Alleghany County

Every recorded tornado

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

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

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.

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.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by NC GS (38).

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$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Runoff from continued heavy rain resulted in numerous roads becoming flooded and impassible across Alleghany County per reports from the public and from the Alleghany County 911 Dispatch Center. Rainfall totals ranging from seven to locally ten inches were observed across much of the county on the 26th, resulting in numerous flooded creeks and roads that were covered by several inches of flowing water. After a brief lull in rainfall as the Predecessor Rainfall Event concluded, allowing flooding to subside briefly, heavy rain associated with the arrival of Tropical Storm Helene moved across the county, falling at rates of one to two inches per hour. Reports include Saddle Mountain…

2. Sep 27, 2024High Wind, Alleghany$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees and powerlines were downed all across the county by high winds associated with the remnants of Hurricane Helene, some of which landed on cars and on homes. The Upper Mountain Research Station in Laurel Springs reported a gust near 58 mph on Friday. Over 4,200 customers were reported without power by late Friday evening. Forestry damage alone totaled over $350,000. There was also substantial damage to crops and farmland through the county.

3. Jul 16, 2019Lightning$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck a home on Willies Road, igniting a fire. The home was completely destroyed by the fire.

4. Jun 30, 2013Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Runoff from very heavy rain produced two feet of flowing water across Highway 21 just south of Sparta. The road had to be closed. Also, a portion of Halsey Street in Sparta was destroyed by the flood waters. Extensive damage occurred to one business. Damage values are estimated.

5. Feb 11, 2025Winter Storm, Alleghany$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Between 0.25 and 0.50 inches of ice accumulated across Alleghany County February 11 through February 12. The highest amount of 0.50 inches was reported east northeast of Laurel Springs. Almost 3000 customers were reported without power by the morning February 13. There were between 250 to 300 reports of fallen trees in roadways, and the estimated number of trees down was in the thousands. An emergency responder was injured while clearing trees during the storm. Key Impacts: power outages, downed trees, road closures.

6. Aug 17, 2016Lightning$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck a home on Fox Run Lane resulting in a fire which destroyed the house. Damage values are estimated.

7. May 8, 2009Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A low end EF-2 tornado touched down on Osee Road and was intermittently on the ground approximately 5 miles moving east-southeast, finally lifting between Old Barrett Road and Glade Valley Road. ||A single wide mobile home was destroyed on Osee Road, causing four injuries. Along the track, cement silos were collapsed, 5 other homes were damaged, and several other structures were heavily damaged. Two people received minor injuries when struck by debris after winds blew out windows in their home. Monetary damages are estimates.

8. Apr 16, 2007High Wind, Alleghany$125,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Pine and apple trees were blown down by 82 mph winds in Sparta. Also, in Sparta, a pine tree blew over onto a house, damaging primarily the garage section. Elsewhere across the county, trees were blown down by winds in excess of 60 mph.

9. Apr 1, 2023High Wind, Alleghany$60,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wind gusts downed trees and power lines throughout the county. Significant damage occurred to a building in downtown Sparta when a roof was blown off the structure. Damage values are estimated.

10. Apr 6, 2017High Wind, Alleghany$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Winds downed a traffic sign in the Piney Creek area. Damage values are estimated.

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

94°FJul 14, 1954

All-time low

−24°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

74°FJul 24, 1953

Coldest day

1°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

8.34 inSep 27, 2024

Snowiest day

24.0 inJan 7, 1996

Hottest year

1990mean 54.0°F

Coldest year

1983mean 48.7°F

Wettest year

201890.14 in

Driest year

200734.22 in

Snowiest season

52.2 in1982-83

Station Transou (USC00318694), 2,834 ft elevation, 13.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1946 to October 27, 2026; 98.2% 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 USC00318694.
• 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.