48
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$1.1M
Property damage
Flash Flood in Rowan County, Kentucky: 48 recorded events between 1996 and 2022. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #639 nationally and #25 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flash Flood in Rowan County, Kentucky: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flash flood in Rowan County is the 2010s, when 22 of the county's 48 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 Rowan County archive, flash flood makes up 17.3% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #639 for this hazard and #25 within Kentucky, putting it in the 78.8 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for flash flood in Rowan County with 14 recorded events, while Jan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 14, 2022 | SHARKEY | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 14, 2022 | SHARKEY | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 30, 2021 | RAMEY | 0 | $0 |
| May 26, 2020 | BLUESTONE | 0 | $0 |
| May 26, 2020 | FARMERS | 0 | $11K |
| May 26, 2020 | BRADY | 0 | $3K |
| May 26, 2020 | MOREHEAD | 0 | $25K |
| Jul 22, 2019 | HAYS CROSSING | 0 | $15K |
| May 16, 2018 | MOREHEAD | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 23, 2017 | WALTZ | 0 | $50K |
| Jun 24, 2017 | MOREHEAD | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Rowan County
- Thunderstorm Wind 163
- Hail 43
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
According to an article from LEX18 news in Lexington: Kentucky State Police say they were first called out in reference to a drowning on Bullfork Road in Rowan County. They say an 80-year-old man tried to cross a swollen tributary in a utility vehicle. He got out of the vehicle and tried to get to the other side of the tributary. While crossing, troops say he was swept away in the current. He was rescued and taken to the regional medical center, where he was pronounced dead.
Training effects from thunderstorms brought several hours of very heavy rains to the county. A home was severly damaged by a mud and rock slide. A furniture store had extensive damage due to flooding on Triplett Creek. Several roads received damage due to flooding across the county as well.
Severe flash flooding occurred on Hayes Branch of Triplett Creek in Rowan County along US 60E northeast of Morehead where a CoCoRaHS observer measured 2.02 of rain in 30 minutes. This caused extensive flooding of around 150 residences. Swift water rescues were performed to rescue two individuals from their vehicle which stalled in flood waters on US 60E.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flash flood events are on record in Rowan County, Kentucky?
48 flash flood events are recorded in Rowan County between 1996 and 2022, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flash flood recorded in Rowan County?
The strongest flash flood on record in Rowan County measured 0.
Where does the flash flood data for Rowan 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 Rowan County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/rowan-county/flash-flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.