Bell County, Kentucky
Tornadoes, hail, floods and severe storms recorded here between 1980 and 2026, from NOAA's Storm Events Database. Search an address to see which tornadoes came closest to it.
6
Tornado reports
60
Hail reports
106
Floods since 1996
532
All events
2
Deaths
$59.2M
Property damage
Tornado paths in Bell County
The part of each tornado’s path NOAA recorded in this county, 6 in all. Zoom in and the paths widen to their surveyed width.
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Year by year
All storm eventsTornadoes
NOAA's storm database records tornadoes back to 1950 and hail and thunderstorm wind back to 1955, but floods only from 1996 on. Older floods are missing here. For those, the U.S. Geological Survey's stream gauge records and flood reports are the place to look.
Most significant events
The strongest tornadoes, deadliest events and biggest damage here, up to 50.
A volunteer firefighter was injured battling a brushfire in Bell County near Beverly. He suffered head and arm injuries when a tree limb fell and struck him along with the fire apparatus he was on. He later passed away on November 17, 2016 after being hospitalized at Pikeville Me…
Local media reported devastating flooding throughout Bell County, including damage to approximately 90 homes. This includes Pineville, where the Cumberland River crested to its second highest stage in history, forcing officials to close the city's floodgates. The community of Fou…
At 1730 EST, February 16, the Cumberland River crested at 1013.23 feet above sea level at Pineville. This is 11.23 feet above flood stage.
Flood Flood
KYTC reported at 654 EST that KY-2013 had been closed due to high water.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
County dispatch reported multiple trees blown down around the county including up KY-516 and KY-190.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
The 911 call center reported 6 trees and a power line down along KY-66 in Bell County.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
The public reported via social media a power line down on KY-66 from White Mountain Rd to near Long Branch Rd.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
The public reported a large tree down blocking both lanes of KY-72.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A trained spotter reported one tree was blown down onto KY-2011 between MM 7 and 8, or approximately 0.1 miles south of intersection of KY-2011 with Sturgill Lane.
Hail Hail
A member of the public reported 1.00 inch hail just NW of the Fourmile community.
Hail Hail
A public report on social media of quarter sized hail in Middlesboro.
Hail Hail
A report on social media said that hail at least the size of quarters was breaking windshields on KY-190 along Log Mountain in Bell County, near the Clear Creek Springs community.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Cumberland Gap National Historic Park made a social media post that the Pinnacle Road and Hwy-988 sections in the park were closed until further notice due to clearing of storm debris.
Hail Hail
A trained spotter reported half dollar sized hail at the intersection of East Jellico Road and KY-92 in the Tensley community, just WSW of Fourmile.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A tree was reported down on Old Bell High Road.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A tree was reportedly blown down at Williams Branch.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Multiple trees reported down in the Arjay area including the 6900 block of KY-66 and around the Mose-Godsey curve.
Flood Flood
KY-2013 was closed due to high water. This occurred near the end of the road, mile marker 1.99, near the intersection of Kettle Is Br Road, just east of Jenson.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Heavy snow fell across Bell County on January 10th and 11th. An early report of 1.7 inches was received from near Beverly at 2119EST on the 10th. The following morning, on January 11th at 1040EST, the Department of Highways reported 3.0 inches in Ferndale, while also reporting a …
High Wind High Wind
One observing station at the Middlesboro Airport reported a peak gust of 43 mph at 935 AM EST. Even so, there were, according to Bell County dispatch, many reports of trees blown down in the county, primarily after 200 PM EST in the Pineville, Frakes, Middlesboro and Brownies Cre…
Flash Flood Flash Flood
Flash flooding occurred along Kettle Island Branch Road, and continued to the intersection of Hwy-221 in the community of Kettle Island. The flooding began near the intersection of Kettle Island Branch Road and Old School Lane as well as Blevins Lane. Several homes were surrounde…
Flash Flood Flash Flood
Pictures on social media showed several inches of water flowing over Blanton Branch Road near the communities of Kettle Island and Jenson.
Flash Flood Flash Flood
Pictures on social media showed several inches of water flowing down Kettle Island Branch Road, a few hundred feet downstream from Newton Branch Road, near the community of Kettle Island.
