Floyd County, Kentucky

County storm and disaster record · FIPS 21071 · population 35,808 · 393 sq mi

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 744 records for Floyd County, Kentucky from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 376 days; the most frequent are severe thunderstorm wind events (244 records). The deadliest single record is the January 14, 2024 extreme cold/wind chill, filed for the forecast zone Floyd, which covers the county: 1 death and 1 injury. FEMA has issued 48 declarations naming the county since 1967, 46 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Winter Storm” on January 24, 2026.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $100,000
  • $100,000 or more
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more, or a death
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
  • 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
  • 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
Storm records
744on 376 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded
410 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$32Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes
2strongest EF1
FEMA declarations
48latest 2026

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.

What hazards hit Floyd County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 244 since 1967. 43% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1967 fell in June and July. The rank column places the county among Kentucky's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Floyd County: records by hazard, 1950 to June 30, 2026
HazardRecordsDaysFirst, lastKilledInjuredDamageRank in state
Severe thunderstorm wind 244 132 1967-2026 1 2 $1.4M 62 of 118
Floods 198 97 1996-2025 0 1 $30M 20 of 118
Winter storms 150 91 1996-2026 2 3 $100K 40 of 118
Hail 90 50 1970-2025 0 0 $18K 48 of 118
Extreme cold 15 15 2007-2024 1 1 – 44 of 118
High wind and dust storms 15 13 2006-2024 0 0 $236K 64 of 118
Heavy rain 11 9 2011-2022 0 0 $2K 34 of 118
Heat 8 8 2010-2010 0 0 – 45 of 118
Landslides and avalanches 4 4 2003-2021 0 0 $5K 3 of 118
Drought 3 3 2016-2019 0 0 – 49 of 118
Lightning 3 3 2002-2022 0 1 $65K 28 of 118
Tornadoes 2 2 1970-2011 0 2 $203K 111 of 118
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds 1 1 2010-2010 0 0 – 57 of 118

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Floyd County had?

NOAA records 2 tornadoes in Floyd County from 1970 to 2011, the strongest rated EF1, with 0 deaths and 2 injuries recorded in the county. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 2 tornadoes whose track touched Floyd County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 2, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Kentucky.

Every tornado record filed for Floyd County (2)
Every tornado recorded in Floyd County, newest first
DatePlaceCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2011-04-04 Beaver, Floyd County EF1 0.4 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $13K
1970-09-09 Floyd County F1 0 2 $25K step

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Floyd County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the March 16, 2026 thunderstorm wind ($1,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

