PlainHazard

Kentucky drought

Every recorded drought record since 1996 · 59 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 1,021 drought records in Kentucky from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 48 a year since 2000. The costliest was the September 1, 2002 drought ($115 million in 2025 dollars). Kentucky ranks 23rd of 51 states and territories by count and 29th of 50 per square mile.

Drought in Kentucky, 1996 to 2026

Drought records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • 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
Records
1,0211996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
48average
Deaths
00 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$137Mas filed
Busiest year
2012162 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are drought records common in Kentucky?

Kentucky averages about 48 drought records a year since 2000, 23rd of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2012 (162). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Kentucky records 259 drought records since 1996, 29th of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Hawaii 2624
  2. 2. New Jersey 1205
  3. 3. Delaware 1062
  4. 4. Oklahoma 971
  5. 5. Georgia 900
  6. 6. Texas 711
  7. 7. New Mexico 528
  8. 8. Alabama 527
  9. 9. Tennessee 477
  10. 10. Iowa 466
  11. 29. Kentucky 259

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Kentucky have the most drought records?

Per square mile, Carlisle County leads Kentucky: 41 days with a drought record since 1996, 216.4 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Christian County has the most drought records (60 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. Carlisle County 216.4 (41)
  2. Fulton County 208.8 (43)
  3. Lyon County 191.8 (41)
  4. Hickman County 177.4 (43)
  5. Ballard County 161.9 (40)
  6. McCracken County 160.8 (40)
  7. Marshall County 139.0 (42)
  8. McLean County 134.6 (34)
  9. Boyd County 125.1 (20)
  10. Livingston County 121.4 (38)
  11. Calloway County 114.3 (44)
  12. Caldwell County 107.3 (37)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is drought season in Kentucky?

41% of its drought records since 1996 fell in September and October. The busiest month is September (256 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 48 · Feb 0 · Mar 0 · Apr 18 · May 26 · Jun 52 · Jul 45 · Aug 153 · Sep 256 · Oct 161 · Nov 146 · Dec 116 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

The costliest drought records in Kentucky

Kentucky: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2002-09-01 DroughtBallard County · forecast zone Ballard 0 0 $115M
1999-09-01 DroughtBallard County · forecast zone Ballard One storm episode: 22 records in 22 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $12M
2007-09-01 DroughtTrigg County · forecast zone Trigg One storm episode: 21 records in 21 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $9.4M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are drought records becoming more frequent in Kentucky?

Kentucky's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Drought: Kentucky and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeKentuckyUnited StatesKentucky's share
1996-991785,6003.2%
2000s21218,5711.1%
2010s45131,4411.4%
2020-2618030,1470.6%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent drought records in Kentucky

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-05-01 DroughtLawrence County · forecast zone Lawrence 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtGreenup County · forecast zone Greenup 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtCarter County · forecast zone Carter 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtBoyd County · forecast zone Boyd 0 0 –
2026-04-14 DroughtMcLean County · forecast zone McLean 0 0 –
2026-04-14 DroughtCrittenden County · forecast zone Crittenden 0 0 –
2026-04-14 DroughtBallard County · forecast zone Ballard 0 0 –
2026-04-09 DroughtTodd County · forecast zone Todd 0 0 –
2026-04-09 DroughtMuhlenberg County · forecast zone Muhlenberg 0 0 –
2026-04-09 DroughtChristian County · forecast zone Christian 0 0 –
2026-04-09 DroughtHopkins County · forecast zone Hopkins 0 0 –
2026-04-09 DroughtTrigg County · forecast zone Trigg 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

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