Letcher County, Kentucky
Tornadoes, hail, floods and severe storms recorded here between 1968 and 2026, from NOAA's Storm Events Database. Search an address to see which tornadoes came closest to it.
2
Tornado reports
41
Hail reports
85
Floods since 1996
557
All events
3
Deaths
$5.7M
Property damage
Tornado paths in Letcher County
The part of each tornado’s path NOAA recorded in this county, 2 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.
Multiple reports of flash flooding were received across the eastern half of Letcher County. Some of these reports include: 01:00 AM EST - Pictures show a car forced into a culvert pipe by flash flooding in front of the Colson Volunteer Fire Department. 05:00 AM EST - The Isom IGA…
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
After a period of snow during the afternoon followed by snow showers in the evening, a member of the public in Jenkins reported approximated 4.2 inches of snow at 1843 EST. Elsewhere in the county, the Cocorahs site KY-LT-7 at Mayking 1.4 ENE reported a snowfall total of 2.9 inch…
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Orographic enhancement resulted in significant totals along the high ridges. KYTC estimated 6.0 inches of snow on top of Pine Mountain along both US-119 (Oven Fork) and along US-23 at the Virginia state line (2,360 feet elevation). The Mayking 1.4 ENE Cocorahs station measured 3.…
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Snowfall was widespread across the county. A CO-OP observer at Lilley Cornett Woods (Skyline) measured 4.0 inches of snow at 0803EST on the 31st. Additionally, a CoCoRaHS observer at Mayking 1.4 ENE reported a storm total of 3.7 inches of dry, powdery snow.
Winter Storm Winter Storm
A messy precipitation sandwich fell in Letcher County between the afternoon of the 24th and the early morning hours of the 26th. The Mayking 1.4 ENE CoCoRaHS observer measured 2.0 inches of snow with the front slice of the system an another 2.0 inches on the backside of the syste…
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A report on social media showed a metal building in the 4300 block of KY-7 (between the Jeremiah and Letcher communities) with a peeled back roof. Pieces of sheet metal were blown straight into the yard of the neighboring property, along with lawn ornaments, outdoor furniture, an…
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
The Letcher County EM shared pictures of downed trees and powerlines along KY-7 between Adams Branch Road and CR-1339, just southwest of Isom.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Letcher County dispatch reported trees blown down in many parts of the county, but did not provide specific details. KY-160 and KY-1103 apparently stood out as highways which saw a greater number of trees down.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Kentucky State Police reported a tree blown down near the Millstone community in Letcher County.
Flood Flood
The Letcher County Emergency Manager reported that Camp Branch was out of its banks, causing several inches of water to be flowing over Hwy-931.
Hail Hail
Another social media picture shows hail scattered on the ground in the community of Eolia. Multiple stones of at least quarter-size are visible.
Flood Flood
KY-1862 (Thornton Road) was impassable due to low-lying area flooding near mile marker 5.6, just north of Thornton.
Flood Flood
Picture on social media showed minor flooding at the mouth of Smoot Creek Road behind the Action Auto, just north of Van, due to a plugged culvert.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Variable amounts of snow fell across Letcher County on January 19th and into the morning of the 20th. On the 19th, reports included a measured 2.0 inches from the CO-OP observer at Skyline at 1110EST, and a measured 4.0 inches from the Emergency Manager in Colly by 1607EST. Anoth…
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Snow fell intermittently in Letcher County, beginning around midday on January 10th and continuing through the evening. The following morning, on January 11th, consistent storm total snowfall amounts were reported by CO-OP Observers across the county. Both the observer at Skyline…
Winter Storm Winter Storm
Snow began in Letcher County on the morning of January 5th, before changing over to freezing rain and rain during the afternoon and into the night. Rapid accumulation was reported by the early afternoon. At 1231EST, the public reported 3.5 inches of snow 1 mile south-southwest of…
High Wind High Wind
Two weather observing stations, a personal weather station 1 mile northeast of Payne Gap and a Kentucky Mesonet station 2 miles northwest of Whitesburg, reported wind gusts of 41 mph at 1112 AM EST and 29 mph at 845 AM EST, respectively. Even so, Letcher County dispatch reported …
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Report of multiple trees down on KY-160 near the community of Gordon, not far from Kingdom Come State Park.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Numerous reports of trees and power lines down throughout the county.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
While there were no storm total snowfall reports for Letcher County on January 16th, there was a report that verified the Winter Storm Warning the evening before. An amateur radio operator reported 4.5 inches of snow had fallen so far as of 7:53pm January 15 in the community of B…
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
WXKQ relayed a social media report showing a large tree down on the Camp Branch side of Thorton (Thorton Road) in the vicinity of Tim Hall Timber Trucking.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A tree was blown down along KY-7 near Letcher County Elementary and Middle School.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
County highway department reported a tree down on KY-3403 in the vicinity of Partridge.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
County highway department reported a tree blown down onto KY-1469 near the Pike/Letcher county line.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
County highway department reported a tree blown down in McRoberts.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
County highway department reported that several trees were blown down onto KY-3409 between Jenkins and McRoberts.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A member of the public reported large limbs blown down between Fleming-Neon and Jackhorn.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
County highway department reported a tree blown down onto KY-805 between 1 and 2 miles from the Pike County Line.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
County highway department reported a tree blown down onto Old US-119 at Partridge.
