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Knox; Bell; Harlan; Morgan; Johnson; Wolfe; Magoffin; Floyd; Lee; Breathitt; Knott; Owsley; Perry; Clay; Leslie; Letcher; Martin; Pike
Knott County, Kentucky severe weather history spans 190 recorded events between 1974 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 50.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,499 nationally and #97 in Kentucky.
190
Recorded events
16
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$2.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Knott County, Kentucky severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Knott County, Kentucky severe weather history averages 3.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 80 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 2 events fall before 1990 and 188 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Knott County, Kentucky record is flash flood, responsible for 16 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $1.8M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Knott County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 95 | 0 | $255K | 78 | 1974–2025 |
| Hail | 37 | 0 | $0 | 2.75 | 1985–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 29 | 16 | $1.8M | 0 | 1998–2022 |
| Flood | 17 | 0 | $8K | 0 | 2009–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 10 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2010–2022 |
| Debris Flow | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2021–2025 |
Decade by decade
Knott County, Kentucky severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
1 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 0 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-05-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 24.0 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Knott County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28, 2022 | Flash Flood | FISTY | 16 | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Several inches of rain fell in a short period of time across the county. This resulted in widespread flash flooding. The damage that resulted prompted the county to classified as a Presidentially declared disaster area. Most of the damage that resulted was to county roads and bridges although numerous homes were also affected.
Over three inches of rainfall from slow moving thunderstorms produced flash flooding across the county. Troublesome Creek was reported out of its banks from Hindman to Carrie, six inches of flowing water was reported over Highway 80, flooding at the junction of Highway 550 and 160 made the roads impassable, flood waters surrounded a house in Garner, the Hazard Community & Technical School campus was flooded in Hindman, and water was reported over the bumper of an SUV between Leburn and Hindman.
Heavy rainfall caused a coal slurry pond to fill up with water and runoff into pay lake below. The pay lake overflowed and the pay lake's dam was partially washed out. This caused flash flooding to occur along Breeding Creek Road and a narrow part of highway 15 near Redfox. Residents were stranded due to the flooding and several homes/mobile homes were flooded during the event.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
13,830
Population (ACS)
$77K
Median home value
43
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 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 9, 2023 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Knott County, Kentucky?
190 events are on record between 1974 and 2025, causing 16 direct deaths and $2.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Knott County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 95 recorded events — 50.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Knott County?
1 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 0 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Knott County?
43 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Knott County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Knott County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Knott County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 52 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Knott 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
- Kenton County 273
- Knox County 290
- Johnson County 323
- Larue County 207
- Jessamine County 177
- Laurel County 590
Cite this page
“Knott County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/knott-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.