Pike County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Pike 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 (2,176), NASA (19), WV GS (2).

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$6.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread flash flooding occurred across the area prompting the county to be a Presidentially declared disaster area. Up to 5 inches fell in less that 3 hours on already saturated ground. Massive road and bridge damage resulted. Over 200 homes were affected by flooding with 5 homes being totally destroyed. Two people lost their lives in this event. The first was a woman in her early 20s that was trapped in her vehicle along with her sister on Kentucky route 1384 as high water pushed the car off of the road. Her sister escaped, but unfortunately the woman lost her battle to the quickly flowing waters and her evacuation attempt failed.The second fatality was a man in his early 30s…

2. May 2, 2002Flood, Pike$5.0 million
   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…

3. Feb 16, 2003Flood, Pike$3.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   At 1530 EST, February 16, the Big Sandy River crested at 39.95 feet in Pikeville. This is 4.95 feet above flood stage.

4. May 31, 2004Flood, Pike$3.0 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…

5. Jun 17, 2003Flash Flood$2.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several roads and sewer systems were destroyed from incessant heavy rainfall across especially the southern part of the county.

6. May 5, 1996Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread flash flooding developed across part of northern and eastern Pike County. Areas especially hard hit extended from north of Pikeville southeast to Phelps, and included Big Creek, Brushy Creek, Belfry, Blackberry, Phelps, and Freeburn. Up to two and one half inches of rain was reported. Forty to fifty bridges were washed out, numerous roads were flooded, and automobiles were washed down creeks. The Varney Elementary School suffered serious flood damage.

7. Aug 8, 2000Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong to severe thunderstorms produced heavy amounts of rain across the county. Reports of 2 to 3 inches in an hours time were common. This caused creeks and streams to overflow their banks. Water was out of the creek and onto Highway 119 and 23 near Pikeville, as well as, over Buckfeild road. Several roads were also closed in downtown Pikeville due to high water. Rock and mud slides were reported, one blocking Widow Branch road. A family was trapped by flood waters surrounding their trailer, no injuries were reported. A bridge was also washed out at Feds Creek at the mouth of Motley Fork. Many of the roads that were damaged during this storm were damaged twice before in flash…

8. Aug 4, 1997Hail$250,000
9. Apr 15, 2007Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   US 194 near Phelps, US 119 at Johns Creek and Meta, US 460 at Millard, and KY 80 at Elkhorn closed due to high water. Numerous secondary roads also closed. Route 194 at Majestic Mountain impassable. A 50 foot section of US 460 and KY Rt 122 Intersection and the mouth of Chloe Rd collapsed.

10. Feb 12, 2020Heavy Rain$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Local media reported a train derailment as a result of an active mudslide, caused by previous heavy rainfall, near Draffin.

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

102°FSep 15, 1998

All-time low

−17°F2 times, most recently Feb 21, 2015

Warmest night

75°FJul 30, 1967

Coldest day

4°FJan 11, 1982

Wettest day

4.33 inFeb 16, 2025

Snowiest day

15.0 inNov 25, 1950

Hottest year

1967mean 59.0°F

Coldest year

2014mean 52.2°F

Wettest year

197262.22 in

Driest year

198829.42 in

Snowiest season

46.0 in1986-87

Station Grundy (USC00443640), 1,157 ft elevation, 22.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1960 to October 22, 2026; 97.8% 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 USC00443640.
• 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.