Lenoir

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.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

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 Caldwell County, the county that contains Lenoir.

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 Caldwell County, the county that contains Lenoir.

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 Caldwell County, the county that contains Lenoir.

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.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

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 Caldwell County.

Mapped by NC GS (31), NASA (10).

Deadly landslides

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. Sep 26, 2024Flash Flood$40.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Stream gauges indicated flash flooding developed across western Caldwell County, particularly Johns River, Yadkin River and their tributaries after 7-12 inches fell across the western half of the county over three days. Flash flooding first developed along Wilson Creek, followed by flooding developing downstream along Johns River. After briefly subsiding during the evening, flash flooding rapidly redeveloped and became catastrophic as tropical rainbands around the remnant center of Helene swept across the area around sunrise. In addition to Wilson Creek and Johns River, major flash flooding also developed along the Yadkin River during this time. Hundreds of structures and roads…

2. Dec 4, 2002Ice Storm, Caldwell$9.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Snow began during the early afternoon across the North Carolina foothills and northwest piedmont, and had accumulated to 3 to 5 inches by late evening. A transition to sleet and then freezing rain occurred during the late evening, and ice accumulated to between 1/4 and 1/2 inch. The result was widespread power outages, which lasted for a week or more in some areas.

3. Sep 27, 2024Tropical Storm, Greater Caldwell$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thousands of trees were blown down, with dozens of trees down on homes, vehicles, and power lines. Frequent gusts up to 60 mph occurred, with occasional gusts of 70 mph.

4. May 7, 1998Tornado$1.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A violent, F4 tornado touched down near Dudley Shoals then moved east-southeast cutting a winding path through valleys, to the Alexander county border. The damage path was 100 yards wide on average, but reached a width of 3/4 of a mile at times. One well-constructed home was totally destroyed, other homes were damaged, and many mobile homes sustained damage or were destroyed.

5. Sep 7, 2004Flood, Caldwell$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Persistent moderate to heavy rain led to widespread flooding along numerous creeks and streams across the northern foothills and northern mountains during the early evening. By early morning on the 8th, flooding was described as some of the worst in the history of the area. Numerous homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed, particularly in Avery County. One home in Burke County was swept down the Little River. Widespread damage and destruction to roads and bridges also occurred due to flooding or landslides, especially in the southern part of Mitchell County, which experienced severe flooding from Crabtree Creek and the Toe River. Large sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway…

6. Apr 16, 2007High Wind, Caldwell Mountains$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   After an intense, but relatively brief high wind event affected the mountains and foothills on the evening of the 15th, another widespread damaging high wind event developed during the day of the 16th. However, this particular event included much of the piedmont. Thousands of trees fell across the area, resulting in widespread power outages. Numerous trees fell on roads, homes, and vehicles. The Blue Ridge mountains and the foothills received the brunt of the strongest winds. In Highlands, NC, two homes were heavily damaged by fallen trees, while approximately 100 homes received minor to moderate damage. A tree fell on and severely damaged a home in Otto, NC. Two businesses…

7. Apr 16, 2007High Wind, Greater Caldwell$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   After an intense, but relatively brief high wind event affected the mountains and foothills on the evening of the 15th, another widespread damaging high wind event developed during the day of the 16th. However, this particular event included much of the piedmont. Thousands of trees fell across the area, resulting in widespread power outages. Numerous trees fell on roads, homes, and vehicles. The Blue Ridge mountains and the foothills received the brunt of the strongest winds. In Highlands, NC, two homes were heavily damaged by fallen trees, while approximately 100 homes received minor to moderate damage. A tree fell on and severely damaged a home in Otto, NC. Two businesses…

8. Sep 27, 2024Tropical Storm, Caldwell Mountains$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tens of thousands of trees were blown down, with dozens of trees down on homes, vehicles, and power lines. Frequent gusts up to 60 mph occurred, with occasional gusts of 80 mph on exposed high elevation ridgetops.

9. Oct 8, 2017Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS storm survey found the path of a sixth tornado that affected the North Carolina foothills and far western Piedmont on 8 October 2017 in the Hudson area of Caldwell County. The tornado touched down near the intersection of Highway 321 and Mt Herman Rd, where a large truck was overturned. The tornado moved north/northeast, initially paralleling Mt Vernon Rd. Numerous trees were uprooted and snapped, with one large tree falling on and causing significant damage to a home. The tornado peaked in intensity near Fairwood Dr, where two small houses had much of their roofing material removed and a concrete block building had its roof blown off. Two churches also had their steeples…

10. May 14, 2012Flash Flood$300,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Several buildings were submerged in water on John Kirby Place, off of Indian Grave Road. Several buildings were also flooded along Echo Drive on the north side of Lenoir. The road itself was covered by deep water. Water from Long Branch Creek flooded the yard up to the porch of a house on Hazel Lee Street.

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

106°FJul 21, 1926

All-time low

−18°FDec 30, 1917

Warmest night

80°FJun 24, 1944

Coldest day

16°FJan 26, 1905

Wettest day

7.20 inSep 11, 1882

Snowiest day

16.0 inDec 17, 1930

Hottest year

1990mean 61.6°F

Coldest year

1901mean 54.0°F

Wettest year

190171.19 in

Driest year

198829.23 in

Snowiest season

29.3 in1986-87

Station Lenoir (USC00314938), 1,155 ft elevation, 0.9 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 28, 2026; 95.8% 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 Caldwell 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 USC00314938.
• 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.