Knox County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Knox 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 (162).

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. Jun 20, 2011Flash Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Twenty seven homes were destroyed during the June 20th flash flood in Kayjay.

2. Feb 6, 2020Flood$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Dispatch reported several roads inundated by flood waters and mudslides across the county. These include Kentucky Highway 229 near Heidrick, Kentucky Highway 11 near Barbourville, and Asher Branch Road off of Kentucky Highway 229. Hundreds of individuals experienced a lack of clean water due to mudslides affecting the water supply across the county. Additionally, Emergency Management reported 37 homes impacted by flood waters, particularly along the Cumberland River.

3. Feb 16, 2003Flood, Knox$2.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   At 0930 EST, February 17, the Cumberland River at Barbourville crested at 36.38 feet. This is 9.38 feet above flood stage.

4. Apr 17, 2013Flash Flood$760,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Swift water rescue of three teens due to flash flooding of Stinking Creek on Highway 223. Several mobile homes and vehicles were flooded as well along Stinking Creek.

5. May 26, 2024Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The National Weather Service surveyed damage in the Siler |community, on the eastern edge of Corbin. They confirmed, with the|help of video, that a quick spin-up tornado occurred, starting in|the NW corner of the Legacy Chevrolet dealership's parking lot, |affecting a gas station and car wash, then moving ENE across |US-25E, into a manufactured shed retail lot. It then crossed into |a tree line and adjacent field, possibly lifting momentarily, |before resuming damage near Poplar Grove Road. It then traveled |between Lynn Camp High School and Lynn Camp Elementary School, |before dissipating. Notable damage included damage to to vehicles |in the Legacy Chevrolet parking lot.…

6. Sep 17, 2004Flood, Knox$103,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   On September 18, 2004 at approximately 10:47 pm EST, a 20 year old man drowned while attempting to drive his vehicle through flood waters on Highway 459, near the junction of Bull Run road, 5 miles southwest of Barbourville. The road was closed at the time of the incident. Four feet of water over a bridge near Central Elementary School in Corbin. Highway 66, nine miles north of Pineville, had water flowing over it. Highway 229 blocked by high water. Stinking Creek and Little Brush Creek Roads also flooded. Highway 225, one mile from Warren Camp underwater. Three homes flooded on Big Bush Creek Road. Highway 1527 also underwater.

7. Jul 28, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Part of the roof was blown off a barn along Highway 459. Extensive tree and power line damage occurred county wide, with the hardest area being the south side of Barbourville.

8. Apr 3, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees down countywide. Road signs blown down. Roof blown off a trailer. Eight children in a shelter due to their home being uninhabitable. Unconfirmed report of 2 people trapped in their basement due to wind damage.

9. Jun 20, 2011Flash Flood$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Dispatch reported that several feet of water was flowing over KY 255 and that the road had been closed as a result of the flooding. The flood water had also moved homes off of their foundations around Barbourville.

10. Apr 12, 2020Strong Wind, Knox$60,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A strong storm system and associated cold front approached eastern Kentucky on Easter Sunday, with rainfall beginning during the afternoon. As the low pressure system intensified and moved into the Ohio Valley during the evening of the 12th, wind speeds began to drastically increase across eastern Kentucky. The Kentucky Mesonet station in Dorton, (positioned at 2774 feet elevation) recorded a 79 mph wind gust.||Several other gusts of 40+ mph occurred, leading to numerous instances of damage across eastern Kentucky. This includes downed trees, power lines, and structural damage, causing several roadways to be blocked for a period of time into the morning of the 13th. As many as…

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°FJun 29, 2012

All-time low

−25°FJan 19, 1994

Warmest night

77°FJun 8, 1994

Coldest day

0°FJan 8, 1970

Wettest day

4.78 inOct 1, 1977

Snowiest day

15.0 inMar 9, 1960

Hottest year

2007mean 59.1°F

Coldest year

1960mean 52.5°F

Wettest year

200466.82 in

Driest year

200732.98 in

Snowiest season

63.9 in1959-60

Station London Corbin Airport (USW00003849), 1,181 ft elevation, 15.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1954 to October 26, 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.

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 USW00003849.
• 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.