Charlotte

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Mecklenburg County, the county that contains Charlotte.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Mecklenburg County, the county that contains Charlotte.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Mecklenburg County, the county that contains Charlotte.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Landslides mapped in Mecklenburg County.

Mapped by NASA (1).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Dec 4, 2002Ice Storm, Mecklenburg$40.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Freezing rain began over the extreme southern mountains of North Carolina during the early afternoon on the 4th, and had spread into the southwest piedmont by mid afternoon. Resultant damage due to ice accumulation began during the mid-to-late afternoon. The intensity of the freezing rain increased after midnight, and by sunrise on the 5th, devastating ice accumulations of 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches were observed. The hardest hit area was Charlotte metro. Hundreds of thousands lost power, and the outages lasted for as long as 2 weeks in some areas.

2. Sep 27, 2024Flash Flood$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Emergency management and a stream gauge and reported flash flooding developed in the Mountain Island Lake area ater extremely heavy rainfall occurred across the headwaters of the Catawba River in the mountains and foothills over a three day period. More than a hundred homes and numerous roads downstream of the dam were inundated and damaged, especially on Lake Dr, Riverside Dr, and Riverhaven Dr. The stream level gauge at the dam crested more than a foot above the record (August 1940).

3. Jul 23, 1997Flash Flood$8.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A cluster of thunderstorms producing very heavy rain sank south in the Charlotte metro area shortly before midnight of the 23rd and continued to redevelop over the area through mid-morning. Severe flash flooding resulted as nearly 10 inches of rain fell in some spots. Mecklenburg county officials requested that people not try to go to work or drive around. Numerous roads and bridges were washed out or damaged. A railroad trestle collapsed, dropping a locomotive 100 feet into a raging creek. Two women died after their vehicles became trapped in flood waters around 2 AM EST. A young girl perished around 9 AM EST when she went to play in the waters and was swept away. In Cabarrus…

4. Aug 27, 2008Flash Flood$8.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe flash flooding developed along Briar Creek in east Charlotte. Numerous cars were submerged on Independence Bvd, with some rescues required. Numerous evacuations were required of homes and apartments along the creek, as water entered dozens of structures. Uninsured losses included major damage to 147 homes and 1 business. Affected roads included Dunlavin Way, Harbinger Ct, Chantilly Lane, Cavalier Ct, and Dolphin Lane. Several houses and one apartment complex on these streets were condemned by the city.

5. Sep 27, 2024Tropical Storm, Mecklenburg$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hundreds of trees were blown down, with dozens of trees down on homes, vehicles, and power lines. Two fatalities were attributed to falling trees. Frequent gusts up to 50 to 60 mph occurred, with occasional gusts of 70 mph.

6. Feb 26, 2004Heavy Snow, Mecklenburg$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy snow began to fall across the foothills, piedmont, and northern mountains of North Carolina during the late morning. Although snowfall intensity decreased dramatically during the early-to-middle portion of the afternoon, heavy snow redeveloped during the late afternoon, and continued into the evening and overnight hours. Scattered thunderstorms contributed to intense snowfall rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour from time to time, especially in the piedmont, where total snowfall of 12-22 inches occurred. The heaviest amounts occurred in the southwest piedmont, particularly in southern portions of Charlotte metro. Thousands of people were stranded on I-77 during the early…

7. Mar 20, 2003Flood, Mecklenburg$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   After morning flash flooding, moderating rainfall resulted in slower rises, but continued and additional flooding along creeks and streams into the evening hours. Some of the flooding was described as the worst in the area in over 5 years. Flooding was especially severe along the Union County line, where some people required rescue from vehicles and homes.

8. Aug 5, 2011Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A major flash flood event developed in the Charlotte metro area after 4-7 inches of rain fell in about a three hour period. Most of the streams in the city overflowed their banks at some point, including Sugar Creek, Little Sugar Creek, McMullen Creek, Stewart Creek, Irwin Creek, and Mallard Creek. Locations from near downtown to the north side of the city were particularly hard hit. Automated gauges on some of these streams exceeded established flood stages by five feet or more, including some record crests observed on portions of Irwin, Sugar, and Stewart Creeks. Numerous roads were flooded and closed due to flooding streams or poor drainage, with water accumulating to depth of…

9. Mar 3, 2012Tornado$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An NWS Storm Survey found the path of a strong tornado that developed rapidly over eastern portions of the Charlotte metro area during the early morning hours of March 3rd. The tornado touched down near the intersection of Dulin Creek Rd and Little Whiteoak Rd, moving just south of Plaza Rd extension. The tornado affected two subdivisions in Mecklenburg County. Four homes slid off their foundations and were completely destroyed. Twenty-nine homes were rendered uninhabitable from collapsed exterior walls. A total of 162 homes were damaged in the county. Four people were injured in this area. The tornado crossed I-485, just south of Plaza Rd Extension before moving into Cabarrus…

10. Jul 20, 2012Heavy Rain$1.1 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Around 3 inches of rain fell at the South Park Mall in a short period of time. The weight of the water caused the roof to collapse in two locations, damaging a Banana Republic and Gap Kids store. Pipes and sprinkler systems were damaged by the collapsed roof resulting in further water damage to several additional stores.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

104°F6 times, most recently Jul 1, 2012

All-time low

−5°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

79°F3 times, most recently Jul 25, 2010

Coldest day

19°FJan 30, 1966

Wettest day

6.88 inJul 23, 1997

Snowiest day

12.1 inJan 7, 1988

Hottest year

1990mean 64.0°F

Coldest year

1968mean 58.5°F

Wettest year

200362.63 in

Driest year

200126.23 in

Snowiest season

22.6 in1959-60

Station Charlotte Douglas Airport (USW00013881), 730 ft elevation, 7.0 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1939 to October 27, 2026; 100.0% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Mecklenburg County.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00013881.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.