Lewis County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Lewis 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 (82).

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.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Feb 18, 2000Flash Flood$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Showers and thunderstorms with heavy rainfall caused extensive damage across the county, with the worst damage occurring in Camp Dix. Numerous creeks and streams overflowed their banks and many roads were closed. A total of 146 structures were damaged with 50 being totally destroyed. Evacuations of 300 people occurred.

2. May 10, 2003Tornado$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down to the southeast of Maysville, continuing east-southeast into Lewis County. The greatest damage occurred in the Heron Hill area in western Lewis County. Seventeen people were injured in Lewis County. 21 homes were destroyed, 10 homes sustained major damage and 17 homes received minor damage. Numerous barns, buildings and garages were also damaged or destroyed. The tornado appeared to skip across parts of Mason and Lewis Counties. Tornado damage ended four miles to the southeast of Vanceburg.

3. Sep 14, 2008High Wind, Lewis$1.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong winds of 40 to 50 miles per hour were sustained for several hours. Gusts over 60 mph were common. Widespread damage occurred across the region, from trees being blown down on powerlines to significant structural damage.

4. Mar 1, 1997Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Estimated rainfall of 4 to 8 inches across the county in less than 36 hours caused area creeks and streams to rise out of their banks. Numerous roads were closed due to high water and several evacuations occurred. A few bridges were washed away. The worst property damage occurred along Kinniconick Creek.

5. Jul 21, 2010Flash Flood$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous roads were washed out due to flash flooding. In addition there were multiple water rescues from homes. At least three mobile homes and a grocery store were swept off their foundation. Major damage occurred to residences, businesses, vehicles, and roads across southern portions of the county.

6. Mar 1, 2017Flash Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extensive flash flooding was reported from Tollesboro to Vanceburg. Water, several feet deep, was flowing across numerous roadways in the area. A bridge was washed out on Quicks Run Road.

7. Jan 6, 1996Winter Storm, Lewis$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Blizzard of '96 developed near the Gulf Coast and moved up the East Coast. This massive system brought the greatest snowfall from one storm to Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport, as well as the greatest 24 hour snowfall. Total snowfall from this storm at the airport was 14.3 inches, while in a typical entire season this location normally receives only 23 inches of snowfall. Many homes and business experienced partial or total roof collapses due to the weight of the snow. Road conditions remained hazardous in some locations for many days. Many people believed that this was the worst winter storm since the Blizzard of '78.

8. Dec 16, 2000Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Persistent heavy rainfall caused the closing of 1 road and washed out a bridge.

9. Mar 1, 2017Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   On Kentucky 989 just west of Burtonville, the top third of a silo was destroyed and blown to the east toppling onto another structure. Also, two other barns were destroyed. Several large trees were blown down or uprooted in the southwestern part of the county. Also, a few large, very well constructed barns were shifted 6 to 8 feet off their foundations with the opposite walls severely buckled. One of these barns had the roof completely blown off and large sections of the siding missing. All the debris from the above barns was scattered in fields to the east. Several smaller barns in this same area were completely destroyed.||Numerous trees were downed along Buck Lick Branch Road,…

10. Jul 29, 2021Flash Flood$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Three to five inches of rain resulted in flash flooding across much of western Lewis County. Numerous culverts and roads were washed out or damaged due to the flowing water.

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

108°FJul 22, 1901

All-time low

−25°F2 times, most recently Jan 20, 1994

Warmest night

79°FJun 10, 2010

Coldest day

−5°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

6.34 inJul 23, 2017

Snowiest day

16.0 inJan 17, 1994

Hottest year

1921mean 59.0°F

Coldest year

1963mean 49.6°F

Wettest year

201162.44 in

Driest year

193020.34 in

Snowiest season

43.6 in1917-18

Station Maysville Wwtp (USC00155243), 515 ft elevation, 25.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1896 to October 19, 2026; 88.0% 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 USC00155243.
• 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.