Nicholas County

Every recorded tornado

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

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 (8).

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. Jul 29, 2021Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several streets in Carlisle experienced flash flooding. Cost of damage is unknown.

2. Jul 30, 2021Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain caused flash flooding in Carlisle as Brushy Fork Creek quickly left it's banks. Several streets including Main Street were under several feet of water. Some reported over 4 feet of water in several homes. Homes were pushed off their foundations, and several cars floated downstream in the current. People had to be rescued through broken windows by emergency responders on watercraft. Some people lost most of their possessions, but one woman who lived in a mobile home on Moorefield Road lost her life after emergency responders couldn't respond in time to her call for help. She was found in the water 600 feet downstream.

3. Mar 1, 1997Flood, Nicholas$450,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Record flooding occurred all along the Licking River basin as 24 hour rainfall amounts beginning early March 1 totaled from 6 to 10 inches. Stoner Creek at Paris crested at a record 30.0 feet (flood stage is 18 feet) at 5 am est on March 2. The Licking River at Cynthiana crested at a record 28.0 feet (flood stage is 20 feet) at 530 pm est on March 2. The Licking River at Blue Licks Spring crested at a record 47.6 feet (flood stage is 25 feet) at 7 pm est on March 2. The towns of Blue Licks Spring, Cynthiana and Paris all received major flooding with many homes and businesses under water. All of these counties were declared federal disaster areas and received federal aid. A 66 year…

4. Feb 6, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The first damage occurred two miles west of Carlisle where straight line winds blew the roofs off a barn and a trailer, and a manufacturing company suffered significant roof damage. Tree and barn damage occurred on KY 32 and KY 1455 north of Carlisle. The most significant damage happened three miles northeast of Carlisle near the intersection of KY 32 and Stoney Creek Road. A small barn was completely destroyed and blown into the highway. Several other barns had their roofs removed. A car was blow 15 feet into a telephone pole by the winds.

5. Jan 29, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds damaged about twelve homes along U.S. Highway 68. A barn was heavily damaged, and several outbuildings were destroyed. Numerous trees were downed.

6. Jul 4, 2001Flash Flood$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Parts of US 68 were washed out. Several houses and mobile homes were inundated by water.

7. May 5, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trailers rolled over and barn flattened along Hwy. 32 near Carlisle. Trees down across the county.

8. May 10, 2011Hail$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Three separate reports of 2.75 inch hail. This hail dented many vehicles and broke several windows.

9. Nov 10, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A mobile home was blown off its foundation.

10. Jul 5, 2018Thunderstorm Wind$15,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Power lines and trees came down at Carpenter Pike and US 68. Trees also came down along county roads in the western half of the county.

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°F2 times, most recently Jul 15, 1936

All-time low

−21°FJan 24, 1963

Warmest night

83°FJul 8, 1874

Coldest day

−3°F2 times, most recently Jan 12, 1918

Wettest day

8.04 inAug 2, 1932

Snowiest day

13.4 inJan 26, 1943

Hottest year

2024mean 59.8°F

Coldest year

1917mean 52.3°F

Wettest year

201871.98 in

Driest year

193024.89 in

Snowiest season

55.4 in1916-17

Station Lexington Bluegrass Airport (USW00093820), 962 ft elevation, 37.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1872 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% 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 USW00093820.
• 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.