:  This tornado touched down along the Edmonson/Warren county line between Brownsville and Bowling Green.  It moved to the east-southeast, passing just north of Smiths Grove, west of Hays, and dissipating at Beckton west of Glasgow.  Many trees were snapped or uprooted, and farms in the path suffered roof and outbuilding damage.  Cornfields were flattened and convergent wind signatures could be seen in the vegetation.

October 26, 2010
Counties:  Warren
F-scale:  EF1
Deaths:  0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  60 yards
Path length:  2.2 miles
Time:  11:08am CDT
Notes:  A tree was uprooted at the beginning of the track.  As the tornado crossed Cemetery Road it damaged a home.  A barn was unroofed near the end of the track.  Damage was intermittent along the 2.2 mile long, 60 yard wide path.

March 2, 2012
Counties:  Warren
EF-Scale:  EF-1
Deaths:  0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  60 yards
Path length:  0.5 mile
Time:  4:06pm CST
Notes:  Straight line winds along and north of the supercell moving through Simpson County uprooted shallow-rooted hardwood and softwood trees and destroyed a tool shed on Evans Rd.  As it moved into Warren County, it damaged barn roofs and produced golf ball size hail which penetrated siding on numerous vinyl sided houses.  As it reached 961 east of Alvaton in Warren County, it spawned an EF1 tornado with winds estimated at 95 mph destroying a barn and tool shed.

January 30, 2013
County: Warren
EF-Scale: EF2
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Path width: 250 yards
Path length:  3.3 miles
Time: 3:38am CST
Notes: Four grain bins were scattered over a quarter mile, with some debris thrown up to a half mile away.  Fencing with 8" posts was torn down.  A semi truck was flipped as the tornado crossed Interstate 65.  Towards the end of the path a barn was destroyed and a 100 by 300 foot well-built metal outbuilding was destroyed.

March 1, 2017
County:  Warren
EF-Scale:  EF1
Deaths:   0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  125 yards
Path length:  2.6 miles
Time:  7:24am - 7:28am CST
Notes: The tornado touched down east of Interstate 65 near Claypool. Several residences and barns suffered extensive damage along Cemetery Road and Martinsville Ford Road. Peak winds were around 110 mph.

February 24, 2018
County:  Warren, Barren
EF-Scale:  EF1
Deaths:   0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  50 yards
Path length:  1.6 miles
Time: 5:19pm - 5:21pm CST
Notes: Touchdown occurred near the intersection of Hays Pondsville Road and FH Roundtree Road where a small metal shed was destroyed, a trailer was overturned, a fence was flattened, and a home suffered minor roof damage. The narrow tornado continued northeast, uprooting trees and damaging outbuildings, breaking out all of the windows of one building. It then tore the porch off the east side of a home on the south side of US 68/80, depositing debris into nearby woods. Crossing the highway the tornado did its greatest damage, tearing a very large pine tree out of the ground and tossing it 100 feet over a home, splattering the front of the home with mud, ripping holes in the roof, and destroying the attached garage. The tornado continued to snap trees and damage outbuildings on its way northeast, scattering debris a quarter mile downwind. The tornado damaged the roof of a home and did porch, deck, and roof damage to a neighboring residence, plastering the east side of the home with insulation. Crossing over Lewis Road into Barren County, the roof of a sunroom was torn off of a home and an outbuilding destroyed. 

March 3, 2020
County:  Warren, Allen
EF-Scale: EF2
Deaths:   0
Injuries:  0
Path width:  250 yards
Path length:  2.2 mile
Time: 12:15am CST
Notes: Most of the damage was around the southeastern portion of the Alvaton community. The tornado was preceded by straight-line winds, then just east of Claypool Boyce Road there was a distinct change in the tree pattern. Instead of just going to the northeast trees were now going to the northwest, north and northeast. A large 2 x 8 went flying and got wedged between the windshield wiper and the windshield of a vehicle but incredibly did not crack the windshield. This is where a small tornado formed within the straight-line wind path with winds between 80 and 85 mph. Residents reported half inch hail, followed by a surge in lightning, then quiet, then a 20 second loud roar with popping in their ears followed by complete silence again. Further east in the 500 block of Kara Court there was significant tree damage with the back of a house being uplifted and insulation being thrown upwind and downwind around the back of the house. Trees were laying in all directions with lots of twisting and many snapped trees. At the 200 block of Cross Creek Court was the clearest evidence of trees facing all eight cardinal directions. In this area many trees were snapped and uprooted. The survey team estimated well over 500 trees in a 1 mile stretch uprooted, snapped, or pushed over. Two of the snapped trees landed on pick-up trucks. Winds increased to 95 mph with a width of 225 yards. At the 2400 block of WG Talley Road was the most significant damage of the entire survey. Three barns were destroyed, 2 of them were concreted in strong firm footers. One of the barns was 30 x 80, one was 150 x 100, and one was 12 x 16 along with numerous sheds destroyed, and debris was thrown in all directions downwind up to 500 yards. A 5000 pound horse trailer was thrown to the northwest 70 yards. A very well-built family residence took a direct hit from the EF2 tornado, with the front side of the home having the plywood exposed and with most of the shingles gone but the rest of the house fully intact due to the house having all the proper clips and braces with rebar. Wind speeds at this point were 116 mph with a width of 250 yards. Tree damage continued into Allen County along Allen Springs Road. The tornado lifted just north of Bailey School Road in far NW Allen County.