Allen County
Population 22,536 (2025) 344 sq mi
Property owners in Allen County have filed 11 federal flood insurance claims since 1978, 94th most of 120 counties in Kentucky.
Hazard fingerprint Each spoke is this county’s percentile among U.S. counties where that hazard occurs. How it is computed
- Tornado damage paths since 19509
- Tropical cyclone tracks within 100 miles since 1851, wider where stronger4
At a glance
The record for Allen County in eight numbers. Each links to its section below.
Tropical cyclones within 50 mi
4
Most of any of Kentucky’s 120 counties
None at hurricane strength since 1851
DetailsStrongest tornado
F3
April 16, 1998, 48.0 mile path
Strongest tropical cyclone
TS
Tropical storm (unnamed), 1888, 24.3 miles away
Tornadoes
About one every 8.4 years since 1950, 2 of them rated F3/EF3 or stronger.
Strongest
April 16, 1998
F3, 48.0 mile path
100 yards wide; 2 killed along the whole path.
Deadliest
February 6, 2008
4 killed, EF3
11 injured along the whole path.
Most recent
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
EF2, 2.7 mile path
6 years ago.
Every recorded tornado
| Mar 3, 2020 | EF2 | 2.7 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 21, 2019 | EF1 | 3.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 21, 2019 | EF1 | 4.6 | 0 | 0 |
| Jan 17, 2012 | EF2 | 5.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 30, 2009 | EF1 | 1.4 | 0 | 0 |
| Feb 6, 2008 | EF3 | 9.4 | 11 | 4 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr 16, 1998 | F3 | 48.0 | 9 | 2 |
| May 26, 1989 | F1 | 10.0 | 0 | 0 |
- Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Allen County: 4.
- Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.
Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.
Hurricanes and tropical storms
4 passed within 50 miles since 1851; none at hurricane strength.
Strongest within 50 miles
August 21, 1888
Unnamed storm, Tropical storm
24.3 miles at closest approach, winds near 55 mph.
Most recent
September 14, 1979
Frederic, Tropical storm
38.6 miles at closest approach.
Every storm within 100 miles
- Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.
National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.
Wildfire and smoke
No large wildfire has been mapped here since satellite mapping began in 1984.
Smoke overhead
Smokiest year
2023: 56 days
Heavy smoke on 7 days in 2023, the most of any year.
Last 10 years
13.7 days a year
Medium or heavy smoke, 2016 to 2025.
2025
10 days
Medium or heavy smoke. 30 so far in 2026.
- A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.
NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.
Floods and flood insurance
11 federal flood insurance claims since 2005, with $597,000 paid.
Claims by ZIP code
| 42164 | 9 | $576,000 |
Flood events since 1996
- Flash Flood31
- Flood10
- Heavy Rain1
2 deaths recorded in flood events since 1996.
This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.
River crests
| Apr 16, 2025 | Barren River at Barren River Lake | 586.05 | −3.95 |
| Mar 8, 1989 | Barren River at Barren River Lake | 583.00 | −7.00 |
| May 24, 1983 | Barren River at Barren River Lake | 582.00 | −8.00 |
| Mar 26, 2020 | Barren River at Barren River Lake | 580.77 | −9.23 |
| Apr 18, 1994 | Barren River at Barren River Lake | 580.75 | −9.25 |
| May 11, 1984 | Barren River at Barren River Lake | 579.40 | −10.60 |
| Jan 9, 1979 | Barren River at Barren River Lake | 579.00 | −11.00 |
| Dec 1, 1978 | Barren River at Barren River Lake | 578.90 | −11.10 |
| May 8, 2010 | Barren River at Barren River Lake | 578.10 | −11.90 |
| May 6, 2011 | Barren River at Barren River Lake | 577.90 | −12.10 |
| Apr 1, 1975 | Barren River at Barren River Lake | 575.80 | −14.20 |
| Mar 22, 1997 | Barren River at Barren River Lake | 572.40 | −17.60 |
| Jun 1, 1969 | Barren River at Barren River Lake | 571.10 | −18.90 |
| Jan 13, 1991 | Barren River at Barren River Lake | 571.10 | −18.90 |
| Apr 22, 2015 | Barren River at Barren River Lake | 564.70 | −25.30 |
| Jun 17, 1998 | Barren River at Barren River Lake | 564.60 | −25.40 |
| May 12, 2013 | Barren River at Barren River Lake | 564.40 | −25.60 |
| Apr 14, 2008 | Barren River at Barren River Lake | 564.20 | −25.80 |
| May 22, 1995 | Barren River at Barren River Lake | 563.60 | −26.40 |
| May 12, 2009 | Barren River at Barren River Lake | 563.40 | −26.60 |
| Jun 20, 2003 | Barren River at Barren River Lake | 561.40 | −28.60 |
River gauges
| Barren River at Barren River Lake | 590.0 | 586.05 ft | 0 |
- Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.
NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.
Drought
In severe drought or worse for 111 of 1,581 months since 1895 (7%); the longest spell lasted 17 months.
111
Months in severe drought or worse since 1895
25
Months in extreme drought
7%
Share of all months, severe or worse
Lowest reading
January 1931
−6.01, extreme drought
Longest severe spell
17 months
July 1930 to November 1931.
Latest month
September 2026
−2.77, moderate drought
Last severe month: May 2026.
- The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.
NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.
Earthquakes
3 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more within 50 miles since 1987; none reached magnitude 4.
0
Magnitude 2.5+ inside the county since 1973
0
Magnitude 3+ within 50 miles since 1973
0
Magnitude 4+ within 50 miles since 1900
0
Magnitude 5+ within 50 miles since 1900
Largest within 50 miles
March 22, 1990
Magnitude 2.6
9 km E of Rochester, Kentucky; 35.8 miles away, 3.1 miles deep.
- Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
- Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).
USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.
Severe weather and other events
263 events in the National Weather Service record, 242 of them since 1996.
21
Hail reports, 1 inch or larger
0
Hail, 2 inches or larger
133
Damaging gusts, 58 mph+
23
Winter weather events since 1996
0
Heat events since 1996
2
Cold events since 1996
Largest hail
March 28, 1997
1.75 inches
Strongest measured or estimated gust
January 29, 2008
92 mph
Costliest events since 1996
- Feb 6, 2008Tornado$1.3 million
National Weather Service narrative
The tornado destroyed 12 homes and mobile homes, mainly in the Amos community and in the Tracy Lane area. Many other homes and buildings were damaged. Four people were killed in the Tracy Lane area, and eleven others were injured in southeast Allen County. The tornado continued through rural and wooded sections of eastern Allen County, and crossed into Monroe County, Kentucky near the town of Fountain Run.
- Jun 21, 2019Tornado$300,000
National Weather Service narrative
The National Weather Service conducted a storm damage survey across southeast Allen County to assess damage from the storms on Friday Evening, June 21. There was a significant amount of straight line wind damage across southern Allen County. Most of this damage had wind speeds between 60-65 mph all facing east southeast direction. There were two significant areas of straight line wind damage. There was a barn north of Amos on Highway 99. The second was two large barns just north of Hayesville, TN. ||Interspersed among the straight line wind damage was a tornado which first touched down a half mile east of Amos. A family farm had numerous trees twisted, snapped, and uprooted.…
- Jan 29, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
National Weather Service narrative
Thunderstorm winds caused structural damage to homes in the vicinity of Highway 98 and Brownsford Road.
- Jan 29, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$80,000
National Weather Service narrative
Thunderstorm winds destroyed a home near the Barren County line.
- Apr 4, 2008Flood$75,000
National Weather Service narrative
Numerous roads were closed due to high water, including two state highways. On Scottsville Road, the roof of a building collapsed due to the weight of ponded water.
- Nov 10, 2002Tornado$65,000
National Weather Service narrative
Near New Roe, KY, a large mobile home was lifted into the air,twisted, and tumbled down a hill. The home did have substantial tie downs which were ripped from the ground. One of the tie downs was bent into a "U" shape. Debris was blown across New Roe Road, about a quarter mile away. Other tree damage and minor structural damage was noted downwind from the mobile home site.
- May 13, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
National Weather Service narrative
A radio station antenna was blown down, trees were downed, and windows were blown out.
- Jun 21, 2019Tornado$50,000
National Weather Service narrative
The National Weather Service in conjunction with Allen County EMA conducted a storm survey across the western half of Allen County. There was significant straight line wind damage across much of the county facing an easterly and southeasterly direction. Interspersed with the straight line wind damage was at least one tornado across western Allen County north of and paralleling KY 585.||The tornado touched down near the Horseshoe Ford Road and Horseshoe Bend Road intersection. There were numerous large hardwood trees split, twisted, and uprooted facing from northerly to southeasterly. Horseshoe Bend Road was closed due to trees down across the road and from flooding. Winds in this…
- Jul 7, 2016Thunderstorm Wind$35,000
National Weather Service narrative
Local law enforcement reported multiple trees and power lines down throughout the county. Many roads were closed due to high water.
