Grayson County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Grayson County: 3.
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.

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 (16).

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 23, 2000Tornado$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A storm survey was done by NWS personnel on Wednesday May 24. The survey found severe damage to residential and industrial structures. Three vortices combined into a single tornado north of Leitchfield, then moved east to southeast at 40 to 45 mph. The path moved through the northeast and east sections of Leitchfield and beyond. (Path length and width are estimated). The structural damaged evidenced the presence of an F3 tornado, with maximum winds around 175 mph. Houses that were virtually destroyed, but still had parts of their structure remaining above the main floor, were the basis of the F3 evaluation. Severe damage to nearby factories also supported the F3 evaluation.

2. Mar 1, 1997Flood, Grayson$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread flooding and/or flash flooding occurred as a result of 4 to 8 inches of rainfall in less than 24 hours. Numerous roads were water covered and closed across these counties and many homes and businesses were effected. All of these counties were declared federal disaster areas eligible for financial aid. Damage estimates include flash flooding from early March 1 through early March 2.

3. Apr 3, 2018Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down near several large metal outbuildings destroying two and heavily damaging two others. Insulation from the largest building was spattered on to south and east facing walls and vehicles on the east side of the complex. Metal roofing material was lofted into nearby trees and spread up to a quarter of a mile to the east. Beyond this initial touchdown area, only minor roof damage and tree damage - both uprooted trees and snapped trunks- occurred before the tornado lifted 1/2 mile to the east on Childress Road.

4. Feb 22, 2018Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The public reported Caney Creek was out of its bank. In addition there were several reports of road washouts, slippage, erosion, and broken pavement due to flooded roads and high water.

5. May 30, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Two trailers on Caney Creek Church Road were rolled over by thunderstorm winds.

6. Feb 15, 2003Ice Storm, Grayson$80,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Freezing rain began late in the afternoon of the 15th. The freezing rain changed to sleet late in the evening, and alternated between sleet and light freezing rain through most of the 16th. A thick coating of mostly sleet and some freezing rain accumulated one to two inches in most locations. Most of the property damage assessment in the area was due to expenses associated with the restoration of power and post storm cleanup of tree damage. About 2200 residents in Nelson County were without power after the storm. Sections of Interstate 64 were periodically shut down during the storm.

7. Apr 3, 2018Thunderstorm Wind$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Downburst winds gusted to as high as 85 mph in a one-half mile by one-half mile swath of winds centered on Kentucky Highway 259 4.2 miles north of Leitchfield, KY. The winds destroyed a small barn, peeled metal roof panels from two other buildings, and overturned an RV. The winds also uprooted and snapped the trunks of several trees, and debris blowing into power lines helped snap four utility poles.

8. Apr 3, 2018Thunderstorm Wind$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Amateur radio reported that a double wind trailer was blown across the road on Rock Creek Road.

9. Jun 26, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A broadcast meteorologist relayed a report of structural damage to a building because of severe thunderstorm winds. This resulted in several vehicles damaged.

10. Feb 29, 2012Tornado$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The tornado began as a narrow tornado east of Clarkson just south of Highway 224. The storm increased in width to 200 yards and struck several single and double wide mobile homes south of Millerstown Road. All three mobile homes became airborne, with one traveling over 400 yards. One manufactured home, with a man inside, was thrown 50 feet into a tree and fence. The victim was medically airlifted to Louisville. The tornado next struck a large area of softwood and hardwood trees before striking a solid brick home just west of Horntown with the roof removed and exterior walls either damaged or destroyed. The tornado damaged the Horntown convenience store damaging the roof. During…

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

111°F2 times, most recently Jul 6, 2012

All-time low

−20°FJan 18, 1982

Warmest night

85°FAug 9, 2002

Coldest day

−6°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

8.50 inJun 28, 2026

Snowiest day

6.5 inJan 30, 2010

Hottest year

2012mean 60.9°F

Coldest year

1976mean 53.0°F

Wettest year

197972.32 in

Driest year

200637.61 in

Station Nolin Rvr Lake (USC00155834), 623 ft elevation, 13.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1964 to October 27, 2026; 96.9% 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 USC00155834.
• 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.