States › Kentucky › Carter County

Carter County, Kentucky

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 21043 · 26,412 residents (2021) · 409 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 51Tornado · 2Flood · 101Wind · 106Winter · 61

Carter County within Kentucky. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Between 1950 and 2026, NCEI recorded 403 storm events in Carter County, Kentucky, led by damaging wind.

That is 98.4 events per 100 square miles, below the Kentucky figure of 140.0, and 152.6 per 10,000 residents against 122.6 statewide.

19 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 5 deaths and 3 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $33M.

FEMA has designated the county in 37 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Winter Storm (emergency, 24 Jan 2026).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 449 claims since 1978, of which 386 were paid, totalling $9.0M (about $23K per paid claim). FEMA counts 147 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Low" and its expected annual loss as "Very Low" ($14M a year across 18 hazards).

6 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 0 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

19events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

403events since 19505 deaths, 3 injuries recorded

37disaster declarationslast 24 Jan 2026

449NFIP flood claims$9.0M paid

Compared with Kentucky and the United States

Measure	Carter County	Kentucky	US
Recorded events since 1950	403	55,285	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	98.4	140.0	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	152.6	122.6	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	19	1,254	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	5	599	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$33M	$3.5B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	17.0	6.2	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$23K	$22K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	25.9	37.3	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Wind: 1

Wind: 2

Hail: 1Tornado: 1Wind: 1

Hail: 11Flood: 10Wind: 21Winter: 6Heat: 7Cold: 11Drought: 6Lightning: 1Other: 2

Hail: 10Tornado: 1Flood: 26Wind: 19Winter: 11Heat: 10Cold: 11Drought: 10Other: 8

Hail: 28Flood: 28Wind: 34Winter: 22Heat: 3Cold: 7Other: 2

Hail: 1Flood: 37Wind: 28Winter: 22Cold: 1Drought: 3

01950s11960s21970s31980s751990s1062000s1242010s922020s

Recorded events in Carter County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterHeatColdDroughtLightningOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 239 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 151 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Wind106

Flood101

Winter61

Hail51

Cold30

Heat20

Drought19

Other12

Tornado2

Lightning1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	106	—	0.5%	detail
■ Flood	101	4	1.2%	detail
■ Winter	61	—	0.8%	detail
■ Hail	51	—	0.8%	detail
■ Cold	30	—	1.3%
■ Heat	20	—	1.0%
■ Drought	19	—	1.9%
■ Other	12	1	1.2%
■ Tornado	2	—	0.1%
■ Lightning	1	—	0.4%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
20 Jul 2010	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$5.0M	—	1	—	County
22 Jun 1996	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$75K	—	1	—	County
16 Jun 2003	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$15K	—	1	—	County
29 Apr 2014	Heavy Rain	Other	—	$12K	—	1	—	County
5 Mar 2004	Flood	Flood	—	$5K	—	1	—	Forecast zone
18 May 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	$1.0M	—	—	1	County
5 Jun 2001	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$250K	—	—	1	County
27 May 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	—	$3K	—	—	1	County
2 May 2010	Flood	Flood	—	$10M	—	—	—	County
1 Mar 1997	Flood	Flood	—	$2.5M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
23 Jun 2017	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$2.3M	—	—	—	County
16 Feb 2003	Ice Storm	Winter	—	$1.5M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
3 Apr 2015	Flood	Flood	—	$1.2M	—	—	—	County
1 Mar 1997	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$1.0M	—	—	—	County
20 Mar 2002	Flood	Flood	—	$1.0M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
5 May 2003	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$1.0M	—	—	—	County
17 Nov 1993	Hail	Hail	1.25 in	$500K	—	—	—	County
17 Nov 1993	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	$500K	—	—	—	County
17 Sep 2004	Flood	Flood	—	$400K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
29 Jun 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	60 mph	$400K	—	—	—	County

