Avery County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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 (64), NASA (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. Feb 2, 1996Ice Storm, Avery$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   By the early morning hours damaging accumulations of ice were becoming widespread. Northern mountain counties reported freezing rain and sleet accrual of 1 to 3 inches on roads with damage becoming common. Significant icing began in foothill counties. The icing situation eased a bit during the day in a few areas before becoming worse toward evening. In many areas the severe icing did not abate until the storm ended during the late night. By 1500 EST, many major population centers such as Hickory and Statesville were reporting 50 percent power outages. The storm became the "worst ice storm ever" in local power company reocrds. By late night most customers had lost power. Many…

2. Sep 26, 2024Flash Flood$40.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A stream gauge on the North Toe River in Newland indicated devastating flash flooding developed along the stream in Newland and vicinity as rainfall rates intensified during the evening of the 26th. The heaviest rainfall and most significant flooding occurred toward sunrise, as tropical rainbands near the center of Helene swept across the area. Numerous homes and businesses in downtown Newland were inundated and damaged, with several structures swept away. Other areas of flash flooding developed along the Linville River and various tributaries throughout the southern and eastern part of the county. Dozens of landslides occurred across the area, mainly in the North Toe basin. Some…

3. Sep 27, 2024Tropical Storm, Avery$9.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tens of thousands of trees were blown down, with hundreds of trees down on homes, vehicles, and power lines. Frequent gusts up to 80 mph occurred, with occasional gusts of 100 mph on exposed high elevation ridgetops.

4. Sep 17, 2004Flood, Avery$7.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding began shortly after midnight across much of the northern mountains and northern foothills. The hardest hit locations were northern McDowell, Mitchell and Avery Counties, where flooding was at least as severe as that which accompanied Frances. Most of the streams in Mitchell County flooded. Property damage due to mudslides and flooding was extensive in Avery County, and there were numerous rescues and evacuations, particularly around Newland. Numerous roads were washed out, covered with water, or covered with debris from landslides. All roads into Banner Elk were impassable by sunrise on the 17th. Other roads affected included portions of highways 226, 221, and 19. A…

5. Sep 7, 2004Flood, Avery$7.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Persistent moderate to heavy rain led to widespread flooding along numerous creeks and streams across the northern foothills and northern mountains during the early evening. By early morning on the 8th, flooding was described as some of the worst in the history of the area. Numerous homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed, particularly in Avery County. One home in Burke County was swept down the Little River. Widespread damage and destruction to roads and bridges also occurred due to flooding or landslides, especially in the southern part of Mitchell County, which experienced severe flooding from Crabtree Creek and the Toe River. Large sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway…

6. Jan 7, 1998Flash Flood$5.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Major flooding, the worst since 1977, destroyed numerous homes and vehicles.

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

   Persistent moderate to heavy rain led to widespread flooding along numerous creeks and streams across the northern foothills and northern mountains during the early evening. By early morning on the 8th, flooding was described as some of the worst in the history of the area. Numerous homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed, particularly in Avery County. One home in Burke County was swept down the Little River. Widespread damage and destruction to roads and bridges also occurred due to flooding or landslides, especially in the southern part of Mitchell County, which experienced severe flooding from Crabtree Creek and the Toe River. Large sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway…

8. Apr 16, 2007High Wind, Avery$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…

9. Sep 17, 2004Debris Flow, Avery$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding began shortly after midnight across much of the northern mountains and northern foothills. The hardest hit locations were northern McDowell, Mitchell and Avery Counties, where flooding was at least as severe as that which accompanied Frances. Most of the streams in Mitchell County flooded. Property damage due to mudslides and flooding was extensive in Avery County, and there were numerous rescues and evacuations, particularly around Newland. Numerous roads were washed out, covered with water, or covered with debris from landslides. All roads into Banner Elk were impassable by sunrise on the 17th. Other roads affected included portions of highways 226, 221, and 19. A…

10. Sep 7, 2004High Wind, Avery$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    High winds associated with the remnants of Hurricane Frances produced fairly widespread damage to trees and power lines across portions of the North Carolina mountains, and the higher elevations of the foothills.

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

98°FJun 26, 1948

All-time low

−31°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

73°FJun 1, 1947

Coldest day

−3°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

8.66 inJul 16, 1916

Snowiest day

18.0 inFeb 7, 1922

Hottest year

1990mean 53.2°F

Coldest year

1917mean 47.6°F

Wettest year

201383.99 in

Driest year

198833.11 in

Snowiest season

100.7 in1959-60

Station Banner Elk (USC00310506), 3,730 ft elevation, 7.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1907 to October 25, 2026; 85.1% 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 USC00310506.
• 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.