Kentucky natural disasters

The state's storm and disaster record · population 4,501,790 · 120 counties and county equivalents

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 55,285 storm events in Kentucky since 1950, 51,170 of them since 1996 when every event type began to be recorded, and the Storm Prediction Center counts 1,261 tornadoes in the state since 1950. The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events (19,621). In NOAA's storm record since 1950, the deadliest tornado day in Kentucky was December 10, 2021: tornadoes and the storms that came with them killed 77 people in the state; the deadliest of them in Kentucky, the Mayfield to Hartford tornado, killed 57 (SPC). FEMA has made 99 declarations for Kentucky since 1957, 95 for natural hazards; 82 were major disasters.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm events recorded in Kentucky 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 $1 million
$1 million or more
$10 million or more
$100 million or more, or 10 deaths
$1 billion or more, or 100 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 events recorded: 55,2851950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded: 5994,917 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $6.8Bas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes (SPC): 1,2611950 to 2025
FEMA declarations: 9982 major disasters

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); tornado count: NOAA Storm Prediction Center, 1950-2025; damage in 2025 dollars (BLS CPI-U). Search the record at NCEI.

What natural disasters happen in Kentucky?

By NOAA's records, Kentucky's most frequent hazards are severe thunderstorm wind events (19,621), floods and flash floods (8,294), winter storm records (8,092); the deadliest are tornadoes (246 deaths). Each hazard is counted over the years NOAA has recorded it everywhere: tornadoes since 1950, hail and thunderstorm wind since 1955, everything else since 1996. Open a hazard for its years, months, counties and worst events.

Kentucky: records by hazard to June 30, 2026
Hazard	Records	Last 10 years	Killed	Injured	Damage	Counties
Severe thunderstorm wind	19,621	5,474	27	452	$583M	120 of 120
Floods	8,294	2,715	169	52	$1.4B	120 of 120
Winter storms	8,092	2,268	82	154	$360M	120 of 120
Hail	6,621	1,172	1	9	$1.1B	120 of 120
High wind and dust storms	2,540	1,261	12	80	$293M	120 of 120
Extreme cold	2,283	676	21	7	$18M	120 of 120
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds	2,152	881	4	7	$229K	62 of 120
Heat	2,073	838	11	284	–	75 of 120
Tornadoes	1,497	404	246	3,784	$2.9B	119 of 120
Drought	1,021	219	0	0	$137M	59 of 120
Heavy rain	744	139	3	6	$1.1M	103 of 120
Lightning	239	55	21	61	$12M	82 of 120
Landslides and avalanches	60	42	0	0	$84K	23 of 120
Wildfires	48	3	2	21	$34K	31 of 120

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: every record counted once in the state; "last 10 years" is 2017-2026 (2026 to June 30, 2026).

What were the deadliest disasters in Kentucky?

The storms with the most deaths since 1950, from the National Weather Service's own entries. NOAA files one storm as several records when it crosses forecast zones and counties or changes type, and groups them under one episode; each row here is an episode, with its totals and the narrative of its deadliest record. Before 1996 tornado records carry no episode and stand alone. The narrative says what happened: some deaths the National Weather Service files under a weather type had another cause beside the weather.

