Live
Active alerts for this county
Heat Advisory
Fleming; Montgomery; Bath; Rowan; Estill; Powell; Menifee; Rockcastle; Jackson; Pulaski; Laurel; Wayne; McCreary; Whitley; Elliott
Estill County, Kentucky severe weather history spans 457 recorded events between 1960 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 58.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,032 nationally and #15 in Kentucky.
457
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
40
Direct injuries
$4.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Estill County, Kentucky severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Estill County, Kentucky severe weather history averages 7.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 173 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 10 events fall before 1990 and 447 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Estill County, Kentucky record is flash flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $2.9M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Estill County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 267 | 0 | $1.5M | 90 | 1960–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 64 | 1 | $146K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 55 | 0 | $58K | 0 | 2000–2025 |
| Hail | 44 | 0 | $0 | 2.5 | 1993–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 13 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 2009–2021 |
| Tornado | 8 | 0 | $2.9M | F3 | 1961–2022 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $56K | 0 | 1996–2013 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2014 |
| Debris Flow | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2022–2022 |
Decade by decade
Estill County, Kentucky severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
8 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 8 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961-06-09 | EF3 | 1 | 63 | 2.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-08-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-01-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-10-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-10-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-04-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-05-08 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-06-01 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Estill County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 2015 | Flash Flood | CRYSTAL | 1 | 0 | $1K |
| Jun 9, 1961 | Tornado | 0 | 38 | $2.5M | |
| Mar 1, 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | WINSTON | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 2, 2002 | Flash Flood | IRVINE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A vehicle attempted to drive through flash flood waters from a creek along KY Hwy 52 near the Estill and Lee county line. The vehicle was eventually swept downstream with the driver trapped inside. The person was alone in the car and ended up drowning inside the vehicle.
An EF-1 tornado touched down near Sang Branch or about one half mile east of Jinks and had an intermittent path of about 3.75 miles in length. The tornado lifted in the vicinity of Wagersville just east of Station Camp Creek and west of Kentucky Hwy 89 at about 347 pm EDT. Numerous trees, both hard and soft wood, were uprooted. A motor home was overturned along the damage path and a small barn was lifted with the roof being blown off.
Trees were blown down on Stacy Lane, Worrells Road, Richmond Road, Blackburn Road, and Regis Road. A power line was also blown down on Blackburn Road and a tree was blown onto a trailer. Thunderstorm wind damage occurred countywide.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
14,035
Population (ACS)
$120K
Median home value
38
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| May 23, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Apr 24, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Irvine 188
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Estill County, Kentucky?
457 events are on record between 1960 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $4.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Estill County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 267 recorded events — 58.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Estill County?
8 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 8 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Estill County?
38 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Estill County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Estill County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Estill County as very low risk, placing it in the 42 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Estill 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
- Elliott County 148
- Fayette County 482
- Edmonson County 222
- Fleming County 258
- Daviess County 553
- Floyd County 543
Cite this page
“Estill County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/estill-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.