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
24 Jan 2026	EM-3633	Emergency	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
24 Apr 2025	DR-4864	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
3 Apr 2025	EM-3626	Emergency	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
16 Feb 2025	EM-3624	Emergency	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, And Landslides	Public assistance
26 Nov 2024	DR-4848	Major disaster	Tropical Storm	Remnants Of Hurricane Helene	Public assistance
22 May 2024	DR-4782	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Landslides, And Mudslides	Individual assistance
9 May 2023	DR-4711	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
27 Feb 2022	DR-4643	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides	Public assistance
23 Apr 2021	DR-4595	Major disaster	Flood	Severe, Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
31 Mar 2021	DR-4592	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storms, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
28 Mar 2020	DR-4497	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3469	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
17 Apr 2019	DR-4428	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
26 Apr 2018	DR-4361	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
12 Aug 2015	DR-4239	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslide	Individual assistance, Public assistance
12 May 2015	DR-4218	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
1 May 2015	DR-4217	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 May 2011	DR-1976	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
23 Jul 2010	DR-1925	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
11 May 2010	DR-1912	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, And Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
5 Feb 2009	DR-1818	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storm And Flooding	Public assistance
28 Jan 2009	EM-3302	Emergency	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
25 May 2007	DR-1703	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, And Rockslides	Public assistance
10 Sep 2005	EM-3231	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina	Public assistance
10 Jun 2004	DR-1523	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, And Mudslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
2 Jul 2003	DR-1475	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud And Rock Slides, And Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
3 Jun 2003	DR-1471	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud And Rock Slides, And Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
14 Mar 2003	DR-1454	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Ice And Snow Storms, Heavy Rain, Flooding, Tornadoes, And Mud And	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2002	DR-1407	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
28 Feb 2000	DR-1320	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
3 Mar 1998	DR-1207	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
4 Mar 1997	DR-1163	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storm, Flooding, And Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Jan 1996	DR-1089	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Blizzard Of 96	Public assistance
13 Jun 1995	DR-1055	Major disaster	Tornado	Tornadoes, Severe Winds, Hail	Individual assistance, Public assistance
16 Mar 1993	EM-3104	Emergency	Snowstorm	Severe Snowfall & Winter Storm	Public assistance
24 Feb 1989	DR-821	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
12 Dec 1978	DR-568	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Carter County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978449

Paid claims386

Total paid$9.0M

Average paid claim$23K

Repetitive-loss properties497 severe

Residential policies in force1471.3% of 11,649 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2025	3	3	$96,541	$32,180
2024	1	1	$5,937	$5,937
2021	7	6	$75,979	$12,663
2020	2	0	$0	—
2018	4	3	$142,922	$47,641
2017	21	18	$305,981	$16,999
2016	1	1	$14,821	$14,821
2015	26	24	$733,831	$30,576
2012	6	5	$432,679	$86,536
2011	1	0	$0	—
2010	98	88	$3,151,846	$35,816
2008	3	1	$14,453	$14,453
2006	4	4	$49,149	$12,287
2004	12	11	$113,225	$10,293
2003	105	90	$1,507,475	$16,750
2002	58	54	$1,189,883	$22,035
2001	1	1	$5,472	$5,472
2000	2	1	$17,160	$17,160
1997	63	50	$1,097,434	$21,949
1993	1	1	$408	$408
1991	5	4	$4,769	$1,192
1990	1	1	$2,584	$2,584
1989	8	7	$20,812	$2,973
1983	1	1	$518	$518
1982	1	1	$417	$417

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Lowscore 52.7 of 100

Expected annual loss$14MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively High

Community resilienceVery Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$10,499,197
Heat wave	Relatively Moderate	$1,864,332
Tornado	Relatively Low	$715,025
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$319,359
Cold wave	Very Low	$178,548
Earthquake	Very Low	$142,437
Lightning	Relatively Low	$138,856
Hail	Very Low	$106,692
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$106,454
Wildfire	Very Low	$61,933
Winter weather	Relatively Low	$48,231
Landslide	Relatively Moderate	$46,286
Hurricane	Very Low	$19,982
Drought	Very Low	$775

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles6

Tracks within 50 miles2

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Opal	1995	28 mi	46 mph
Hugo	1989	68 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	67 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	97 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	36 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1892	91 mi	52 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

ZIP codes with flood claims

41164 232
41143 128
41146 50
41181 14

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Carter County, KY?

NCEI records 51 hail events in Carter County since 1950, in 20 different years; that is about 0.7 recorded events a year. 5 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Carter County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 2 tornadoes in Carter County since 1950, 0 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Carter County?

24 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 37 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Carter County, and how much was paid?

449 NFIP claims since 1978, 386 of them paid, for $9.0M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Carter County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively Low" for overall risk, "Very Low" for expected annual loss, "Relatively High" for social vulnerability and "Very Low" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Carter County compare with the rest of Kentucky?

98.4 recorded events per 100 square miles against 140.0 statewide, and 17.0 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 6.2. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.