7 flood insurance claims·$17,370 paid·5 federal flood & hurricane disasters
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 Metcalfe 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 resulting from severe weather events dominates the flood history of Metcalfe County, Kentucky. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 17 flash flood events compared to 7 general flood events.
Recent history illustrates this threat. On May 4, 2021, a cold front moving over already saturated ground produced widespread flash flooding alongside severe wind damage. More recently, on April 3, 2025, storms fueled by a stalling cold front tracked across the region, leaving behind damage across central Kentucky.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate historical claims are concentrated in specific areas, with Zone A accounting for 5 claims averaging a payout of $5,790 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. An additional 2 claims were recorded in Zone UNKNOWN with an average payout of $0 and an average water depth of 0 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents with properties located within Zone A should pay the closest attention to flood risk and mitigation.
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 1984, with 2 claims and $0 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 Metcalfe County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
30 federal disaster declarations since 1975, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| 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.
24 since 1996: 17 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 3, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 4, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 23, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Feb 20, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Dec 16, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 26, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Feb 11, 2018 | $200,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 1, 2017 | — |
— = 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 · May 4, 2021. Early on May 3rd, central Kentucky sat in the warm sector ahead of an approaching surface low. Much of the region saw only rain showers, but one isolated cell in southern Kentucky was able to produce a short lived EF-1 tornado in the city of Tompkinsville, KY. ||On May 4th, a cold front, following the first system, produced additional rain showers and thunderstorms on the already saturated ground. The result was w…
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 · Feb 20, 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…
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 Metcalfe 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.