States › Kentucky › Jefferson County

Jefferson 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 21111 · 777,874 residents (2021) · 381 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 208Tornado · 34Flood · 245Wind · 695Winter · 38

Jefferson 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.

Jefferson County, Kentucky, has 1,264 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 331.9 events per 100 square miles, above the Kentucky figure of 140.0, and 16.2 per 10,000 residents against 122.6 statewide.

46 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 27 deaths and 272 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $284M.

FEMA has designated the county in 25 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 5,557 claims since 1978, of which 4,445 were paid, totalling $99M (about $22K per paid claim). FEMA counts 2,982 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively High" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively High" ($342M 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.

46events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

1,264events since 195027 deaths, 272 injuries recorded

25disaster declarationslast 24 Jan 2026

5,557NFIP flood claims$99M paid

Compared with Kentucky and the United States

Measure	Jefferson County	Kentucky	US
Recorded events since 1950	1,264	55,285	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	331.9	140.0	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	16.2	122.6	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	46	1,254	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	27	599	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$284M	$3.5B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	7.1	6.2	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$22K	$22K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	22.1	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: 4

Hail: 7Tornado: 2Wind: 17

Hail: 9Tornado: 4Wind: 29

Hail: 19Wind: 44

Hail: 12Tornado: 2Flood: 19Wind: 61Winter: 5Lightning: 3

Hail: 62Tornado: 6Flood: 42Wind: 132Winter: 7Lightning: 11Other: 2

Hail: 70Tornado: 10Flood: 132Wind: 240Winter: 19Heat: 3Cold: 6Lightning: 7Other: 9

Hail: 29Tornado: 10Flood: 52Wind: 168Winter: 7Lightning: 3

41950s261960s421970s631980s1021990s2622000s4962010s2692020s

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

Trend: 868 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 252 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

Wind695

Flood245

Hail208

Winter38

Tornado34

Lightning24

Other11

Cold6

Heat3

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	695	5	3.1%	detail
■ Flood	245	4	3.0%	detail
■ Hail	208	—	3.1%	detail
■ Winter	38	8	0.5%	detail
■ Tornado	34	3	2.3%	detail
■ Lightning	24	2	10.0%
■ Other	11	1	1.1%
■ Cold	6	2	0.3%
■ Heat	3	2	0.1%

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
3 Apr 1974	Tornado	Tornado	F4	—	—	3	225	County
27 Jan 2009	Winter Storm	Winter	—	—	—	3	—	Forecast zone
3 Feb 1998	Heavy Snow	Winter	—	—	—	2	4	Forecast zone
19 Jul 2012	Lightning	Lightning	—	$90K	—	2	—	County
24 Jan 2026	Winter Storm	Winter	—	—	—	2	—	Forecast zone
1 Mar 1997	Flood	Flood	—	$85M	—	1	—	Forecast zone
23 Dec 2008	Winter Weather	Winter	—	$80K	—	1	4	Forecast zone
10 Nov 1998	High Wind	Wind	49 mph	$15K	—	1	2	Forecast zone
14 Sep 2008	High Wind	Wind	75 mph	—	—	1	2	Forecast zone
21 May 2011	Excessive Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	1	Forecast zone
20 Apr 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	81 mph	$15K	—	1	—	County
8 Sep 2018	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$10K	—	1	—	County
11 Feb 2010	Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
6 Jul 2012	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
10 Jul 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	64 mph	—	—	1	—	County
14 Mar 2015	Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
20 Feb 2015	Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
31 Aug 2018	Heavy Rain	Other	—	—	—	1	—	County
26 May 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	81 mph	—	—	1	—	County
28 Jun 2026	Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	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	Individual assistance, Public assistance
3 Apr 2025	EM-3626	Emergency	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
24 Feb 2025	DR-4860	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
16 Feb 2025	EM-3624	Emergency	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, And Landslides	Public assistance
22 May 2024	DR-4782	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Landslides, And Mudslides	Individual assistance
10 Apr 2023	DR-4702	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, 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
26 Apr 2018	DR-4361	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, 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	Individual assistance
14 Aug 2009	DR-1855	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds And Flooding	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
9 Oct 2008	DR-1802	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Wind Storm Associated With Tropical Depression Ike	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
3 Jun 2003	DR-1471	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud And Rock Slides, And Tornadoes	Individual 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
24 Feb 1989	DR-821	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
17 Mar 1981	DR-636	Major disaster	Toxic Substances	Sewer Explosion, Toxic Waste	Public assistance
12 Dec 1978	DR-568	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 Jefferson County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 19785,557

Paid claims4,445

Total paid$99M

Average paid claim$22K

Repetitive-loss properties37892 severe

Residential policies in force2,9821.2% of 243,583 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	9	5	$68,728	$13,746
2025	251	201	$13,761,749	$68,466
2024	3	2	$4,562	$2,281
2023	12	4	$69,670	$17,417
2022	2	1	$168,090	$168,090
2021	27	19	$571,122	$30,059
2020	14	11	$112,139	$10,194
2019	44	34	$757,544	$22,281
2018	289	243	$13,601,016	$55,971
2017	8	3	$23,614	$7,871
2016	3	0	$0	—
2015	587	485	$12,737,081	$26,262
2014	5	3	$35,028	$11,676
2013	212	176	$4,621,283	$26,257
2012	16	10	$111,847	$11,185
2011	258	201	$5,006,632	$24,909
2010	26	14	$89,092	$6,364
2009	327	278	$3,275,326	$11,782
2008	91	69	$742,789	$10,765
2007	13	3	$7,936	$2,645
2006	287	243	$5,608,737	$23,081
2005	67	62	$964,796	$15,561
2004	72	61	$734,149	$12,035
2003	26	16	$344,816	$21,551
2002	33	22	$164,578	$7,481

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 Highscore 98.3 of 100

Expected annual loss$342MRelatively High

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Moderate

Community resilienceRelatively High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively High	$212,824,711
Tornado	Very High	$80,249,218
Earthquake	Relatively Moderate	$24,776,977
Cold wave	Relatively High	$10,011,144
Heat wave	Relatively High	$8,342,792
Strong wind	Relatively High	$1,929,883
Hail	Relatively Moderate	$1,516,812
Lightning	Relatively High	$1,170,287
Ice storm	Relatively High	$568,584
Winter weather	Relatively High	$438,107
Wildfire	Very Low	$60,881
Hurricane	Very Low	$20,235
Drought	Very Low	$4,961
Landslide	Very Low	$422

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	52 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	89 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1892	97 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	38 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

40207 718
40214 671
40219 508
40218 499
40216 394
40213 348
40222 289
40118 264
40205 212
40220 109
40272 106
40027 101
40206 77
40258 75
40299 57
40291 47
40215 39
40204 35
40202 31
40229 27
40211 23
40223 19
40212 18
40209 17
40228 16
40242 16
40245 14
40241 13
40217 12
40023 11
40208 11
40243 7
40025 6
40203 5
40210 5

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 Jefferson County, KY?

NCEI records 208 hail events in Jefferson County since 1950, in 50 different years; that is about 2.7 recorded events a year. 48 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Jefferson County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 34 tornadoes in Jefferson County since 1950, 7 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 3.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Jefferson County?

24 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 25 declarations since 1953.

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

5,557 NFIP claims since 1978, 4,445 of them paid, for $99M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

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

How does Jefferson County compare with the rest of Kentucky?

331.9 recorded events per 100 square miles against 140.0 statewide, and 7.1 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.