Kentucky: the 10 storm episodes with the most deaths
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2021-12-10	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Mayfield to Hartford, killed 57 (SPC) · TornadoBaltimore, Graves County One named storm filed by several offices: 46 records in 2 episodes, 2021-12-10 to 2021-12-11; the totals are the storm's. On the evening of Friday, December 10, 2021, a potent storm system moving across the central United States resulted in significant long-track tornadoes. A violent EF-4 tornado began in far northwest Tennessee, and moved across western Kentucky, resulting in dozens of lost lives and a swath of destruction. The tornado ...	EF4 21.09 mi x 2,300 yd	77	615	$457K
1974-04-03	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Brandenburg, killed 31 (SPC) · TornadoMeade County Every tornado record filed in the state that day (52, in 40 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F5 10 mi x 440 yd	71	1,272	$2.5M step
2022-07-27	Flash FloodFisty, Knott County One storm episode: 6 records in 5 places, 2022-07-27 to 2022-07-28; the totals are the episode's. Between July 25th and July 30th, 2022, several complexes of training thunderstorms developed south of I-64 and brought heavy rain, deadly flash flooding, and devastating river flooding to eastern Kentucky and central Appalachia. These thunderstorms, at times, caused rainfall rates in excess of 4/hr across complex ...		40	0	–
2012-03-02	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, West Liberty, killed 10 (SPC) · TornadoArtville, Morgan County One named storm filed by several offices: 37 records in 3 episodes; the totals are the storm's. During the afternoon and evening hours of March 2nd, 2012, an historic tornado outbreak occurred in eastern Kentucky. Tornadoes struck Menifee, Morgan, Bath, Wolfe, Laurel, Johnson and Martin Counties causing a combined 16 deaths in those counties. The hardest hit areas were West Liberty in Morgan county, Salyersville ...	EF3 25.56 mi x 1,580 yd	23	206	$193M
2025-05-16	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Somerset to London, killed 18 (SPC) · TornadoGoodwater, Laurel County One storm episode: 80 records in 21 places, 2025-05-16 to 2025-05-17; the totals are the episode's. Eastern Kentucky experienced multiple rounds of severe weather from May 16th into the early morning hours of May 17th. The initial round of severe weather, occurring during the morning and early afternoon, produced swaths of large to significant hail (approaching baseball size), localized damaging winds, and heavy ...	EF4 20 mi x 1,700 yd	18	0	$421K
2009-01-26	Ice StormWebster County · forecast zone Webster One storm episode: 22 records in 22 places; the totals are the episode's. This historic, prolonged ice storm was called the biggest disaster in modern Kentucky history by the governor of Kentucky. The storm produced at least one inch of ice across western Kentucky. Locally very destructive icing around 1.5 inches occurred from the Mississippi River counties east across Paducah and ...		11	1	$422M
1971-04-27	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Columbia, killed 6 (SPC) · TornadoAdair County Every tornado record filed in the state that day (11, in 10 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F4 11.1 mi x 100 yd	9	130	$2.5M step
2026-01-24	Winter StormHart County · forecast zone Hart One storm episode: 49 records in 49 places; the totals are the episode's. A major winter storm produced heavy snow and sleet across portions of northern and central Kentucky January 24-26, 2026. In addition, portions of central and eastern Kentucky saw heavy ice accumulation, which resulted in thousands of power outages. A strong low pressure system moved through the Ohio Valley. The storm ...		9	1	–
2008-02-06	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Fountain Run, killed 4 (SPC) · TornadoAmos, Allen County One named storm filed by several offices: 47 records in 2 episodes; the totals are the storm's. A cold front along with a strong upper level low produced a squall line that crossed central Kentucky. This set off widespread severe weather, and spawned several tornadoes.	EF3 8.93 mi x 440 yd	7	43	$59M
2009-01-27	Winter StormJefferson County · forecast zone Jefferson One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. A prolonged ice and snow storm began around just after midnight Tuesday January 27 and continued through 11 am Wednesday January 28. The mixed freezing rain and snow that fell over central Kentucky was just one aspect of a widespread overrunning event that brought destructive winter weather from Texas, through the ...		7	0	–

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: deaths direct and indirect, as filed in this state, summed over the records of each episode (EPISODE_ID); a forecast-zone record counts the zone's deaths once. A tornado's whole-track deaths (SPC), on the state's tornado page, can be higher when the track crossed a state line. Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest records in Kentucky

Kentucky: the 8 records with the most damage since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
1998-04-16	HailBowling Green, Warren County	2.75 in hail	0	0	$923M
1997-03-02	FloodJefferson County · forecast zone Jefferson		0	0	$221M
1996-05-28	TornadoBrooks, Bullitt County	F4 13.8 mi x 575 yd	0	10	$188M
1997-03-01	FloodJefferson County · forecast zone Jefferson		1	0	$156M
2002-09-01	DroughtBallard County · forecast zone Ballard		0	0	$115M
2000-01-03	TornadoRome, Daviess County	F3 7 mi x 880 yd	0	18	$110M
1993-05-18	Thunderstorm WindFayette County		0	0	$102M
1995-05-18	Thunderstorm WindWinchester, Clark County		0	3	$97M

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 $25M, in the dollars of the day) holds: April 23, 1968 (tornado, Pendleton County, 4 killed); May 9, 1988 (tornado, Bell County, 1 killed); March 10, 1986 (tornado, Fayette County); March 20, 1982 (tornado, Shelby County); May 21, 1990 (tornado, Madison County).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. BLS consumer price index.

Which counties in Kentucky have the most records?

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950 attributed to each county (forecast-zone records count on every county the zone covers).

Every county in Kentucky

Billion-dollar disasters in Kentucky

NOAA counted 92 weather or climate disasters from 1980-2024 that cost at least $1 billion (adjusted for inflation) and affected Kentucky, led by severe storm (58). The most recent: Hurricane Helene (2024); Central Tornado Outbreak (2024); Central, Southern, Eastern Severe Weather (2024).

Kentucky: billion-dollar disasters by type, 1980-2024
Type	Events	Total cost (NOAA's range)
Severe Storm	58	$10.0B-$20.0B
Winter Storm	12	$1.0B-$2.0B
Drought	10	$5.0B-$10.0B
Tropical Cyclone	5	$1.0B-$2.0B
Flooding	4	$500M-$1.0B
Freeze	3	$250M-$500M

