Waynesville

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 Haywood County, the county that contains Waynesville.

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 Haywood County, the county that contains Waynesville.

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 Haywood County, the county that contains Waynesville.

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 Haywood County.

Mapped by NC GS (351), NASA (10), USGS Conterminous (4).

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. Aug 17, 2021Flash Flood$200 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Emergency management and stream gauges reported catastrophic flash flooding developed within the Pigeon River watershed after 6 to 8 inches of rain fell in just a few hours across the northern slopes of the Balsams. This was on top of 5 to 10 inches that fell over the Shining Rock Wilderness during the morning of the 16th, resulting in 36-hour totals of more than a foot. Flash flooding initially developed along the West Fork and especially the East Fork of the Pigeon River. Water from the latter stream, swept downstream through the Cruso community causing widespread damage. Six people were killed in Cruso, four of them in a campground along the East Fork, where numerous…

2. Sep 27, 2024Flash Flood$200 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Emergency management and stream gauges reported catastrophic flash flooding developed within the Pigeon River watershed for the second time in just over three years after 9 to 15 inches fell across the upper part of the basin in about 48 hours. Three to four inches of that fell in less than 6 hours across the headwaters in the Shining Rock Wilderness during the late evening of the 26th and early morning of the 27th. Flash flooding initially developed along the West Fork and the East Fork of the Pigeon River. Water from the latter stream swept downstream through the Cruso community causing significant damage to structures, vehicles, and road infrastructure. Water from the two forks…

3. Sep 16, 2004Flood, Haywood$15.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   After an extended period of moderate to heavy rainfall, flooding developed first across the western part of the county, when several secondary roads became covered with water. During the overnight hours, flooding overspread the county, affecting most valley communities, which endured the second devastating flood event in just 9 days. Severe flooding developed first along Allens and Hyatt Creeks, followed by another round of severe flooding along the Pigeon River, which reached a record of 23 feet in Canton. A 69-year-old woman died when she attempted to drive her vehicle through the flooded river in Canton. A 27-year-old woman and her 4-year-old son were also killed during the…

4. Sep 7, 2004Flood, Haywood$8.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The remnants of Hurricane Frances brought very heavy rainfall to western North Carolina on the 7th and 8th, resulting in widespread severe flooding across the mountains and foothills. Flooding first developed in Transylvania County, as the Little River overflowed its banks during the afternoon. Shortly thereafter, flooding developed along Shaws Creek in Henderson County, and in the Cruso community of Haywood County. As moderate to heavy rainfall continued into the evening hours, flooding gradually worsened and expanded across the area. By the early morning hours of the 8th, flooding was widespread and severe across much of the area, with most creeks and streams in flood. Major…

5. Jul 1, 1997Heavy Rain$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Repeated heavy rain over the past couple of days caused a major rock slide that blocked and subsequently closed Interstate 40 at the North Carolina/Tennessee border. Three people were injured when their cars were hit by the tumbling rocks. The highway remains closed at the time of this writing while construction crews repair the damage.

6. Sep 27, 2024Tropical Storm, Haywood$2.0 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 70-80 mph on exposed high elevation ridgetops.

7. Sep 8, 2004Debris Flow, Haywood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The remnants of Hurricane Frances brought very heavy rainfall to western North Carolina on the 7th and 8th, resulting in widespread severe flooding across the mountains and foothills. Flooding first developed in Transylvania County, as the Little River overflowed its banks during the afternoon. Shortly thereafter, flooding developed along Shaws Creek in Henderson County, and in the Cruso community of Haywood County. As moderate to heavy rainfall continued into the evening hours, flooding gradually worsened and expanded across the area. By the early morning hours of the 8th, flooding was widespread and severe across much of the area, with most creeks and streams in flood. Major…

8. Apr 13, 2020Flash Flood$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Stream gauge and emergency manager reported flash flooding developed along the East Fork of the Pigeon River in the Cruso area after 4 to 6 inches of rain fell in just a few hours in the headwaters along the northern slopes of the Balsams. More than a dozen homes received some degree of flood damage especially on Hidden Valley Cir and between the river and Max Thompson Rd. Several vehicles were also swept away by flood water. Flash flooding also developed downstream along the Pigeon in the city of Canton with multiple low lying roads along the river inundated.

9. Apr 16, 2007High Wind, Haywood$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…

10. Jan 7, 1998Flash Flood$500,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A powerful winter storm pumped abundant moisture on very strong southerly winds into western North Carolina. The result was nearly 15 million dollars in damage across the mountains and foothills as up to 15 inches of rain fell on the higher terrain, causing significant to major flooding and flash flooding. The Asheville Airport set a new record for 24 hour rainfall in the month of January with 4.42 inches. Where not specified above, the excessive rain caused creeks and streams to rise well out of their banks. This combined with the enormous amounts of run-off to cause numerous roads and bridges to be covered in water or washed out. The Blue Ridge Parkway in Haywood county…

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

97°F2 times, most recently Jul 18, 1942

All-time low

−22°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

78°FJul 10, 1946

Coldest day

7°FFeb 13, 1899

Wettest day

6.25 inSep 27, 2024

Snowiest day

16.5 inMar 13, 1993

Hottest year

1949mean 57.1°F

Coldest year

1901mean 51.2°F

Wettest year

201369.37 in

Driest year

190425.36 in

Snowiest season

47.5 in1935-36

Station Waynesville 1 E (USC00319147), 2,658 ft elevation, 1.7 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1894 to October 28, 2026; 99.0% 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 Haywood 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 USC00319147.
• 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.