137
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$12.1M
Property damage
Flash Flood in Pike County, Kentucky: 137 recorded events between 1996 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #90 nationally and #2 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flash Flood in Pike County, Kentucky: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flash flood in Pike County is the 2000s, when 60 of the county's 137 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Pike County archive, flash flood makes up 18.5% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #90 for this hazard and #2 within Kentucky, putting it in the 97.1 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for flash flood in Pike County with 42 recorded events, while Nov is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 4, 2001 | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 2 | 0 | $6.0M |
| Jul 18, 2010 | PIKEVILLE | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 18, 1999 | VIRGIE | 0 | 0 | 2 | $150K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 16, 2025 | BEAVER BOTTOM | 0 | $0 |
| May 17, 2025 | PIKEVILLE | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 10, 2022 | ELLWOOD | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 10, 2022 | VIRGIE | 0 | $7K |
| Aug 10, 2022 | PENNY | 0 | $7K |
| Aug 1, 2022 | SHOCK | 0 | $200K |
| Jul 31, 2022 | BELFRY | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 31, 2022 | MOSSY BOTTOM | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 31, 2022 | RACCOON | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 28, 2022 | ELK HORN CITY | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Pike County
- Thunderstorm Wind 398
- Hail 138
- Flood 42
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
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 who was swept away along Hurricane Creek while attempting to save his All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) out of fast flowing flash flood water.Most of the damage occurred on county roads and bridges where 5.5 million dollars in damages resulted. Close to 500 thousand dollars in damages resulted in loses to homes in the county.
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 flooding during the past several weeks.
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.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flash flood events are on record in Pike County, Kentucky?
137 flash flood events are recorded in Pike County between 1996 and 2025, causing 3 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flash flood recorded in Pike County?
The strongest flash flood on record in Pike County measured 0.
Where does the flash flood data for Pike County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Flash Flood in Pike County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/pike-county/flash-flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.