Shelby

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 Cleveland County, the county that contains Shelby.

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 Cleveland County, the county that contains Shelby.

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 Cleveland County, the county that contains Shelby.

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 Cleveland County.

Mapped by NC GS (307).

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, Cleveland$9.0 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, 2024Tropical Storm, Cleveland$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

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

3. Sep 27, 2024Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A stream gauge on the Broad River near Boiling Springs indicated flash flooding developed after extremely rainfall occurred upstream across the mountains over three days, with 4 to 8 inches fell over Cleveland Country during that time. The main impacts during this time were near Abes Mountain Rd, where numerous homes were inundated and damaged. Otherwise, numerous roads, greenway spaces, and some campgrounds were flooded. Although heavy rainfall and flash flooding ended across the area by early afternoon of the 27th, major river flooding continued along the Broad through the 28th. The river did not return to its banks until the morning of the 29th.

4. Feb 6, 2020Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Although heavy rain tapered off across western North Carolina during the afternoon, moderate flooding persisted along the Broad River near Boiling Springs through the remainder of the 6th into the first half of the 7th. Multiple roads were inundated along the river, as were several homes, particularly in the Abes Mountain Rd area. The stream gauge at Boiling Springs reached its highest level since September of 2004.

5. Feb 6, 2020Tornado$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS storm survey found an EF2 tornado damage path that began near the intersection of Battleground Rd and I-85. Trees were snapped and uprooted along the path as it moved east to near the intersection of Dixon School Rd and Bethlehem Rd. Here a couple of homes were damaged. Just east of there the strongest damage was found as a couple of high tension electrical transmission towers were blown down. The tornado weakened as it moved east snapping and uprooting trees as it crossed York Rd before moving into Gaston County.

6. Feb 6, 2020Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A stream gauge on the Broad River near Boiling Springs indicated flash flooding developed after 4 to 6 inches of rain fell over the basin in around 24 hours, with much of that falling during the morning and into the afternoon of the 6th. The main impacts during this time were near Abes Mountain Rd, where foundations of homes were being inundated with water. The greenway near Highway 150 was also inundated. In addition to the flooding along the South Fork, multiple smaller streams overflowed their banks throughout the county, while flooding also developed due to poor drainage, especially in urban areas around Shelby. These included Little Persimmon Creek, which flooded Brook Rd and…

7. Apr 16, 2007High Wind, Cleveland$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. Dec 10, 2004Heavy Rain$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rainfall during the previous day and again late at night, caused area streams to run high. On one stream, Beaver Dam Creek, a buildup of debris in the fast-moving water may have contributed to the collapse of a bridge. The bridge was inspected in June, prior to the remnants of hurricanes Frances and Ivan affecting the area, and found to be in "fair" condition. Three vehicles were driven into the water before barricades could be placed. There was one fatality (indirect) and two injuries (indirect).

9. Feb 6, 2020Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS storm survey found the path of an EF1 tornado that first developed west of Lawndale in the area around W Stage Coach Trail and Church View Dr. The tornado tracked northeast from there, crossing Hicks Hill Rd, Casar Lawndale Rd, and New Bethel Church Rd. Damage was primarily limited to snapped and uprooted trees in this area, although one mobile home received minor roof damage off New Bethel Church Rd while an outbuilding was destroyed on Hicks Hill Rd. The tornado continued to snap and uproot numerous trees and tree limbs as it tracked northeast, crossing Will Dixon Rd, Warlick Rd, and Highway 18 just north of Fallston. The tornado weakened from that point as it passed into…

10. May 16, 2010Lightning$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Lightning struck a home on Arbor Way Dr, causing significant damage, mainly to the roof of the home.

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

107°FJul 30, 1952

All-time low

−11°FJan 31, 1966

Warmest night

78°F4 times, most recently Jul 12, 1992

Coldest day

16°FJan 8, 1988

Wettest day

5.82 inAug 11, 1928

Snowiest day

15.0 inFeb 17, 1969

Hottest year

1939mean 62.8°F

Coldest year

1963mean 55.7°F

Wettest year

199570.55 in

Driest year

200724.56 in

Snowiest season

27.3 in1959-60

Station Shelby 2 Nw (USC00317845), 820 ft elevation, 2.0 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 28, 2026; 97.4% 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 Cleveland 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 USC00317845.
• 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.