Elizabethton

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 Carter County, the county that contains Elizabethton.

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 Carter County, the county that contains Elizabethton.

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 Carter County, the county that contains Elizabethton.

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 Carter County.

Mapped by NASA (3), NC GS (1), USGS Conterminous (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. Sep 27, 2024Flash Flood$62.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain resulted in releases from Watauga Dam that began to flash flood garages and yards of riverside homes along Watauga Drive in Elizabethton around 10:30 am EST. Flash flooding flowing down the Doe River from the Roan Mountain vicinity began to flood homes and roads in the Valley Forge area around 11:25 am EST. Flooding of areas near the Doe River in Elizabethton began around 11:45 am EST when the stage exceeded 9.5 feet. Much of Elizabethton along either side of North Main and South Main Streets flooded as the Doe exceeded 10 feet. Billy Bob Garrison Field had as much as two feet of water. Homes and businesses flooded on North East Street (adjacent to North Main), where…

2. Jan 7, 1998Flash Flood$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain over several hours triggered flash flooding. The heaviest rain fell between 1900 EST, January 7 and 0100 EST, January 8, where two to five inches fell during the period. Nearly 8 inches of rain fell in 24 hours in a rain gage in the headwaters of the Doe River, enabling the Doe River at Elizabethton, TN to reach its record flood stage of 10.92 feet. Approximately one foot of snow in the mountains had melted the previous day, adding to runoff problems. Several tributaries of the Doe River flooded and caused damage. The water system in Roan Mountain was heavily damaged. Twelve bridges along with several sections of roadway were rendered unusable. Over two hundred mobile…

3. Feb 23, 2019Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding in the Poga, Elk Mill, and Little Milligan communities. Mudslide closed Hwy 321 at Watauga Point Road. All told, there was about 1.5 million dollars in flood damage across Carter County for the overall event.

4. Feb 14, 2003Flood, Southeast Carter$577,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Four day rainfall totals of two to eight inches fell across east Tennessee, with the highest amounts occurring across the Cumberland Plateau and adjacent valleys areas. This rainfall combined with a melting snowpack (reports of up to a foot in the higher elevations) to produce widespread flooding of rivers and streams with numerous mudslides also reported (one notable mudslide pushed an apartment complex off its foundation in Knox County). The Powell, Clinch and Holston rivers measured the most significant rises with Claiborne, Rhea and Knox counties reporting the most significant damage.

5. Oct 23, 2017Flash Flood$525,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   About a half dozen homes flooded. One swift water rescue occurred on Hampton Creek and Highway 143. Flooring damaged at a school. Nearly 3 inches of rain fell over the high terrain near Burbank between 1 PM and 4 PM.

6. Feb 14, 2003Flood, Northwest Carter$495,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Four day rainfall totals of two to eight inches fell across east Tennessee, with the highest amounts occurring across the Cumberland Plateau and adjacent valleys areas. This rainfall combined with a melting snowpack (reports of up to a foot in the higher elevations) to produce widespread flooding of rivers and streams with numerous mudslides also reported (one notable mudslide pushed an apartment complex off its foundation in Knox County). The Powell, Clinch and Holston rivers measured the most significant rises with Claiborne, Rhea and Knox counties reporting the most significant damage.

7. May 1, 2002Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado touched down in the Stoney Creek area overturning one trailer house and damaging several others. A number of out buildings were destroyed as well.

8. Jun 3, 1998Tornado$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornadoes short path in the county was intermittent. In the community of Holly Springs, the NWS survey team observed numerous trees uprooted or broken off, all lying in the same direction implying straight-line winds. Power lines were also either blown down or taken down by falling trees. Minor structural damage occurred to Holly Springs Baptist Church, including hail damage. One garage attached to a house was destroyed. A hickory tree, about two feet in diameter, fell on a barn destroying the barn and a tractor. The nearby house was also damaged by the wind. In Stony Creek, dozens of trees were uprooted or broken off, with widespread powerlines also down. Several homes,…

9. Oct 25, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Elizabethton Star newspaper reported numerous trees and powerlines downed by thunderstorm winds across the county. In addition many homes... businesses... schools... and vehicles were also damaged by the wind.

10. May 15, 2004Flash Flood$33,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Heavy rain and water flowing from flooded streams caused mud slides and rock debris to wash across several roads in Valley Forge. County reports that 30 men worked non-stop for six days to clear debris off roadways and make them passable, again.

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

105°FJul 2, 1898

All-time low

−21°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

81°FMay 31, 1895

Coldest day

2°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

4.05 inAug 5, 2012

Snowiest day

20.8 inMar 18, 1936

Hottest year

1909mean 59.2°F

Coldest year

1996mean 53.8°F

Wettest year

200365.52 in

Driest year

194128.72 in

Snowiest season

35.0 in1986-87

Station Elizabethton (USC00402806), 1,487 ft elevation, 1.2 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1895 to October 27, 2026; 94.3% 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 Carter 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 USC00402806.
• 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.