Carter County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Carter County: 0.
2. 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.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. 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.

Smoke overhead

1. 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.

Claims by ZIP code

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

River gauges

1. 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.

1. 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.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. 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).
2. 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.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by KY GS (36).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. May 2, 2010Flood$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   In the Olive Hill vicinity around 80 homes and 30 businesses were flooded. The Olive Hill sewer plant was damaged. Two churches in the Buffalo Creek drainage, around the community of Carter, had several feet of water inside. Two shelters were opened. Numerous roads were closed and damaged. Schools were closed on the 3rd.||.

2. Jul 20, 2010Flash Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Streams such as Tygart Creek, Little and Big Sinking Creeks, Henderson Branch, Smith Run, and Mills Branch saw major flash flooding. A 72 year old woman drowned. Her mobile home was washed off its foundation and pushed some 200 yards to a bridge. The home broke into pieces at the bridge. Her body was not found until 3 days later near the mouth of the creek with the Little Sandy River. Downtown Olive Hill was flooded again. The crest was about a foot in downtown, compared to 4 to 5 feet during the flood in May. Nineteen homes were destroyed in the county with major damage to 60 to 70 others. Most of the damage was concentrated in the Grahn and Fultz vicinity. Around a half dozen…

3. Mar 1, 1997Flood, Carter$2.5 million
4. Jun 23, 2017Flash Flood$2.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Significant flash flooding occurred in multiple spots across the county. Some of the first reports came from Carter Caves State Park where James Branch began flooding after 1.5 inches of rain in just over an hour. At the Carter County Fairgrounds, hundreds of folks were gathered for a music festival, many of whom were camping on the grounds. Barrett Creek, which runs next to the fairgrounds flooded, resulting in 139 campers and/or tow vehicles being damaged or totaled. Water rescues were performed, but fortunately there were no flood related injuries or deaths. Three sheriff cruisers were also totaled by the flood waters. Additional flooding occurred in Grayson and Olive Hill,…

5. Feb 16, 2003Ice Storm, Carter$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Ice from freezing rain accumulated 1 to 2 inches on power lines and trees. Fallen trees and branches blocked roads and knocked out electricity and phone service. The worst conditions were in western portions of Carter and Greenup Counties compared to points further east, in Boyd and norther Lawrence Counties. Olive Hill reported an inch of ice on exposed surfaces, with no electricity for 8 days. The power outages forced the state parks at Carter Caves and Greenbo to temporarily close. A South Shore resident of Greenup County reported about 2 inches of solid ice. He said, "It looks like a war zone, all of our trees are just mangled".Governor Patton requested a disaster declaration…

6. Apr 3, 2015Flood$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Small stream flooding occurred with the final rounds of showers during the evening of the 3rd mostly in the eastern portion of the county. This was mainly along the Little Fork watershed. An earth level had nearly 3 feet of dirt washed away from its center near Willard. ||In the Hitchins to Willard vicinity, the county damage assessment was 20 homes destroyed with 18 other homes with major damage. Another 27 homes had minor damage. A bank and 2 churches also sustained water damage. The former elementary school in Hitchins, now a private school, also had water damage. In the southwestern part of the county, West Brinegar Road had a culvert wash out from Macabee Creek.||The Little…

7. Mar 1, 1997Flash Flood$1.0 million
8. Mar 20, 2002Flood, Carter$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Light rain moved into northeast Kentucky during the predawn hours of the 19th. Light to moderate rainfall fell during the 19th, as a warm front tired to lift north from the Tennessee Valley. The heaviest rains occurred from 0100 to 0800E on the 20th, ahead of the low pressure wave on the strong frontal boundary. Rains then diminished during the morning of the 20th. Rain totals from the 30 hour event were 2.5 to 4.5 inches, with roughly 60% of the total occurring in about 6 hours on the 20th. The axis of the heaviest rain was generally along the Interstate 64 corridor, from Olive Hill to Ashland. Rain totals included 4.5 inches from Ashland, 4.3 inches from Carter Caves, 4.2 inches…

9. May 5, 2003Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Along a warm frontal boundary, about a half inch of rain fell during the morning. Training thunderstorms developed during the evening, ahead of a cold front. Rains of 2 to 3 inches fell in about 3 hours from around Olive Hill on southeast toward Grayson Lake and Hitchins. Rains of 1.5 to 2 inches fell over southern Boyd County and northern Lawrence County. The 24 hour rain total measured at Grayson Lake at dawn on the 6th was 3.7 inches. The cooperative observer, 5 miles northeast of Olive Hill, measured 3.37 inches. Just east of the city of Grayson, 2.95 inches of rain in 24 hours was reported. The headwaters of Tygarts Creek were hard hit, including the community of Olive Hill.…

10. Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$400,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Large trees and branches fell in scattered locations throughout the county.

1. 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.

All-time high

104°FJul 7, 2012

All-time low

−21°FJan 19, 1994

Warmest night

78°F4 times, most recently Jul 27, 2023

Coldest day

3°FJan 8, 1970

Wettest day

3.89 inSep 17, 2004

Snowiest day

21.1 inMar 13, 1993

Hottest year

2024mean 60.2°F

Coldest year

1963mean 53.3°F

Wettest year

201162.44 in

Driest year

196329.99 in

Snowiest season

55.7 in1977-78

Station Huntington Tri-state Airport (USW00003860), 824 ft elevation, 26.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1961 to October 26, 2026; 99.9% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USW00003860.
• 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.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• 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.