Whitley County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Whitley 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 (100), 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. Feb 6, 2020Flood$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Emergency Management reported extensive flooding in Williamsburg and elsewhere across Whitley County, especially east of town. Several swift water rescues were performed with one woman being diagnosed with hyperthermia. At least 38 homes were inundated with water, with six of these being completely under water. Many businesses also sustained extensive water damage, especially along the Cumberland River basin. Several local residents rate this as the second worst flood in their memory, right behind that of the April 1977 flood.||On February 10th, a man was found dead inside his vehicle on Kentucky Highway 779. He apparently attempted to drive through flood waters on his way to work…

2. Feb 16, 2003Flood, Whitley$3.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   At 0400 EST, February 18, the Cumberland River at Williamsburg crested at 28.95 feet. This is 7.95 feet above flood stage.

3. Apr 17, 1998Flood, Whitley$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding on April 16 and 17 developed into widespread river flooding in the Cumberland River basin on April 17. On the Cumberland River an initial crest occurred at most locations on April 17 or 18, but additional heavy rain on April 18 and 19 brought a second higher crest on April 19, 20, or 21. Crests were 2.8 feet above flood stage at Baxter, 10.7 feet above flood stage at Pineville, 14 feet above flood stage at Fourmile, 9.3 feet above flood stage at Barbourville, and 9.7 feet above flood stage at Williamsburg. Numerous roads were flooded, and numerous homes were affected by flood waters.

4. Apr 4, 2011Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down northwest of Williamsburg Kentucky along Brays Chapel Road and remained on the ground until just west of Airport Road. The tornado crossed highway 25W and Kentucky 204 while downing and uprooting many trees and causing significant damage to several barns and outbuildings along its path. Additional straight line wind damage occurred just east of where the tornado lifted from around airport road east over Interstate 75. The tornado's maximum wind speeds were estimated between 90 and 95 mph.

5. Apr 2, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The NWS Survey team determined that damage incurred near the community of Deering was consistent with straight line winds, with maximum wind gusts estimated to be between 80 and 90 mph. The most significant damage occurred to a barn just off Akins Lane, about 7 miles SW of Corbin - in which the barn was destroyed. There were numerous trees uprooted between Frankfort School Road and Bee Creek Road, and from there to Linda Lane, just off Casey Road. Several homes sustained damage from trees that fell on roofs. Of notable interest were eyewitness reports of a circulation that tracked across a small pond in one of the residential areas. Based on the description of the circulation not…

6. Apr 16, 1998Flash Flood$150,000
7. Feb 11, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Roofs were blown off of 5 homes by thunderstorm wind gusts. Trees and power lines were also blown down county wide. An estimated 90 percent of Williamsburg was without power.

8. Apr 2, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The survey team surveyed a RV park along Rosetown Church Road near the community of Youngs Creek. The park had multiple trees uprooted, and RVs that were toppled and/or destroyed.

9. May 26, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread wind damage occurred in the Woodbine community, with many trees uprooted and snapped - specifically along Perkins Street. One mobile home suffered significant damage when a large tree fell onto it.

10. May 11, 2008Tornado$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    An EF-1 tornado touched down 1 mile west of the Cumberland Falls State Park on Highway 90 and continued into Whitley County and across the park. Wind speeds with this tornado were estimated at 105 mph. Significant damage was done to the park supervisor's residence. Extensive numbers of large trees were blown across roads which made access to parts of the park impossible until they were cleared away. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted with some of the trees falling on cars and powerlines.

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, 19.4 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.