States › Kentucky › Grayson County

Grayson 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 21085 · 26,524 residents (2021) · 500 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 84Tornado · 20Flood · 49Wind · 161Winter · 37

Grayson 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.

Grayson County, Kentucky, has 361 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 72.2 events per 100 square miles, below the Kentucky figure of 140.0, and 136.1 per 10,000 residents against 122.6 statewide.

13 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 4 deaths and 26 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $57M.

FEMA has designated the county in 30 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides (major disaster, 1 Sep 2026).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 6 claims since 1978, of which 2 were paid, totalling $156K (about $78K per paid claim). FEMA counts 14 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" ($11M a year across 18 hazards).

4 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.

13events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

361events since 19504 deaths, 26 injuries recorded

30disaster declarationslast 1 Sep 2026

6NFIP flood claims$156K paid

Compared with Kentucky and the United States

Measure	Grayson County	Kentucky	US
Recorded events since 1950	361	55,285	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	72.2	140.0	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	136.1	122.6	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	13	1,254	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	4	599	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$57M	$3.5B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	0.2	6.2	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$78K	$22K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	35.7	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

Tornado: 1Wind: 2

Tornado: 2Wind: 1

Hail: 1Tornado: 2Wind: 7

Hail: 7Tornado: 1Wind: 16

Hail: 7Flood: 9Wind: 13Winter: 4

Hail: 31Tornado: 1Flood: 12Wind: 50Winter: 6Other: 4

Hail: 23Tornado: 6Flood: 9Wind: 41Winter: 18Cold: 2Lightning: 2Other: 1

Hail: 15Tornado: 7Flood: 19Wind: 31Winter: 9Cold: 1

31950s31960s101970s241980s331990s1042000s1022010s822020s

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

Trend: 220 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 102 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

Wind161

Hail84

Flood49

Winter37

Tornado20

Other5

Cold3

Lightning2

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	161	—	0.7%	detail
■ Hail	84	—	1.3%	detail
■ Flood	49	—	0.6%	detail
■ Winter	37	1	0.5%	detail
■ Tornado	20	3	1.3%	detail
■ Other	5	—	0.5%
■ Cold	3	—	0.1%
■ Lightning	2	—	0.8%

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
21 Jan 1959	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$250K	—	3	—	County
24 Jan 2026	Winter Storm	Winter	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
23 May 2000	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$50M	—	—	16	County
21 Apr 1972	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$250K	—	—	4	County
3 Apr 1974	Tornado	Tornado	F4	$250	—	—	2	County
26 Jun 2016	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	2	County
29 Feb 2012	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$50K	—	—	1	County
2 Mar 2012	Hail	Hail	1.00 in	—	—	—	1	County
7 May 1961	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$2.5M	—	—	—	County
29 Mar 1989	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$2.5M	—	—	—	County
1 Mar 1997	Flood	Flood	—	$500K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
3 Apr 2018	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$300K	—	—	—	County
22 Feb 2018	Flood	Flood	—	$250K	—	—	—	County
30 May 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	92 mph	$100K	—	—	—	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
1 Sep 2026	DR-4937	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
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	Individual assistance, 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
23 Jul 2024	DR-4804	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
10 Apr 2023	DR-4702	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
12 Dec 2021	DR-4630	Major disaster	Tornado	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, And Tornadoes	Public assistance
11 Dec 2021	EM-3575	Emergency	Tornado	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, And Tornadoes	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
6 Mar 2012	DR-4057	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds And Flooding	Individual assistance
4 May 2011	DR-1976	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
11 May 2010	DR-1912	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, And Tornadoes	Public assistance
29 May 2009	DR-1841	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding And Mudslides	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
21 Feb 2008	DR-1746	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And	Public assistance
10 Sep 2005	EM-3231	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina	Public assistance
8 Feb 2005	DR-1578	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm And Record Snow	Public assistance
6 Aug 2004	DR-1537	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
10 Jun 2004	DR-1523	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, And Mudslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
3 Jun 2003	DR-1471	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud And Rock Slides, And Tornadoes	Individual assistance
14 Mar 2003	DR-1454	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Ice And Snow Storms, Heavy Rain, Flooding, Tornadoes, And Mud And	Public assistance
7 May 2002	DR-1414	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding	Individual assistance, 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
16 Mar 1994	DR-1018	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Weather, Freezing Rain, Sleet, Snw	Public assistance
24 Feb 1989	DR-821	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 1974	DR-420	Major disaster	Tornado	Tornadoes	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 Grayson County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 19786

Paid claims2

Total paid$156K

Average paid claim$78K

Repetitive-loss properties0

Residential policies in force140.1% of 12,348 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2025	4	2	$155,835	$77,918
2020	1	0	$0	—
2011	1	0	$0	—

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 45.3 of 100

Expected annual loss$11MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively High

Community resilienceRelatively Moderate

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$5,001,592
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$2,069,206
Hail	Relatively Moderate	$1,044,053
Strong wind	Relatively Moderate	$1,013,925
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$735,849
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$644,316
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$368,080
Ice storm	Relatively Moderate	$322,932
Lightning	Relatively Low	$164,537
Winter weather	Relatively Low	$46,636
Drought	Very Low	$17,333
Hurricane	Very Low	$16,888
Wildfire	Very Low	$3,126
Landslide	Very Low	$954

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 miles4

Tracks within 50 miles1

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Helene	2024	46 mi	46 mph
Audrey	1957	68 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1892	69 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	82 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.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Grayson County, KY?

NCEI records 84 hail events in Grayson County since 1950, in 28 different years; that is about 1.1 recorded events a year. 22 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Grayson County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 20 tornadoes in Grayson County since 1950, 8 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 3.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Grayson County?

1 Sep 2026: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides, a major disaster declaration for severe storm. The county appears in 30 declarations since 1953.

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

6 NFIP claims since 1978, 2 of them paid, for $156K in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Grayson 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 "Relatively Moderate" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Grayson County compare with the rest of Kentucky?

72.2 recorded events per 100 square miles against 140.0 statewide, and 0.2 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.