80
Recorded events
10
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$1.1M
Property damage
Flash Flood in Breathitt County, Kentucky: 80 recorded events between 1996 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #272 nationally and #5 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flash Flood in Breathitt County, Kentucky: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flash flood in Breathitt County is the 2000s, when 29 of the county's 80 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 Breathitt County archive, flash flood makes up 14.1% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #272 for this hazard and #5 within Kentucky, putting it in the 91.2 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for flash flood in Breathitt County with 26 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28, 2022 | LAMBRIC | 0 | 10 | 0 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 2025 | LITTLE | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 4, 2025 | SEWELL | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 28, 2022 | LAMBRIC | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 28, 2022 | ELKATAWA | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 28, 2022 | KECK | 0 | $0 |
| May 6, 2022 | YEADON | 0 | $0 |
| May 6, 2022 | BARWICK | 0 | $0 |
| May 6, 2022 | ELKATAWA | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 1, 2022 | HARDSHELL | 0 | $20K |
| Jan 1, 2022 | WHICK | 0 | $10K |
Other hazards here
More from Breathitt County
- Thunderstorm Wind 311
- Hail 91
- Flood 47
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Six to seven feet of water was covering Ky Hwy 30. Two single wide trailers were seen floating by. One double wide was in the middle of the flood waters and rescuers were having difficulty reaching the occupants. Highway 30 W was closed near the detention center.
Heavy rains caused flash flooding on Cane Creek. The Curt community was the hardest hit with several mobile homes damaged or destroyed. A bridge was also washed away. Part of Curt Road which had been resurfaced with blacktop only months earlier was totally washed out during the flash flood.
Flash flooding was observed with several feet of flowing water over sections of Highway 1933 and 1388 (Bowlings Creek). A family was trapped on high ground as flash flood washed out the access bridge to their home on Bowlings Creek. Flood waters entered the Altro Church of God. A CoCoRaHS observer located 2 miles east-southeast of Talbert measured 3.77 inches of rain, with much of that falling during the late afternoon and overnight hours.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flash flood events are on record in Breathitt County, Kentucky?
80 flash flood events are recorded in Breathitt County between 1996 and 2025, causing 10 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flash flood recorded in Breathitt County?
The strongest flash flood on record in Breathitt County measured 0.
Where does the flash flood data for Breathitt 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 Breathitt County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/breathitt-county/flash-flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.