15 flood insurance claims·$168,645 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 Boyle 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood risk profile in Boyle County, Kentucky. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 18 flash flood events compared to 6 general flood events.
Recent events illustrate this localized threat. A moist, unstable air mass and a moving cold front produced heavy rainfall and area flash flooding on July 1, 2021. Earlier, on June 29, 2020, heavy rain and thunderstorms triggered widespread flooding that resulted in a fatality and an injury when a vehicle was driven through flood waters. A multi-day split upper-level flow and a stationary front also caused flooding between June 15 and 17, 2025.
Federal historical records show that property damage is not restricted to high-risk areas. FEMA claims data includes 8 claims in Zone A with an average payout of $17,330 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch, alongside 5 claims in Zone X with an average payout of $7,493 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 1 claim averaging $5,285 with an average water depth of 1 inch, and Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 1 claim averaging $4,582 with an average water depth of 4 inches. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties situated in Zone A as well as those in moderate-to-low risk zones like Zone X where localized heavy rainfall still generates insurance claims and standing water.
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 2 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 2018, with 3 claims and $54,847 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.
13 NOAA storm reports from Boyle County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1974.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 2, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, And Landslides | Feb 14, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Mar 3, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Snowstorms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 15, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, And Tornadoes | May 1, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 27, 2009 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
24 since 1996: 18 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 1, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 29, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Nov 30, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 31, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 12, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 1, 2018 | $20,000 |
| Flood | Dec 25, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 15, 2025. Split upper-level flow set up over the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys for several days between June 15th and 17th, 2025. Upper low pressure became cut off, with a surface stationary front meandering back and forth across the lower Ohio Valley. In the vicinity of the surface front, a moist and unstable environment was present, with precipitable water values near 2 inches. Each afternoon, scattered to numerous showers…
Flash Flood · Jul 1, 2021. Early on July 1st, there was a moist unstable air mass over southern Indiana and central Kentucky. Farther north in Indiana, a west to east oriented cold front was working its way south. This resulted in heavy rainfall and area flash flooding over central Kentucky as the front moved through the region. A Flash Flood Watch was in place before the event.
Flash Flood · Jun 29, 2020. During a time without any major weather systems moving through the region, a moist atmosphere with differential heating and remaining outflows from earlier thunderstorms was enough for thunderstorms and heavy rain to develop across central Kentucky. This resulted in widespread wind damage, flooding, and even fires from lightning. An elderly man drowned and his wife was injured trying to drive through flood waters.
Flash Flood · Nov 30, 2019. A low pressure system approached central Kentucky from the west with a warm front extending to the east and a cold front to the south. Early in the day as the warm front moved north through central Kentucky, the lift provided by the front caused widespread heavy rainfall in areas that were already saturated from previous rains. Flash flooding was the result across several counties in central Kentucky. The rain cam…
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 Boyle 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.