Kentucky winter storms
Every recorded winter storm record since 1996 · 120 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 8,092 winter storm records in Kentucky from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 281 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the January 26, 2009 ice storm: 11 deaths, 1 injury and $271 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 22 records. Kentucky ranks 13th of 51 states and territories by count and 13th of 50 per square mile.
Winter storms in Kentucky, 1996 to 2026
Winter storm 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
- 8,0921996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 281average
- Deaths
- 82154 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $360Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 20101,014 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 winter storm records common in Kentucky?
Kentucky averages about 281 winter storm records a year since 2000, 13th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2010 (1,014). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Kentucky records 2049 winter storm records since 1996, 13th 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 winter storm records?
Per square mile, Campbell County leads Kentucky: 89 days with a winter storm record since 1996, 588.2 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Letcher County has the most winter storm records (225 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 winter storm season in Kentucky?
66% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. The busiest month is January (2,794 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 2,794 · Feb 2,576 · Mar 870 · Apr 59 · May 0 · Jun 0 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 0 · Oct 40 · Nov 228 · Dec 1,525 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest winter storm records in Kentucky?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | $271M | |
| 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 | – | |
| 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 | – | |
| 2008-12-23 | Winter WeatherFayette County · forecast zone Fayette One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. Light freezing rain developed during the afternoon of December 23rd. Ice accumulation on roads across the northern portions of Kentucky lead to numerous traffic accidents and several fatalities. | 3 | 4 | $254K | |
| 1998-02-03 | Heavy SnowJefferson County · forecast zone Jefferson One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A freak winter storm dumped as much as 25 inches of snow on parts of Kentucky from the evening of February 3 to the morning of February 6. Most of the Kentucky counties were declared states of emergency by the morning of February 5 as trees and power lines were down across a large area of the Louisville County Warning ... | 3 | 4 | – | |
| 2024-01-30 | Winter WeatherDaviess County · forecast zone Daviess One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. Early morning on the 30th a frontal passage approached Northwest Kentucky from the northwest. Southerly winds around 5-10 mph ahead of the front tended to lift temperatures above freezing ahead of the fronts' approach in locations further west. Northwest Kentucky, however, had cooler early AM low temperatures of ... | 3 | 0 | – | |
| 2014-01-02 | Winter WeatherPike County · forecast zone Pike One storm episode: 8 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. For a few hours during the early morning hours of January 2, 2014, light freezing rain created a coating of ice on numerous roadways around eastern Kentucky. Even though the accumulations of ice were miniscule, a few hundredths of an inch or less in most cases, the impacts were significant. The icy roads caused ... | 2 | 19 | – | |
| 2015-03-04 | Winter StormFulton County · forecast zone Fulton One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. A major winter storm dumped 6 to 18 inches of snow across western Kentucky. The Kentucky governor declared a state of emergency for the second time in less than a month. Snowfall amounts were lowest in the Henderson and Owensboro areas, where 6 to 8 inches was reported. The highest amounts were from 15 to 18 inches in ... | 2 | 11 | – | |
| 2021-02-17 | Heavy SnowBoyd County · forecast zone Boyd The third significant winter storm in a week moved into the area during the late evening hours of February 17th. What began as snow, transitioned to a wintry mix in some areas as the night progressed. The highest snow totals were generally in northeastern Kentucky through northern West Virginia. The local public and ... | 2 | 2 | $11K | |
| 1998-02-03 | Heavy SnowMcCreary County · forecast zone McCreary One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. A major snowstorm affected eastern Kentucky from the evening of February 3 into the morning of February 6. Snowfall totals for the storm ranged from around 4 inches in valley locations near the Virginia border to as much as 2 feet in areas from Whitley City to Flemingsburg. The greatest snowfalls during the storm ... | 2 | 1 | $18M |
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 winter storm records in Kentucky
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-01-26 | Ice StormWebster County · forecast zone Webster One storm episode: 22 records in 22 places; the totals are the episode's. | 11 | 1 | $271M | |
| 2003-02-15 | Ice StormAnderson County · forecast zone Anderson One storm episode: 8 records in 8 places; the totals are the episode's. | 1 | 0 | $37M | |
| 1998-02-03 | Heavy SnowMcCreary County · forecast zone McCreary One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 2 | 1 | $18M | |
| 2008-02-11 | Winter StormLivingston County · forecast zone Livingston One storm episode: 12 records in 12 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $8.2M | |
| 1996-01-06 | Winter StormBoone County · forecast zone Boone One storm episode: 12 records in 12 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $5.5M | |
| 2003-02-16 | Ice StormCarter County · forecast zone Carter One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $3.6M | |
| 2004-12-22 | Winter StormTrigg County · forecast zone Trigg | 0 | 0 | $1.9M | |
| 2025-01-05 | Ice StormHenderson County · forecast zone Henderson One storm episode: 22 records in 22 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $1.7M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are winter storm 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 | 641 | 32,893 | 1.9% |
| 2000s | 1,941 | 88,805 | 2.2% |
| 2010s | 3,887 | 103,626 | 3.8% |
| 2020-26 | 1,623 | 62,015 | 2.6% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent winter storm records in Kentucky
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-16 | Heavy SnowLetcher County · forecast zone Letcher | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Heavy SnowPike County · forecast zone Pike | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Heavy SnowFloyd County · forecast zone Floyd | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-02 | Winter WeatherGreenup County · forecast zone Greenup | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-02 | Winter WeatherCarter County · forecast zone Carter | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-02 | Winter WeatherBoyd County · forecast zone Boyd | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Heavy SnowLeslie County · forecast zone Leslie | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Heavy SnowHarlan County · forecast zone Harlan | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Heavy SnowLetcher County · forecast zone Letcher | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Heavy SnowPike County · forecast zone Pike | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Heavy SnowOwsley County · forecast zone Owsley | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Heavy SnowLee County · forecast zone Lee | 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 winter storm records in Kentucky
FEMA has declared 14 disasters in Kentucky for winter storm, counting its incident type and declarations that name snow or winter storm or ice storm or blizzard in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 11 were major disasters, the latest on May 29, 2026.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-29 | DR-4913 | Severe Winter Storm | 21 |
| 2026-01-24 | EM-3633 | Severe Winter Storm | 120 |
| 2021-03-31 | DR-4592 | Severe Winter Storms, Landslides, and Mudslides | 45 |
| 2015-05-12 | DR-4218 | Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | 59 |
| 2015-04-30 | DR-4216 | Severe Winter Storms, Snowstorms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | 41 |
| 2009-02-05 | DR-1818 | Severe Winter Storm and Flooding | 103 |
| 2009-01-28 | EM-3302 | Severe Winter Storm | 100 |
| 2005-02-08 | DR-1578 | Severe Winter Storm and Record Snow | 30 |
| 2003-03-14 | DR-1454 | Severe Winter Ice and Snow Storms, Heavy Rain, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Mud and | 52 |
| 1998-03-03 | DR-1207 | Severe Winter Storm | 40 |
| 1996-01-13 | DR-1089 | Blizzard of 96 | 120 |
| 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
- Campbell County: the county's whole recordThe Kentucky county with the most winter storm records per square mile
- Winter storms 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
- Hail in Kentucky6,621 records