Every one of the 92, newest first

Hurricane Helene2024
Central Tornado Outbreak2024
Central, Southern, Eastern Severe Weather2024
Central, Southern, Southeastern Tornado Outbreak2024
Central Tornado Outbreak and Eastern Severe Weather2024
Central and Southern Severe Weather2024
Central and Eastern Severe Weather2024
Central Severe Weather2023
Rockies Hail Storms and Central and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Southern Severe Weather2023
Central Severe Weather2023
Central and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Central Tornado Outbreak and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Southern and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Central and Eastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave2022
Kentucky and Missouri Flooding2022
Southern Severe Weather2022
Southern Tornado Outbreak2022
Western/Central Drought and Heat Wave2022
Southeast, Central Tornado Outbreak2021
Hurricane Ida2021
Southeast Tornadoes and Severe Weather2021
Northwest, Central, Eastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave2021
North Central and Ohio Valley Hail Storms and Severe Weather2020
Midwest and Ohio Valley Severe Weather2020
Tennessee Tornadoes and Southeast Severe Weather2020
Southeast Tornadoes and Northern Storms and Flooding2020
Mississippi River, Midwest and Southern Flooding2019
Central and Eastern Tornadoes and Severe Weather2018
Missouri and Arkansas Flooding and Central Severe Weather2017
Southeast Severe Weather and Tornadoes2017
South/Southeast Severe Weather2017
Southeast Freeze2017
Central/Southeast Tornado Outbreak2017
Plains Tornadoes and Central Severe Weather2016
Texas Tornadoes and Midwest Flooding2015
South and Southeast Severe Weather2015
Midwest/Ohio Valley Severe Weather2015
Central and Eastern Winter storm, Cold Wave2015
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Winter Storm2014
Ohio Valley Tornadoes2013
Plains/East/Northeast Derecho2012
Midwest/Ohio Valley Severe Weather2012
Southeast/Ohio Valley Tornadoes2012
U.S. Drought/Heat Wave2012
Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes2011
Southeast/Ohio Valley/Midwest Tornadoes2011
Ohio Valley Derecho and Southern Tornadoes2011
Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes and Derecho2011
Southern Plains/Southwest Drought and Heat Wave2011
East/South Flooding and Severe Weather2010
Midwest, South and East Severe Weather2009
Central Derecho and Tornadoes2009
South/Southeast Severe Weather and Tornadoes2009
Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes2009
Southeast/Ohio Valley Severe Weather2009
Hurricane Ike2008
Southeast Tornadoes and Severe Weather2008
U.S. Drought2008
Western/Eastern Drought/Heat Wave2007
Spring Freeze2007
Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes2006
Severe Storms and Tornadoes2006
Hurricane Katrina2005
Hurricane Ivan2004
Severe Storms, Hail, Tornadoes2004
Southern Derecho and Eastern Severe Weather2003
Severe Storms/Tornadoes2003
Eastern Tornadoes and Severe Storms2002
Severe Storms and Tornadoes2002
U.S. Drought2002
Midwest/Ohio Valley Hail and Tornadoes2001
Eastern Drought/Heat Wave1999
Oklahoma and Kansas Tornadoes1999
Central and Eastern Winter Storm1999
Northern Plains and Great Lakes Derecho, Tornadoes1998
Mississippi and Ohio Valley Severe Weather and Flooding1997
Blizzard/Floods1996
Southeast Ice Storm1994
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1994
East Coast Blizzard and Severe Weather1993
Southeast Severe Weather1992
Severe Storms, Tornadoes1991
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1989
U.S. Drought/Heat Wave1988
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1985
Freeze/Cold Wave1983
Southeast Drought1983
Severe Storms1982
Midwest/Plains/Southeast Tornadoes1982
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Winter Storm, Cold Wave1982
Central/Eastern Drought/Heat Wave1980

Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters, state summary for Kentucky, 1980-2024 (NCEI's last update; the product is archived). A disaster that affected several states counts in each. NCEI billion-dollar disasters.

Federal disaster declarations in Kentucky

FEMA has made 99 declarations for Kentucky since 1957: 82 major disasters, 9 emergencies and 8 fire management assistance declarations. The most common incident types are severe storm (41), flood (27), fire (8).

1950s 1
1960s 6
1970s 12
1980s 6
1990s 10
2000s 26
2010s 16
2020s 22

The 15 most recent declarations in Kentucky
Declared	Number	Type	Title	Areas named
2026-09-01	DR-4937	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	20
2026-05-29	DR-4913	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	21
2026-01-24	EM-3633	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	120
2025-05-23	DR-4875	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes	39
2025-04-24	DR-4864	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	91
2025-04-03	EM-3626	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding	120
2025-02-24	DR-4860	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	69
2025-02-16	EM-3624	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, and Landslides	120
2024-11-26	DR-4848	Tropical Storm	Remnants of Hurricane Helene	34
2024-07-23	DR-4804	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Landslides, and Mudslides	58
2024-05-22	DR-4782	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Landslides, and Mudslides	11
2023-05-09	DR-4711	Flood	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	22
2023-04-10	DR-4702	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	88
2022-07-29	DR-4663	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	20
2022-02-27	DR-4643	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides	13

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

Flood insurance claims in Kentucky

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $521 million on 27,378 claims in 118 Kentucky counties. Claims count insured losses only.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk across Kentucky's counties

How FEMA's National Risk Index rates Kentucky's counties overall: a model of expected future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of events.

Relatively High 1
Relatively Moderate 7
Relatively Low 42
Very Low 70

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