21 flood insurance claims·$192,568 paid
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Barren County, Kentucky. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from severe weather systems and slow-moving storms dominates the flood risk profile in Barren County, Kentucky. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 35 flash flood events resulting in 1 death, alongside 8 general flood events.
Recent history illustrates these patterns. On July 22, 2024, a stationary front dropped heavy rainfall from slow-moving storms during the early morning hours, causing flash flooding across parts of the county. Earlier, active weather from New Year's Eve into New Year's Day on January 1, 2022, brought multiple rounds of widespread precipitation and rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches with locally higher amounts. Another significant event occurred on April 3, 2025, when a stalling cold front produced overnight supercells and a squall line that left a wake of damage across central Kentucky.
Federal Emergency Management Agency flood insurance claims reflect varied impacts across different zones. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 15 claims with an average payout of $1,918 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone A recorded 4 claims with an average payout of $6,754 and an average water depth of 1 inch. Zone X recorded 2 claims with an average payout of $74,145 and an average water depth of 2 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in unmapped areas or zones with historical flash flood activity should pay the closest attention to these risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 1 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 1981, with 8 claims and $12,569 paid.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
15 NOAA storm reports from Barren County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1993.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | May 16, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 2, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Apr 2, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, And Landslides | Feb 14, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 14, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Landslides, And Mudslides | May 21, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Mar 3, 2023 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
43 since 1996: 35 flash floods and 8 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 3, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 22, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 21, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 21, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 6, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 1, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 4, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 12, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 3, 2025. On the night of April 2nd, 2025, a cold front approached the lower Ohio Valley. Along and ahead of the cold front, numerous supercells developed over southern Illinois and western Kentucky. These storms tracked eastward and occasionally grew upscale into a QLCS with bowing segments. Storms lasted all night and into the morning hours, as the cold front began to stall over the lower Ohio Valley. These storms left be…
Flash Flood · Jul 22, 2024. A stationary front was draped across central Kentucky, with waves of showers and thunderstorms moving along and north of this front on July 22nd. During the early morning hours, a cluster of slow-moving storms produced heavy rainfall which resulted in flash flooding across parts of Barren County. Another wave of showers and storms later in the afternoon produced scattered wind damage across Warren County, with mor…
Flash Flood · Jul 21, 2024. A stationary front was draped across central Kentucky, with waves of showers and thunderstorms moving along and north of this front on July 22nd. During the early morning hours, a cluster of slow-moving storms produced heavy rainfall which resulted in flash flooding across parts of Barren County. Another wave of showers and storms later in the afternoon produced scattered wind damage across Warren County, with mor…
Flash Flood · Jul 21, 2022. During the evening and overnight hours of July 20th into July 21st, strong to severe thunderstorms developed out ahead of an approaching cold front. On the afternoon of July 20th, temperatures surged into the mid-90s across central Kentucky, with dewpoint temperatures reaching the mid-70s. The warm and unstable low levels, combined with mid-level height falls from an approaching trough, allowed for greater than 40…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Barren County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.