49
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$1.9M
Property damage
Flash Flood in Letcher County, Kentucky: 49 recorded events between 1996 and 2022. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #616 nationally and #22 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flash Flood in Letcher County, Kentucky: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flash flood in Letcher County is the 2000s, when 29 of the county's 49 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 Letcher County archive, flash flood makes up 17.2% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #616 for this hazard and #22 within Kentucky, putting it in the 79.6 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for flash flood in Letcher County with 11 recorded events, while Oct 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 | DAY | 0 | 3 | 0 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 1, 2022 | NEON | 0 | $15K |
| Jul 28, 2022 | DAY | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 21, 2019 | BLACKEY | 0 | $0 |
| May 15, 2018 | MILLSTONE | 0 | $80K |
| May 27, 2017 | DONGOLA | 0 | $1K |
| Jul 15, 2015 | LETCHER | 0 | $1K |
| Sep 4, 2014 | SACKETT | 0 | $1K |
| Aug 3, 2012 | ISOM | 0 | $1K |
| Apr 3, 2012 | GORDON | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 3, 2012 | COLSON | 0 | $10K |
Other hazards here
More from Letcher County
- Thunderstorm Wind 143
- Hail 41
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.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flash flood events are on record in Letcher County, Kentucky?
49 flash flood events are recorded in Letcher County between 1996 and 2022, causing 3 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flash flood recorded in Letcher County?
The strongest flash flood on record in Letcher County measured 0.
Where does the flash flood data for Letcher 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 Letcher County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/letcher-county/flash-flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.