Lincoln County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Lincoln County: 0.
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.

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

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 county boundary (or inside the county).
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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 27, 2024Tropical Storm, Lincoln$7.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread trees and power lines down throughout the county leading to many closed roads. Large sections of the county lost power for extended period of time. Falling trees and wind caused substantial structural damage across the county. At least 207 homes sustained some level of damage including 16 destroyed and 79 with major damage. NWS storm survey estimated that maximum wind gusts around 80-100 mph. A man was killed when a tree fell on his home. Areas of flooding with 2 day rainfall from a COOP observer in Lincolnton of 7.20 inches.

2. May 7, 1998Tornado$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An F2 tornado destroyed 7 homes and did major and minor damage to about a dozen others at Indian Cove.

3. May 7, 1998Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An F2 tornado hit the Pine Woods subdivision destryoing 12 homes and causing major damage to 15 homes and minor damage to 8 homes.

4. Apr 22, 1997Thunderstorm Wind$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   GEMA reports trees and powerlines down in and around Lincolnton. One barn and several storage buildings were destroyed. Several homes had minor damage. County-wide damage estimates were $75K.

5. May 7, 1998Tornado$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An F1 tornado did major damage and minor damage to several homes and mobile homes.

6. May 7, 1998Tornado$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An F1 tornado destroyed two chicken sheds, tore a roof off a home, and turned a home 90 degrees and moved it off its foundation.

7. Jun 3, 2015Flash Flood$35,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Sheriff reported flash flooding along Reed creek with 2-4 feet of water closing roads and washing out a 16 inch culvert.

8. Apr 30, 2014Strong Wind, Lincoln$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   EM reported several trees down across roads in Lincoln County. One tree also fell on a home in Lincolnton.

9. Jun 9, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$28,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lincoln DOT reported several trees down along Thomson Highway. One tree fell on a vehicle injuring the occupant.

10. Jun 18, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$25,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    County paper reported trees down countywide with one falling on a home in Lincolnton.

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 1, 2012

All-time low

−4°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

77°F4 times, most recently Aug 17, 2010

Coldest day

21°FJan 28, 1986

Wettest day

9.50 inOct 12, 1990

Snowiest day

9.0 inFeb 10, 1973

Hottest year

2021mean 64.9°F

Coldest year

1980mean 59.1°F

Wettest year

196475.36 in

Driest year

199932.33 in

Snowiest season

10.0 in1972-73

Station Appling 2 Nw (USC00090311), 396 ft elevation, 16.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1961 to July 31, 2026; 90.4% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USC00090311.
• 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.
• 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.