Rowan County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Rowan 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 (26), NASA (4).

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. Mar 1, 1997Flash Flood$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Roads were flooded and some people had to be evacuated.

2. Feb 18, 2000Flash Flood$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Training effects from thunderstorms brought several hours of very heavy rains to the county. A home was severly damaged by a mud and rock slide. A furniture store had extensive damage due to flooding on Triplett Creek. Several roads received damage due to flooding across the county as well.

3. Sep 9, 2018Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several vehicles were submerged in water in Morehead, including police cruisers. Several roads were closed due to water covering them from overflowing creeks and streams. Additionally, a nine year old boy was swept into a culvert by flood waters near Morehead. His body was found a week later in the Triplett Creek area.

4. Jul 13, 2015Flash Flood$160,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe flash flooding occurred on Hayes Branch of Triplett Creek in Rowan County along US 60E northeast of Morehead where a CoCoRaHS observer measured 2.02 of rain in 30 minutes. This caused extensive flooding of around 150 residences. Swift water rescues were performed to rescue two individuals from their vehicle which stalled in flood waters on US 60E.

5. Feb 2, 2019Freezing Fog, Rowan$80,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Dense fog formed during the overnight hours into the morning of February 2. In addition to limited visibilities, sub-freezing temperatures allowed for lingering moisture to freeze. This became an issue on Interstate 64 between mile marker 117 in Bath County and the Rowan/Carter County line. Multiple vehicles, including one carrying hazardous material, were involved in crashes.

6. Jul 23, 2017Flood$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Law enforcement reported the continuation of numerous water rescues and stranded motorists as heavy rains came to an end. Water also continued to infiltrate homes prior to the flood waters receding later in the night.

7. Sep 17, 2004Flood, Rowan$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Water reported over Highway 60 West at Cincinnati Branch.

8. Aug 11, 2003Flash Flood$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous homes were inundated with water in Coppers Hollow and a nearby road was impassable due to high water.

9. Jun 22, 1996Flash Flood$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Water covered numerous roads from 15 miles north of Morehead to Haldeman. Propane tanks and trailers were washed out and floating across roads in Morehead. Report was from state police.

10. Jun 2, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Numerous trees and power lines were blown down in Morehead.

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

106°FAug 19, 1936

All-time low

−28°FJan 28, 1963

Warmest night

87°FJul 29, 1930

Coldest day

−8°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

6.85 inMay 3, 2010

Snowiest day

12.0 in3 times, most recently Jan 23, 2016

Hottest year

2024mean 58.4°F

Coldest year

1978mean 52.0°F

Wettest year

201874.48 in

Driest year

194133.01 in

Snowiest season

45.9 in1959-60

Station Cave Run Lake (USC00152791), 840 ft elevation, 6.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1904 to October 27, 2026; 98.5% 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 USC00152791.
• 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.