Kentucky extreme cold
Every recorded extreme cold record since 1996 · 120 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 2,283 extreme cold records in Kentucky from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 80 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the February 17, 2015 cold/wind chill: 6 deaths and 1 injury across 6 records. Kentucky ranks 7th of 51 states and territories by count and 6th of 50 per square mile.
Extreme cold in Kentucky, 1996 to 2026
Cold 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
- 2,2831996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 80average
- Deaths
- 217 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $18Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2010298 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 extreme cold records common in Kentucky?
Kentucky averages about 80 extreme cold records a year since 2000, 7th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2010 (298). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Kentucky records 578 extreme cold records since 1996, 6th of 50 states and territories by that measure.
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 extreme cold records?
Per square mile, Carlisle County leads Kentucky: 60 days with a extreme cold record since 1996, 316.7 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Christian County has the most cold records (97 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).
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 the cold season in Kentucky?
44% of its extreme cold records since 1996 fell in April and May. The busiest month is April (892 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 287 · Feb 133 · Mar 67 · Apr 892 · May 111 · Jun 0 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 4 · Oct 564 · Nov 140 · Dec 85 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest extreme cold records in Kentucky?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-02-17 | Cold/Wind ChillBullitt County · forecast zone Bullitt One storm episode: 6 records in 5 places, 2015-02-17 to 2015-02-20; the totals are the episode's. An arctic outbreak brought frigid air to central Kentucky, which not only resulted in one of the heaviest snowfalls in a decade for the state, but led to several hypothermia fatalities as well. Several record low temperatures lccurred early on the 20th when clear skies, calm winds and a fresh snowpack in excess of 6 ... | 6 | 1 | – | |
| 2015-02-19 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillKnox County · forecast zone Knox One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A prolonged cold snap, beginning on the 15th, worsened as Arctic high pressure combined with a deep snow pack to produce some of the coldest temperatures since January 1994 during the morning of February 20th. Several locations fell to 20 below zero and colder, temperatures not observed during the month of February in ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2019-01-30 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillBoone County · forecast zone Boone The Cincinnati airport ASOS CVG reported a wind chill of 27 below zero. On 2/2/19, two elderly brothers were found frozen to death in Petersburg. The official date of death is listed as the day they were found, but the most likely date of death would have been 1/30, possibly late on the 29th as there were two receipts ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2022-12-22 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillFulton County · forecast zone Fulton One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A powerful cold front swept through the region, with wind chills dropping to 20 to 30 below zero. These were the coldest wind chills observed in over 25 years across the region. Paducah, KY dropped down to a -21 wind chill, which was the coldest since February 3, 1996. The most extreme wind chills were from the ... | 1 | 3 | – | |
| 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 | – | |
| 2016-01-11 | Cold/Wind ChillFayette County · forecast zone Fayette Bitterly cold temperatures encompassed central Kentucky during the morning hours of January 11th. Widespread lows were in the single digits to low teens and Bluegrass Airport in Lexington recorded a minimum temperature of 10 degrees. A slight breeze kept wind chill values in the single digits above and below zero. A ... | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2014-01-06 | Cold/Wind ChillMcCracken County · forecast zone McCracken Dangerously cold wind chills were observed from late on the night of the 5th through early on the morning of the 7th. Wind chills during this entire period were colder than 10 below zero. The coldest wind chill readings were in the Henderson and Owensboro area during the daytime hours of the 6th...when the average ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2010-02-11 | Cold/Wind ChillJefferson County · forecast zone Jefferson After a night of temperatures in the teens, police discovered the body of a man about a mile from his home in southwest Louisville the morning of February 11, on the deck of a home under construction. An autopsy showed that he had died of hypothermia. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2010-01-26 | Cold/Wind ChillFranklin County · forecast zone Franklin An elderly man became disorientated and locked himself out of his family's home overnight. He froze to death and was discovered during the early morning hours. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-02-20 | Cold/Wind ChillMarshall County · forecast zone Marshall One storm episode: 10 records in 10 places, 2025-02-20 to 2025-02-21; the totals are the episode's. An extended period of sub-freezing temperatures that began on the 19th continued into the morning of the 21st as high pressure remained in control. An intermittent light southerly wind and snowpack allowed for wind chills between -3 to -7 beginning late at night into the morning hours of the 21st. The coldest wind ... | 1 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest extreme cold records in Kentucky
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-04-06 | Frost/FreezeBoone County · forecast zone Boone One storm episode: 12 records in 12 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $7.9M | |
| 2007-04-08 | Frost/FreezeBallard County · forecast zone Ballard One storm episode: 9 records in 9 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $6.5M | |
| 2014-01-27 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillBoyd County · forecast zone Boyd | 0 | 0 | $623K | |
| 2014-01-06 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillGreenup County · forecast zone Greenup | 0 | 0 | $312K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are extreme cold 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.
| Decade | Kentucky | United States | Kentucky's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 153 | 5,539 | 2.8% |
| 2000s | 644 | 14,792 | 4.4% |
| 2010s | 1,003 | 18,162 | 5.5% |
| 2020-26 | 483 | 15,329 | 3.2% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent extreme cold records in Kentucky
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-31 | Cold/Wind ChillTodd County · forecast zone Todd | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-31 | Cold/Wind ChillChristian County · forecast zone Christian | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-31 | Cold/Wind ChillMuhlenberg County · forecast zone Muhlenberg | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-31 | Cold/Wind ChillWebster County · forecast zone Webster | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-31 | Cold/Wind ChillCrittenden County · forecast zone Crittenden | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-31 | Cold/Wind ChillHenderson County · forecast zone Henderson | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-31 | Cold/Wind ChillUnion County · forecast zone Union | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-30 | Cold/Wind ChillFulton County · forecast zone Fulton | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-30 | Cold/Wind ChillHickman County · forecast zone Hickman | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-30 | Cold/Wind ChillGraves County · forecast zone Graves | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-30 | Cold/Wind ChillCalloway County · forecast zone Calloway | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-30 | Cold/Wind ChillTrigg 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.
Federal disaster declarations for extreme cold records in Kentucky
FEMA has declared 1 disaster in Kentucky for extreme cold, counting its incident type and declarations that name freez in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); one was a major disaster, the latest on March 16, 1994.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994-03-16 | DR-1018 | Severe Weather, Freezing Rain, Sleet, Snw | 68 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Carlisle County: the county's whole recordThe Kentucky county with the most extreme cold records per square mile
- Extreme cold across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in KentuckyTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Severe thunderstorm wind in Kentucky19,621 records
- Floods in Kentucky8,294 records
- Winter storms in Kentucky8,092 records