The 12 most recent records kept for Floyd County
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-03-16 Heavy SnowFloyd County · forecast zone Floyd 0 0 –
2026-03-16 Thunderstorm WindMyrtle, Floyd County 50 kt wind 0 0 $1K
2026-03-11 Thunderstorm WindMartin, Floyd County 50 kt wind 0 0 $9K
2026-01-24 Winter StormFloyd County · forecast zone Floyd 0 0 –
2025-06-26 HailCliff, Floyd County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2025-06-26 Thunderstorm WindLancer, Floyd County 50 kt wind 0 0 $2K
2025-06-26 Thunderstorm WindCliff, Floyd County 50 kt wind 0 0 $2K
2025-06-26 HailPrestonsburg, Floyd County 0.88 in hail 0 0 –
2025-06-26 Thunderstorm WindWhitaker, Floyd County 50 kt wind 0 0 $2K
2025-05-17 Thunderstorm WindDema, Floyd County 50 kt wind 0 0 $1K
2025-05-16 Thunderstorm WindBlue Moon, Floyd County 50 kt wind 0 0 $1K
2025-05-16 Flash FloodWest Garrett, Floyd County 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Records with deaths or injuries in Floyd County, most deaths first
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2024-01-14 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillFloyd County · forecast zone Floyd Source: https://wklw.com/kentucky-state-police-conducts-death-investigation-in-floyd-county-2/ The Kentucky State Police Pikeville Post received a call on Sunday, January 14, 2024, regarding a suspected carbon monoxide exposure in the Langley community of Floyd County. KSP troopers responded to the area. Two females ... 1 1 –
2020-02-07 Winter WeatherFloyd County · forecast zone Floyd Following abundant rainfall across southeast Kentucky on February 6th, colder air filtered into eastern Kentucky from February 6th into the 7th. Simultaneously, another wave of precipitation moved through the region, bringing a transition to snow for much of eastern Kentucky. The heaviest amounts of near 4 inches were ... 1 0 –
2020-01-07 Winter WeatherFloyd County · forecast zone Floyd A band of precipitation developed across the Tennessee Valley late on January 6th and moved into southeast Kentucky overnight into the 7th. A mix of rain and snow occurred, with locations in central portions of far eastern Kentucky seeing the greatest snowfall totals and associated travel impacts. Several schools were ... 1 0 $29K
2019-05-29 Thunderstorm WindPrestonsburg, Floyd County A National Weather Service Meteorologist surveyed localized downburst winds in Prestonsburg. These winds caused sporadic damage throughout the community. The highest wind gust estimated was in downtown Prestonsburg on West Court Street where one half of the roof of a hock shop building was lifted off. This roof landed ... 70 kt wind 1 0 $190K
2010-12-03 Winter WeatherFloyd County · forecast zone Floyd Between 6 and 730 am on December 3rd, a total of 20 weather related traffic accidents occurred within Prestonsburg city limits. Five of the 20 accidents resulted in injuries to 3 people. Most of the accidents took place primarily along access roads coming into Prestonsburg. The worst accident occurred on the Bert T. ... 0 3 $68K
1970-09-09 TornadoFloyd County F1 0 2 $25K step
2022-06-17 LightningDotson, Floyd County A lightning strike caused a structure fire at a residence on Jack Arnett Branch, leading to an injury to an occupant of the home. 0 1 $61K
2001-08-03 Flash FloodSouth Central Portion, Floyd County High water from the areas worst flash flooding in years took its toll on area roads, bridges and homes. Extensive damage resulted in the county, making it one of five in the area to be classified as a Presidentially declared disaster area. Up to 1200 homes were affected by the flash flood. All of the Left Beaver and ... 0 1 $13M

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

The costliest records in Floyd County since 1993, damage in 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2001-08-03 Flash FloodSouth Central Portion, Floyd County 0 1 $13M
2004-06-01 FloodFloyd County · forecast zone Floyd 0 0 $4.7M
2003-06-16 Flash FloodDotson, Floyd County 0 0 $1.9M
2002-05-02 FloodFloyd County · forecast zone Floyd 0 0 $1.6M
2014-08-22 Flash FloodBonanza, Floyd County 0 0 $1.2M
1998-04-18 Flash FloodCountywide, Floyd County 0 0 $299K
2019-05-29 Thunderstorm WindPrestonsburg, Floyd County 70 kt wind 1 0 $190K
2012-01-17 Thunderstorm WindDotson, Floyd County 65 kt wind 0 0 $129K

Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $25K, in the dollars of the day) holds: September 9, 1970 (tornado, Floyd County).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Floyd County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Floyd County: records per decade (the 2020s to June 30, 2026)
Hazard1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020-26
Severe thunderstorm wind0221021688853
Floods––––5578254
Winter storms––––6398421
Hail001012471515
Extreme cold––––03102
High wind and dust storms––––0627

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

43% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1967 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.

The values, month by month

Jan 71 · Feb 94 · Mar 76 · Apr 72 · May 116 · Jun 81 · Jul 91 · Aug 61 · Sep 16 · Oct 11 · Nov 6 · Dec 49 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Floyd County

FEMA's register lists 48 declarations that include Floyd County: 38 major disasters, 7 emergencies and 3 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (21) and flood (12).