- Apr 26, 2012Flash Flood$30,000
National Weather Service narrative
Allen County emergency management reported flash flooding near the intersection of Stafford Hollow Road and Andrew Jackson Highway. Several feet of water entered one home, making it uninhabitable. Several other homes were damaged.
- Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.
NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.
Weather records
From Scottsville, 0.9 miles from the county’s population centre, with records from 1946.
- All-time high
- 108°F2 times, most recently Jul 28, 1952
- All-time low
- −20°FJan 24, 1963
- Warmest night
- 78°F5 times, most recently Jul 12, 2011
- Coldest day
- 3°F2 times, most recently Dec 24, 2022
- Wettest day
- 9.68 inJun 23, 1969
- Snowiest day
- 12.0 in2 times, most recently Nov 2, 1966
- Hottest year
- 1998mean 60.8°F
- Coldest year
- 2014mean 55.3°F
- Wettest year
- 195071.66 in
- Driest year
- 198035.64 in
- Snowiest season
- 44.5 in1959-60
Median first snow
December 25
Earliest: November 2, 1966
Median last snow
February 22
Latest: April 21, 2021
2 of 76 winters had no measurable snow.
Station Scottsville (USC00157215), 743 ft elevation, 0.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1946 to October 25, 2026; 99.5% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.
NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.
Federal disaster declarations
22 since 1953. The most recent: Severe Winter Storm, May 29, 2026.
| May 29, 2026 | Winter Storm | DR-4913-KY |
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | EM-3633-KY |
| May 23, 2025 | Severe Storm | DR-4875-KY |
| Apr 24, 2025 | Severe Storm | DR-4864-KY |
| Apr 3, 2025 | Severe Storm | EM-3626-KY |
| Feb 24, 2025 | Severe Storm | DR-4860-KY |
| Feb 16, 2025 | Severe Storm | EM-3624-KY |
| Jul 23, 2024 | Severe Storm | DR-4804-KY |
| Apr 10, 2023 | Severe Storm | DR-4702-KY |
| Mar 28, 2020 | Biological | DR-4497-KY |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | EM-3469-KY |
| May 11, 2010 | Severe Storm | DR-1912-KY |
| Feb 5, 2009 | Severe Ice Storm | DR-1818-KY |
| Jan 28, 2009 | Severe Ice Storm | EM-3302-KY |
| Feb 21, 2008 | Severe Storm | DR-1746-KY |
| Sep 10, 2005 | Hurricane | EM-3231-KY |
| Aug 6, 2004 | Severe Storm | DR-1537-KY |
| Jan 13, 1996 | Snowstorm | DR-1089-KY |
| Mar 16, 1994 | Snowstorm | DR-1018-KY |
| Mar 16, 1993 | Snowstorm | EM-3104-KY |
| Mar 29, 1975 | Flood | DR-461-KY |
| Jul 15, 1969 | Flood | DR-265-KY |
This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.
How this compares
Where Allen County stands among 120 counties in Kentucky and 3,143 in the United States.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 9 | 67 / 120 |
| Tornadoes rated F3/EF3 or stronger | 2 | 31 / 120 |
| Tropical cyclones within 50 mi | 4 | 1 / 120 |
| Hurricane-strength passes within 50 mi | 0 | — |
| Wildfire acres since 1984 | 0 | — |
| Flood insurance claims | 11 | 94 / 120 |
| Flood insurance paid | $597,000 | 71 / 120 |
| Disaster declarations | 22 | 94 / 120 |
| Flood events since 1996 | 42 | 90 / 120 |
| Hail and wind events since 1996 | 167 | 77 / 120 |
| Winter storm events since 1996 | 23 | 111 / 120 |
| Reported damage since 1996 | $2.3 million | 102 / 120 |
| River crests at major flood stage | 0 | — |
| High tide flooding days a year, last 10 years | 0.0 | — |
| Months in severe drought since 1895 | 111 | 89 / 120 |
| Medium or heavy smoke days a year, last 10 years | 13.7 | 85 / 120 |
| Earthquakes M4+ within 50 mi since 1900 | 0 | — |
| Earthquakes M2.5+ in the county since 1973 | 0 | — |
Neighbouring counties
| Barren County | 21 | 3 |
| Macon County TN | 13 | 4 |
| Monroe County | 13 | 3 |
| Simpson County | 17 | 3 |
| Sumner County TN | 46 | 4 |
| Warren County | 32 | 2 |
Sources and vintage
Every number on this page comes from these public records.
- Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
- Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
- Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
- Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
- Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
- Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
- Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00157215.
- River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
- Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
- Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
- Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.
Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.