At 2:55 PM EDT, a public weather station in the Jenkins community measured a wind gust of 58 mph. Only a few minutes later, around 3:00 PM, the Colson Volunteer Fire Department reported that a volunteer firefighter operating the CFD Engine #1 was injured when a tree fell off the …
High Wind High Wind
The Letcher County Mesonet, located 2 miles NW of Whitesburg, only reported a peak gust of 39 pmh. However, damage in the community of Hammond would suggest stronger wind gusts. At 9:30 PM the Department of Highways reported that both lanes of KY-805 were blocked between mile mar…
Flash Flood Flash Flood
Pictures show King's Collision (NAPA store) in Neon surrounded by flash flood waters. The waters were up to the floor of a vehicle in the parking lot. The media also reported flash flooding on the streets at the intersection of KY-317 and KY-343 just past King's Collision.
Flood Flood
Flash flooding across portions of Letcher County persisted into areal flooding. In addition the river gauge at Whitesburg went from 2 feet around midnight on the 28th to a minor flood stage of 10 feet by 5:30 AM EST, then to a height of 22.03 feet by 10 AM EST. At this point the …
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Many trees were blown down along KY-160 in the Roxana area, blocking the roadway.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Multiple trees were blown down and blocking KY-805 in the Jenkins area.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Multiple trees down in the Isom area.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A tree was blown down on KY-7 near the community of Deane.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A tree was blown down in the Fleming-Neon community.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Thunderstorm wind gusts partially damaged the roofs of both a barn and a shed off of Ingram Creek Road near Linefork.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A tree was blown down onto a home, briefly trapping the occupants inside. They were freed shortly after by emergency crews. No injuries were reported.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Between 7:00am and 9:00am EST, totals ranging from 6.0 to 10.0 inches were reported across central and southeast Letcher County by the public and COOP observers. The 10-inch report was measured 2 miles SSE of Whitesburg. An additional public report of 7.8 inches of storm total sn…
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
After a period of mixed precipitation during much of the day on the 16th, snow fell heavily at times during the evening into the overnight. The department of highway reported 4.3 inches of snow at Whitesburg and approximately 6 inches atop Pound Gap along US-23 and along US-119 a…
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
A maximum snowfall amount of 6.5 inches was reported 1 mile N of Oven Fork, along the crest of Pine Mountain on US-119 by the Dept. of Highway. Meanwhile, a trained spotter located 1 mile NNW of Farraday received 4.5 inches as of 7:22 PM EST.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Maximum amount of snow is estimated to be 4.0 inches on Pine Mountains from the Highway Department. Total snowfall is averaged 2.0 inches for the remainder of Letcher County.
High Wind High Wind
A tree was blown down along US-119N.
High Wind High Wind
A tree was blown down in along US-119N.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
The public reported several trees down near the community of Polly due to strong thunderstorm wind gusts that moved through.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Multiple trees were reported down on Highway 1862 in the community of Thorton.
Flood Flood
Water was reported surrounding a home on Cobra Lane northwest of Whitesburg.
Events by year, as a table
| Year | Events | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 4 | 0 |
| 2025 | 11 | 0 |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 |
| 2023 | 11 | 0 |
| 2022 | 14 | 0 |
| 2021 | 22 | 0 |
| 2020 | 7 | 0 |
| 2019 | 12 | 0 |
| 2018 | 11 | 0 |
| 2017 | 9 | 0 |
| 2016 | 7 | 0 |
| 2015 | 21 | 0 |
| 2014 | 23 | 0 |
| 2013 | 14 | 0 |
| 2012 | 52 | 0 |
| 2011 | 37 | 0 |
| 2010 | 68 | 0 |
| 2009 | 37 | 0 |
| 2008 | 28 | 0 |
| 2007 | 13 | 0 |
| 2006 | 15 | 0 |
| 2005 | 9 | 0 |
| 2004 | 18 | 0 |
| 2003 | 13 | 0 |
| 2002 | 17 | 0 |
| 2001 | 9 | 0 |
| 2000 | 13 | 0 |
| 1999 | 7 | 0 |
| 1998 | 18 | 0 |
| 1997 | 4 | 0 |
| 1996 | 8 | 0 |
| 1995 | 3 | 0 |
| 1991 | 2 | 0 |
| 1990 | 2 | 0 |
| 1989 | 2 | 0 |
| 1988 | 1 | 0 |
| 1985 | 1 | 0 |
| 1984 | 1 | 0 |
| 1983 | 6 | 1 |
| 1978 | 1 | 1 |
| 1969 | 1 | 0 |
| 1968 | 1 | 0 |
Search your address
See every tornado that passed within 25 miles of a place in Letcher County, measured to its path.
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