Floyd County

Every recorded tornado

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

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

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 (2,079), NASA (18).

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. Aug 3, 2001Flash Flood$7.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   High water from the areas worst flash flooding in years took its toll on area roads, bridges and homes. Extensive damage resulted in the county, making it one of five in the area to be classified as a Presidentially declared disaster area. Up to 1200 homes were affected by the flash flood. All of the Left Beaver and Mud Creek area from Martin south to the end of the county was the hardest hit. Most of the southern part of the county was without commercial utilities for several days after the flash flood.Several shelters were opened and more than 50 people stayed at the Mud Creek Senior Center, more were housed at Allen Central High School and other locations. Officials reported…

2. May 31, 2004Flood, Floyd$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   On the afternoon of May 30th, a warm front was draped across eastern Kentucky. With extremely moist and unstable air, this boundary helped spark the beginning of a most unusual event for eastern Kentucky, and for that matter, for the country. Countless supercell thunderstorms developed along this boundary for hours on end, causing widespread tree damage and damage to structures. Flash flooding was also occurring with these storms which contained torrential rain. Unfortunately for eastern Kentucky, this was not the end to the severe weather or the flooding. Later in the night, mostly in the early hours of May 31st, a potent cold front burst through, bringing destruction to most if…

3. Jun 1, 2004Flood, Floyd$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This event is actually a continuation of a flooding event which started on May 31st. Many roads were washed out, homes destroyed, and automobiles ruined. Some people were stranded in their own homes and had to be rescued.

4. Jun 16, 2003Flash Flood$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flood waters damaged several county roads, drains, and bridges. Water was flowing across Kentucky Highway 114 near Dotson. A couple of house trailers were submerged in flood waters. There were also several mudslides in the area.

5. Aug 22, 2014Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe flash flooding occurred across parts of Floyd County as three to four inches of rain fell in one to two hours. Flash flood reports first came in from Lancer where eight inches to a foot of water was flowing across a roadway. Flood waters was reported to have entered homes and vehicles along Spradlin Branch and Mays Branch near Prestonsburg and Main Street and North Lake Drive were closed in downtown Prestonsburg. Highway 1427 was washed out by flood waters and the Creekside Subdivision near the confluence of Potts Branch and Abbott Creek was evacuated due to rising water. Flood water washed partially washed out the road at the junction of Highway 979 and 1426 near Harold.…

6. May 2, 2002Flood, Floyd$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rains fell across the Big Sandy and Kentucky River basins, primarily on Thursday, May 2. This resulted in excessive runoff and flooding in four eastern Kentucky counties. At 11 p.m EDT on May 2. in Pike County, a 24 year old man from Freeburn, KY was swept away in river flood water after his vehicle was stranded in the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River at the Vulcan Bridge area on Kentucky Highway 194.At 5 a.m EDT on May 3, the North Fork of the Kentucky River at Booneville, KY in Owsley County went above flood stage of 27 feet, and continued above flood stage until 1 p.m EDT. May 3, with a crest of 27.75 feet.At approximately 6:30 a.m EDT on May 3, reports from Martin County…

7. Apr 18, 1998Flash Flood$165,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   From April 18 to 19, most of southeast Kentucky received 1 to 3 inches of rain, but some spots received 3 to 5 inches. The heavy rain resulted in widespread flash flooding, small stream flooding, and eventually river flooding. Numerous roads were flooded, or blocked by mud and rock slides. Flooding was especially severe along the Right and Left Forks of Beaver Creek in Floyd County. Approximately 229 homes were affected by the flash flooding in Floyd County, and numerous residents had to be evacuated.

8. May 29, 2019Thunderstorm Wind$155,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service Meteorologist surveyed localized downburst winds in Prestonsburg. These winds caused sporadic damage throughout the community. The highest wind gust estimated was in downtown Prestonsburg on West Court Street |where one half of the roof of a hock shop building was lifted off. This roof landed on West Court Street, including on multiple vehicles, fatally wounding one person in a moving vehicle. Glass was also broken on multiple windows on the north side of the building. There were a number of other buildings and homes with minor roof |or gutter damage nearby, as well as a couple of uprooted trees near the downtown area. A HAM radio tower that had been…

9. Jan 17, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees were blown down throughout the county. Several trees were snapped or uprooted and power lines were downed along Hwy 114 and in Rough and Tough Branch in and near the community of Dotson. A billboard was also severely damaged due to the winds. The local VFD reported several transformer fires due to the downed trees and power lines.

10. Apr 15, 2007Flash Flood$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Multiple homes flooded. One family rescued from their home.

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

105°F2 times, most recently Aug 17, 1988

All-time low

−26°FJan 18, 1994

Warmest night

79°FAug 12, 1985

Coldest day

−6°FJan 20, 1985

Wettest day

5.10 inNov 28, 1973

Snowiest day

14.5 in2 times, most recently Jan 23, 2016

Hottest year

2024mean 57.0°F

Coldest year

2014mean 53.1°F

Wettest year

195063.06 in

Driest year

196331.19 in

Snowiest season

34.6 in1963-64

Station Paintsville 1E (USC00156136), 630 ft elevation, 18.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1972 to September 29, 2026; 88.6% 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 USC00156136.
• 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.