Buncombe County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Buncombe 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 (1,526), NASA (20).

Deadly landslides

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$300 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rainfall rates began to intensify as tropical rainbands near the center of Helene swept across the area during the morning hours after 10-17 inches of rain fell across much of the county, with amounts over 20 inches reported in the eastern part of the county. Devastating flash flooding developed along numerous streams, especially across the eastern half of the county. This included the French Broad River, which was already in moderate flood stage at Asheville, but began to rise rapidly during this time, culminating in historic and devastating flooding in the River Arts District, where numerous structures were inundated and damaged, and multiple structures were swept away. The…

2. Sep 27, 2024Flash Flood$300 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Historic and catastrophic flash flooding developed along the Swannanoa River basin during the early morning hours as rainfall rates began to intensify as tropical rainbands near the center of Helene swept across the area. Numerous structures and roads were inundated in the city of Black Mountain, the Swannanoa community and surrounding areas, with multiple homes and businesses and numerous roads destroyed. The most devastating flooding occurred in the Asheville area, as numerous businesses were damaged and some completely destroyed or swept away in Biltmore Village. The stream gauge on the Swannanoa River at Biltmore Village crested at just over 26 feet, which was more than 5 feet…

3. Sep 7, 2004Flood, Buncombe$40.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding began during the late afternoon across the county and gradually worsened during the evening and overnight hours, with near-record flooding observed along the Swannaoa and French Broad Rivers. Most valley communities across the county were affected by severe flooding along the rivers, or along smaller streams. Flooding along the Swannanoa devastated Asheville's Biltmore area, as well as the Black Mountain and Swannanoa communities. Numerous businesses and residences were damaged or destroyed by flood waters. Widespread damage to roads and bridges also occurred, either due to flooding or landslides.

4. Sep 16, 2004Flood, Buncombe$40.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   After many hours of moderate to heavy rainfall, gradual rises on creeks and streams resulted in the second devastating flood across the county in just 9 days. Flooding first began around Candler, but eventually affected every valley community in the county. Flooding was actually more widespread than during the Frances flood, but was not quite as severe. Virtually every stream in the county flooded, including the French Broad River. Two males, ages 32 and 28, died in Leicester when they attempted to cross a flooded area in a pickup truck. Hundreds of roads were flooded and the bridge over highway 197 in Barnardsville was washed out. The French Broad flooded the studios and other…

5. Sep 27, 2024Tropical Storm, Buncombe$35.0 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 70 mph occurred, with occasional gusts of 100 mph on exposed high elevation ridgetops.

6. Sep 17, 2004Debris Flow, Buncombe$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   After many hours of moderate to heavy rainfall, gradual rises on creeks and streams resulted in the second devastating flood across the county in just 9 days. Flooding first began around Candler, but eventually affected every valley community in the county. Flooding was actually more widespread than during the Frances flood, but was not quite as severe. Virtually every stream in the county flooded, including the French Broad River. Two males, ages 32 and 28, died in Leicester when they attempted to cross a flooded area in a pickup truck. Hundreds of roads were flooded and the bridge over highway 197 in Barnardsville was washed out. The French Broad flooded the studios and other…

7. Sep 8, 2004Debris Flow, Buncombe$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding began during the late afternoon across the county and gradually worsened during the evening and overnight hours, with near-record flooding observed along the Swannaoa and French Broad Rivers. Most valley communities across the county were affected by severe flooding along the rivers, or along smaller streams. Flooding along the Swannanoa devastated Asheville's Biltmore area, as well as the Black Mountain and Swannanoa communities. Numerous businesses and residences were damaged or destroyed by flood waters. Widespread damage to roads and bridges also occurred, either due to flooding or landslides.

8. Jul 4, 2013Flash Flood$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several streets were flooded from the Biltmore Forest area northward to Asheville. Numerous roads were closed by flooding, landslides and fallen trees. Around 9 pm EDT a large debris flow took out part of Vance Gap Road, isolating several homes. Around a dozen residences had to be evacuated as a result of the slide.

9. Jun 22, 2001Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A significant, classic flash flood developed when nearly-stationary thunderstorms dumped as much as 4 inches of rain on southern Buncombe County in a short period of time. Several creeks flooded, including Hominy and Avery creeks. The worst of the flooding occurred between 1245 pm and 145 pm EST. A mobile home park was flooded, businesses flooded and cars were caught in rapidly developing flood water. A number of rescues were required.

10. Sep 27, 2024Debris Flow$1.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    A large debris flow developed along Old Fort Rd in the Fairview area, destroying multiple homes and killing 11 members of the same family. A second large debris flow later developed and killed two emergency workers responding to the first event.

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

100°FJun 30, 2012

All-time low

−17°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

77°FJul 17, 1887

Coldest day

4°FFeb 8, 1895

Wettest day

6.40 inOct 18, 1879

Snowiest day

16.0 inMar 13, 1993

Hottest year

2016mean 59.6°F

Coldest year

1917mean 53.2°F

Wettest year

201361.10 in

Driest year

192522.79 in

Snowiest season

40.6 in1959-60

Station Asheville (USW00013872), 2,238 ft elevation, 0.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1876 to October 15, 2026; 99.3% 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.

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 USW00013872.
• 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.