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Boyd County, Kentucky severe weather history spans 271 recorded events between 1965 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 43.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,957 nationally and #63 in Kentucky.
271
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$13.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Boyd County, Kentucky severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Boyd County, Kentucky severe weather history averages 4.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 103 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 19 events fall before 1990 and 252 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flash flood, with $7.2M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Boyd County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 119 | 0 | $2.0M | 89 | 1966–2026 |
| Hail | 51 | 0 | $66K | 2 | 1979–2017 |
| Flash Flood | 46 | 0 | $7.2M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 42 | 0 | $754K | 0 | 2006–2025 |
| Tornado | 5 | 0 | $3.3M | F3 | 1965–2024 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $20K | 0 | 2011–2015 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2000–2020 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2011 |
Decade by decade
Boyd County, Kentucky severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
6 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 5 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965-04-08 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 6.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-04-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-07-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 29.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-04-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-07-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-07-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Boyd County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 1987 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Serious urban flooding occurred in and around the city of Ashland. Water was up to the windshields on several stalled vehicles. Lexington Ave and Route 60 were a few of the flooded streets. Basement flooding was common. One house had its foundation weakened. Some roads along rural streams were flooded, but damage was worst in the urban areas.
In Boyd County, the flooding damaged 28 homes, 11 were major damage. About 25 people were rescued from various locations in the county. Roads such as Tarpin Ridge and Marsh Hill received significant damage. The county high school baseball, softball, and football fields were completely submerged. Equipment for the fields and the concession stand was damaged.
Both urban and rural flash flooding occurred during the early evening hours of a Friday night. Numerous streets in Ashland were flooded with several vehicles flooded. Water even pooled on their high school football field from the overwhelmed drainage system, causing the first game of the season to be canceled. ||Vehicles were also flooded on roads around Summit and Ironville. In Ironville, some people were trapped in houses surrounded by water. In the Cannonsburg vicinity, streams along Route 3 such as Laurel Creek and Lower Chadwick Creek flooded. One house had its first floor flooded, and its residents were rescued from the second floor.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
47,911
Population (ACS)
$131K
Median home value
33
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Apr 3, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | EM |
| Feb 24, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Feb 16, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES | EM |
| May 22, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Feb 27, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Ashland 111
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Boyd County, Kentucky?
271 events are on record between 1965 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $13.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Boyd County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 119 recorded events — 43.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Boyd County?
6 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 5 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Boyd County?
33 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Boyd County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Boyd County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Boyd County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 75 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Boyd County, Kentucky severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Bourbon County 213
- Boyle County 177
- Boone County 380
- Bracken County 188
- Bell County 374
- Breathitt County 566
Cite this page
“Boyd County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/boyd-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.