Declarations including Floyd County, newest first
DeclaredNumberTypeTitle
2026-01-24EM-3633Winter StormSevere Winter Storm
2025-04-24DR-4864Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
2025-04-03EM-3626Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2025-02-24DR-4860Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
2025-02-16EM-3624Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, and Landslides
2023-05-09DR-4711FloodSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
2023-04-10DR-4702Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
2022-07-29DR-4663FloodSevere Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
2022-02-27DR-4643Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides
2021-04-23DR-4595FloodSevere, Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
2021-03-31DR-4592Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storms, Landslides, and Mudslides
2020-03-28DR-4497BiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
2020-03-13EM-3469BiologicalCovid-19
2019-04-17DR-4428Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
2018-04-12DR-4358FloodSevere Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
2015-08-12DR-4239Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslide
2015-05-12DR-4218FloodSevere Winter Storm, Snowstorm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
2015-05-01DR-4217FloodSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
2015-04-30DR-4216SnowstormSevere Winter Storms, Snowstorms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
2014-09-30DR-4196Severe StormSevere Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
2011-05-04DR-1976Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2009-05-29DR-1841Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding and Mudslides
2009-02-05DR-1818Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storm and Flooding
2009-01-28EM-3302Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storm
2007-05-25DR-1703Severe StormSevere Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Rockslides
2005-09-10EM-3231HurricaneHurricane Katrina
2004-06-10DR-1523Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and Mudslides
2003-07-02DR-1475Severe StormSevere Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock Slides, and Tornadoes
2003-03-14DR-1454Severe StormSevere Winter Ice and Snow Storms, Heavy Rain, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Mud and
2002-05-07DR-1414Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2002-04-04DR-1407Severe StormSevere Storms and Flooding
2001-11-02FM-2386FireKy - Eastern Fire Complex - 11/02/2001
2001-08-15DR-1388Severe StormSevere Storms and Flooding
2000-11-04FM-2350FireKy - Eastern District Fire Complex - 11/03/00
1999-11-20FM-2288FireKy, Wildfires #001
1998-04-29DR-1216Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes,and Flooding
1997-03-04DR-1163Severe StormSevere Storm, Flooding, and Tornadoes
1996-01-13DR-1089SnowstormBlizzard of 96
1995-06-13DR-1055TornadoTornadoes, Severe Winds, Hail
1994-03-16DR-1018SnowstormSevere Weather, Freezing Rain, Sleet, Snw

The 40 most recent of 48 are listed; the CSV has every one.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Floyd County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 198 flood or flash flood records for Floyd County from 1996 to 2025, on 97 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Floyd County ranks 152nd of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $37.3 million on 2,618 claims filed in Floyd County; the most in one year was 553 in 1984. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

The values, year by year

1978: 38 · 1979: 2 · 1980: 4 · 1981: 69 · 1982: 8 · 1983: 1 · 1984: 553 · 1985: 5 · 1987: 2 · 1989: 180 · 1990: 2 · 1991: 71 · 1992: 1 · 1993: 3 · 1994: 28 · 1995: 38 · 1996: 10 · 1997: 30 · 1998: 131 · 1999: 2 · 2000: 8 · 2001: 45 · 2002: 11 · 2003: 280 · 2004: 101 · 2005: 15 · 2006: 2 · 2007: 61 · 2008: 2 · 2009: 211 · 2010: 10 · 2011: 22 · 2012: 5 · 2013: 17 · 2014: 50 · 2015: 72 · 2016: 6 · 2017: 2 · 2018: 15 · 2019: 10 · 2020: 24 · 2021: 104 · 2022: 124 · 2023: 14 · 2024: 3 · 2025: 223 · 2026: 3; the other years: 0.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Floyd County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Floyd County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $106 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

National Risk Index ratings for Floyd County (December 2025 release), by FEMA's rating, then score
HazardRisk ratingExpected annual lossModeled frequency
Riverine FloodingRelatively High$102M3.3 a year (modeled)
LandslideRelatively Moderate$43K1.2 a year (modeled)
Winter WeatherRelatively Moderate$135K15 a year (modeled)
Strong WindRelatively Moderate$702K3.6 a year (modeled)
LightningRelatively Moderate$209K51 a year (modeled)
WildfireRelatively Low$563Konce in about 92 years (modeled)
HailRelatively Low$369K3.2 a year (modeled)
EarthquakeRelatively Low$409Konce in about 738 years (modeled)

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Floyd County

  1. Pike County 990
  2. Floyd County 744
  3. Johnson County 453
  4. Magoffin County 433
  5. Martin County 336
  6. Knott County 313

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

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