1 flood insurance claims·$134,335 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 Clinton 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 heavy rainfall events dominates the flood history of Clinton County, Kentucky, accounting for 13 of the 18 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 5 general flood events.
Local flood events are frequently driven by stalled cold fronts and northward-moving warm fronts that transport abundant moisture into the region, producing heavy rainfall. For example, a stalled front and subsequent cold front passage brought heavy rain and localized flooding to the area in March 2020. Another significant event occurred in February 2019, when an upper trough and cold front combined with Gulf moisture to produce heavy rainfall across the Ohio Valley.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within FEMA-designated Zone A. Historical National Flood Insurance Program records for Zone A indicate 1 recorded claim with an average payout of $134,335 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch.
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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Clinton County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
17 federal disaster declarations since 1974.
| 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, Flooding, And Landslides | 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 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, And Tornadoes | May 1, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
18 since 1996: 13 flash floods and 5 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Mar 16, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 12, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 23, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Jun 7, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Sep 25, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 25, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 27, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Aug 6, 2017 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Mar 16, 2025. On the morning of March 13th, a west to east oriented cold front was pushing south near the Ohio River, but it stalled before pushing back north. This left central Kentucky in the warm sector with warm moist air moving in from the south. As the system's north to south oriented cold front moved east through the Lower Ohio Valley on the 15th, several storms produced widespread hail across north central Kentucky. Som…
Flash Flood · Mar 12, 2020. On March 12th, two warm fronts moved north through the Ohio Valley carrying warm moist air ahead of cold front that moved through later in the day. As the cold front moved through, it produces heavy rainfall and flooding across central Kentucky. Severe hail and severe wind storms were also observed.
Flash Flood · Feb 23, 2019. On February 19, 2019, a broad upper trough dipped south to the Gulf of Mexico and carried abundant amounts of moisture towards the Ohio Valley. Once the moisture was transport was underway, isentropic lift caused 1.5 to 3 of rainfall along the Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys. The higher amounts went as far north as south central Indiana.||On the 20th, an upper trough axis and cold front pushed through southern…
Flood · Jun 7, 2019. A moist and unstable air mass sat over the Ohio River Valley. CAPE values exceeded 3000 J/kg, but shear was weak. This provided an environment for pulse type thunderstorms. As the heat of the day began to build, it became enough to kickoff area thunderstorms. Thunderstorms across Kentucky caused several trees to fall, severe hail, and heavy rainfall which caused several locations to flood.||Over the flowing couple…
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 Clinton 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.