Fleming County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Fleming 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.

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 (19).

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. Mar 1, 1997Flood, Fleming$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding that began early in the day developed into widespread small stream and river flooding. The Licking River below Cave Run Lake, and along the Fleming-Bath County line reached its highest level in history. Sherburne was especially hard hit.

2. Jul 23, 2017Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Law enforcement reported flooded streets throughout Flemingsburg several hours after heavy rainfall had ended. A local automobile dealership sustained damage to an estimated 200 vehicles on their lot.

3. Feb 18, 2000Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several hours of heavy rain brought widespread flash flooding across most of Fleming county. State officials reported that damage to public property totaled approximately $450,000 with 60 percent uninsured and 24 businesses received approximately $450,000 in damages with 95 percent uninsured.

4. Jun 12, 2004Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A ten foot wall of water was flowing down Fleming Creek and caused mass destruction of homes and vehicles in the South Lick area. About four feet of water covered several roads in the Lake Tilton area.

5. Mar 20, 2002Flood, Fleming$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Licking River flooded due to heavy rains. 75 percent of the homes in Farmers were damaged and numerous roads were flooded.

6. Jul 22, 2017Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Observers, local dispatch, and citizens all reported numerous trees down across Flemingsburg. Additionally, a mobile home was damaged while another house was destroyed. One home lost its roof while another had a garage moved several feet as high gusts occurred. The canopy of a gas station was also blown down. Much of the observed damage occurred along Kentucky Highways 11 and 559.

7. Aug 9, 2023Tornado$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Actual storm survey determined that tornado likely started and ended within the same minute, only traveling 0.3 miles in that time span. Starting location was 38.4464/-83.6408 and ending location was 38.4482/-83.6352. Due to limitations within the Storm Data interface, could not track the path of the storm since it shows the same start/end time. ||Damage was first observed on a property at the intersection of |Beechburg Road and Colgan Road, where the tornado directly |impacted several structures, including a wooden barn, a mobile |home, a shed, and a larger open barn located behind. All sides of |the mobile home sustained damage, including a large board impaled|into the roof, and…

8. Jul 23, 2017Flash Flood$120,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Dispatch relayed a plethora of reports of flash flooding throughout Flemingsburg. High water entered several businesses and residences, while blocking numerous roadways. A bridge over Town Branch on St. Anthony Drive was severely damaged.

9. Apr 26, 2007Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Three barns were totally destroyed, a 70 foot tall concrete block grain silo was blown over, and dozens of trees were uprooted and snapped.

10. Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Trees and power lines were blown down countywide.

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

106°FAug 19, 1936

All-time low

−28°FJan 28, 1963

Warmest night

87°FJul 29, 1930

Coldest day

−8°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

6.85 inMay 3, 2010

Snowiest day

12.0 in3 times, most recently Jan 23, 2016

Hottest year

2024mean 58.4°F

Coldest year

1978mean 52.0°F

Wettest year

201874.48 in

Driest year

194133.01 in

Snowiest season

45.9 in1959-60

Station Cave Run Lake (USC00152791), 840 ft elevation, 20.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1904 to October 27, 2026; 98.5% 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.

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 USC00152791.
• 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.