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Letcher County, Kentucky severe weather history spans 285 recorded events between 1968 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 50.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,868 nationally and #56 in Kentucky.
285
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$5.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Letcher County, Kentucky severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Letcher County, Kentucky severe weather history averages 5.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 103 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 14 events fall before 1990 and 271 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Letcher County, Kentucky record is flash flood, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $2.8M 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 Letcher County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 143 | 0 | $285K | 70 | 1968–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 49 | 3 | $1.9M | 0 | 1996–2022 |
| Hail | 41 | 0 | $40K | 2.75 | 1984–2025 |
| Flood | 31 | 0 | $362K | 0 | 2002–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 16 | 0 | $85K | 0 | 2002–2021 |
| Tornado | 2 | 0 | $2.8M | F1 | 1978–1983 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2007–2007 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2009 |
| Debris Flow | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2018–2018 |
Decade by decade
Letcher 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: 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983-06-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Letcher County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28, 2022 | Flash Flood | DAY | 3 | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Multiple reports of flash flooding were received across the eastern half of Letcher County. Some of these reports include:||01:00 AM EST – Pictures show a car forced into a culvert pipe by flash flooding in front of the Colson Volunteer Fire Department. |05:00 AM EST – The Isom IGA is innundated to above the doorway by flash flooding along Rockhouse Creek.|05:20 AM EST – A picture showed the Appalshop at Whitesburg innundated by flash flood waters. |05:30 AM EST – A picture showed several feet of flash flood waters rushing down East Main Street (KY-15) in front of the Railroad Street Mercantile of downtown Whitesburg.|06:00 AM EST – Flash flooding was reported at 7:12 AM EST (though likely started closer to 6:00 AM EST) along KY-119 between JD Maggard Store and the Upper FD. |07:00 AM EST – The cooperative observer located 1 mile SSW of Ermine measured a 24-hour rainfall total of 3.45 inches.
Public roads and bridges were no match for the flash flooding that moved through the county. Heavy rains on already saturated ground produced widespread damage. The damage was extensive enough for the county to be classified as a Presidentially Declared Disaster Area. Homes were also damaged in the deluge in the Gilley and Gordon areas. Kentucky Highway 510 was completely flooded and residents of the area had to be rescued from the high water.
One foot of water was over Highway 931, south of Cowan. Highway 931 was washed out near Highway 2035 and residents were evacuated out of their homes in Cowan. Highway 2035 was impassable and water was reported to have flooded into homes.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
20,808
Population (ACS)
$67K
Median home value
40
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 |
| Nov 26, 2024 | Tropical Storm | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE HELENE | DR |
| 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 Letcher County, Kentucky?
285 events are on record between 1968 and 2025, causing 3 direct deaths and $5.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Letcher County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 143 recorded events — 50.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Letcher County?
1 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 1 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Letcher County?
40 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Letcher County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Letcher County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Letcher County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 67 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Letcher 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
- Leslie County 333
- Lewis County 206
- Lee County 281
- Lincoln County 207
- Lawrence County 235
- Livingston County 225
Cite this page
“Letcher County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/letcher-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.