Flash Flood Flash Flood
Pictures on social media showed flooding along KY-987, a half mile from the US-119/KY-987 intersection, just east of the Calvin community.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Reports of trees down in the Polly Hollow area of Middlesboro, including one tree on fire according to social media.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A 2-foot diameter tree was blown onto power lines, and shingles were blown off of a residence in the community of Fonde.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Trees were uprooted and power lines were downed in the Fonde community.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A large tree was snapped on Oak Street in Pineville via a report from social media.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A photo was posted on social media of a tree leaning on a house, near the Noetown community on the west side of Middlesboro.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A tree was down near the Middlesboro Fire Station #2, causing a power pole to lean on the building.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A social media report was made of trees and power lines down on Upper Gibson Lane, on the west side of Middlesboro.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A social media report showed a large tree snapped at base on New Wilson Lane.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A social media report showed a tree snapped and uprooted on Blakely Lane in Middlesboro.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A social media report showed a large tree down at West End Trailer Park in Middlesboro. Original storm report says East End Trailer Park near Gibson Lane, however, there is only a West End Trailer Park.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Two large trees were downed on Stone Creek Drive via a social media report.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Tree was reported down onto power lines on Edgewood Road in Middlesboro via a social media report.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A tree was blown down at the intersection of KY-2011 and Cow Fork in the community of Beverly.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Two trees were blown down onto Mud Lick Road near the community of Beverly.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A social media report with drone photos showed large trees down on the east side of Middlesboro.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A social media report showed a tree down and blocking KY-66 at MM6.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A tree was snapped at it's base at a residence in the Kettle Island community. Power lines also appeared to be down via the photo submitted on social media.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Many trees were blown down around the city of Middlesboro.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A social media report showed trees down on power lines in the Page community of US-119. Power lines were also downed near the train trestle.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A tree was blown down onto KY-1534 about 1/4 mile off US-119 near the community of Calvin.
Hail Hail
A public report of half dollar sized hail was received near the Bell County High School.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Bell County had one storm total snowfall observation during the event - 2 miles SSW of Beverly first reported having met warning criteria with 4.0 inches of snow measured at 7pm on 15th. By the next morning, the storm total snowfall was 4.8 inches at the same location.
Heavy Rain Heavy Rain
The National Park Service YELK2 RAWS site at Cumberland Gap recorded 1.68 inches of rainfall in 1 hour.
Heavy Rain Heavy Rain
The MDLK2 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers observation site recorded a one hour rainfall total of 1.96 inches.
Events by year, as a table
| Year | Events | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 15 | 0 |
| 2024 | 27 | 0 |
| 2023 | 16 | 0 |
| 2022 | 33 | 0 |
| 2021 | 20 | 0 |
| 2020 | 13 | 0 |
| 2019 | 15 | 0 |
| 2018 | 15 | 0 |
| 2017 | 3 | 0 |
| 2016 | 15 | 0 |
| 2015 | 22 | 0 |
| 2014 | 16 | 0 |
| 2013 | 11 | 0 |
| 2012 | 28 | 0 |
| 2011 | 35 | 0 |
| 2010 | 58 | 1 |
| 2009 | 24 | 0 |
| 2008 | 17 | 0 |
| 2007 | 12 | 0 |
| 2006 | 18 | 0 |
| 2005 | 10 | 0 |
| 2004 | 12 | 0 |
| 2003 | 11 | 1 |
| 2002 | 16 | 0 |
| 2001 | 2 | 0 |
| 2000 | 11 | 0 |
| 1999 | 1 | 0 |
| 1998 | 13 | 1 |
| 1997 | 7 | 2 |
| 1996 | 8 | 0 |
| 1995 | 1 | 0 |
| 1993 | 1 | 0 |
| 1992 | 2 | 0 |
| 1991 | 4 | 0 |
| 1990 | 5 | 0 |
| 1989 | 1 | 0 |
| 1988 | 1 | 1 |
| 1987 | 2 | 0 |
| 1986 | 2 | 0 |
| 1985 | 5 | 0 |
| 1984 | 2 | 0 |
| 1980 | 1 | 0 |
Search your address
See every tornado that passed within 25 miles of a place in Bell County, measured to its path.
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