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Pike County, Kentucky severe weather history spans 741 recorded events between 1965 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 53.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #357 nationally and #3 in Kentucky.
741
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$14.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Pike County, Kentucky severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Pike County, Kentucky severe weather history averages 12.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 284 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 15 events fall before 1990 and 726 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Pike County, Kentucky record is flash flood, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $12.1M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Pike County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 398 | 1 | $1.3M | 87 | 1968–2025 |
| Hail | 138 | 0 | $259K | 3.5 | 1965–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 137 | 3 | $12.1M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 42 | 0 | $29K | 0 | 2000–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 15 | 0 | $337K | 0 | 2009–2021 |
| Debris Flow | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2018–2021 |
| Tornado | 2 | 0 | $5K | F0 | 1998–2014 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 2011–2011 |
Decade by decade
Pike County, Kentucky severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
3 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-10-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-04-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 7.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1998-05-20 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Pike County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 4, 2001 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 2 | 0 | $6.0M |
| Aug 5, 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | PHYLLIS | 1 | 0 | $20K |
| Jul 18, 2010 | Flash Flood | PIKEVILLE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 9, 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | FISHTRAP | 0 | 2 | $8K |
| May 18, 1999 | Flash Flood | VIRGIE | 0 | 2 | $150K |
| Jan 30, 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | SHELBIANA | 0 | 1 | $10K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Widespread flash flooding occurred across the area prompting the county to be a Presidentially declared disaster area. Up to 5 inches fell in less that 3 hours on already saturated ground. Massive road and bridge damage resulted. Over 200 homes were affected by flooding with 5 homes being totally destroyed. Two people lost their lives in this event. The first was a woman in her early 20s that was trapped in her vehicle along with her sister on Kentucky route 1384 as high water pushed the car off of the road. Her sister escaped, but unfortunately the woman lost her battle to the quickly flowing waters and her evacuation attempt failed.The second fatality was a man in his early 30s who was swept away along Hurricane Creek while attempting to save his All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) out of fast flowing flash flood water.Most of the damage occurred on county roads and bridges where 5.5 million dollars in damages resulted. Close to 500 thousand dollars in damages resulted in loses to homes in the county.
Strong to severe thunderstorms produced heavy amounts of rain across the county. Reports of 2 to 3 inches in an hours time were common. This caused creeks and streams to overflow their banks. Water was out of the creek and onto Highway 119 and 23 near Pikeville, as well as, over Buckfeild road. Several roads were also closed in downtown Pikeville due to high water. Rock and mud slides were reported, one blocking Widow Branch road. A family was trapped by flood waters surrounding their trailer, no injuries were reported. A bridge was also washed out at Feds Creek at the mouth of Motley Fork. Many of the roads that were damaged during this storm were damaged twice before in flash flooding during the past several weeks.
US 194 near Phelps, US 119 at Johns Creek and Meta, US 460 at Millard, and KY 80 at Elkhorn closed due to high water. Numerous secondary roads also closed. Route 194 at Majestic Mountain impassable. A 50 foot section of US 460 and KY Rt 122 Intersection and the mouth of Chloe Rd collapsed.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
56,727
Population (ACS)
$112K
Median home value
47
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 |
| Jul 29, 2022 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Feb 27, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Pikeville 136
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Pike County, Kentucky?
741 events are on record between 1965 and 2025, causing 4 direct deaths and $14.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Pike County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 398 recorded events — 53.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Pike County?
3 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 2 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Pike County?
47 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Pike County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Pike County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Pike County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 88 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Pike 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
- Perry County 387
- Powell County 380
- Pendleton County 218
- Pulaski County 760
- Owsley County 193
- Robertson County 59
Cite this page
“Pike County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/pike-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.