Burke County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Burke 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 (32), NASA (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 26, 2024Flash Flood$40.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Stream gauges and emergency management indicated catastrophic flash flooding developed across portions of Burke County, mainly central and northern sections after 7-13 inches of rain fell across much of the county in three days, with some amounts over 20 inches reported in the Jonas Ridge area. Major flooding developed along multiple tributaries of the Catawba River, including Johns River, Linville River, Hunting Creek in Morganton, Lower Creek, and upper reaches of the Catawba River itself. A water level gauge at Bridgewater Dam on Lake James exceeded its record crest by more than four feet. Another gauge on Johns River north of Morganton exceeded 30 feet, which was the highest…

2. Jan 11, 2012Tornado$13.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado touched down near George Hildebrand School Rd, felling trees and causing minor roof damage to several homes. The tornado continued northeast from there, along an intermittent path. The damage path became more concentrated as it moved across Paige St, continuing to down trees as well as causing minor roof damage to homes and outbuildings. The tornado rapidly intensified as it approached the South Fork community, crossing Rock Lane, River Rock Dr, and South Fork Ave. Dozens of homes were damaged in this area, with some mobile homes completely destroyed, and most of the roofing removed from some frame houses. Eight people were injured in this area. The tornado began to…

3. Dec 4, 2002Ice Storm, Burke$9.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Snow began during the early afternoon across the North Carolina foothills and northwest piedmont, and had accumulated to 3 to 5 inches by late evening. A transition to sleet and then freezing rain occurred during the late evening, and ice accumulated to between 1/4 and 1/2 inch. The result was widespread power outages, which lasted for a week or more in some areas.

4. Sep 7, 2004Flood, Burke$9.0 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…

5. Sep 27, 2024Tropical Storm, Greater Burke$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thousands of trees were blown down, with dozens of trees down on homes, vehicles, and power lines. Frequent gusts up to 60 mph occurred, with occasional gusts of 70 mph.

6. Oct 23, 2017Tornado$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS storm survey found the path of a strong tornado that began at the Hickory Regional Airport. A hangar at the airport was destroyed and several aircraft flipped. The tornado moved northeast to Winkler Park, damaging part of L.P. Frans stadium before moving into Catawba County. Numerous trees were also blown down in this area.

7. Sep 27, 2024Tropical Storm, Burke Mountains$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tens of thousands of trees were blown down, with dozens of trees down on homes, vehicles, and power lines. Frequent gusts up to 70 mph occurred, with occasional gusts of 90 mph on exposed high elevation ridgetops.

8. Jul 23, 2012Lightning$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck a small manufacturing building on highway 64, igniting a fire that destroyed the entire structure.

9. Sep 27, 2024Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Stream gauges along the Catawba River indicated flash flooding developed along the portion of the Catawba River in northeast Burke County (Rhodiss Dam and vicinity) after 7 to 13 inches of rain fell across upper much of Burke County over a three-day period. Multiple homes and some structures were inundated due to the river itself, and due to backwater effects into tributaries, including Silver Creek and Lower Creek.

10. Apr 16, 2007High Wind, Greater Burke$500,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    After abating somewhat in the early morning hours, there was a resurgence in damaging winds across the Blue Ridge Mountains and surrounding areas during the daylight hours. Thousands of trees and numerous power lines fell across the area, with many trees falling on roads and damaging homes and vehicles. A 59-year-old man was killed when the vehicle he was driving on Turnpike Rd near Mills River was crushed by a fallen tree. In Saluda, a 75-year-old man was critically injured when a tree fell on his car. He died several days later. A utility worker was also seriously injured in in the Hickory Grove area of Polk County, when a falling tree pinned him to his vehicle. At the height of…

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

106°FJul 29, 1952

All-time low

−10°FDec 30, 1917

Warmest night

84°FJul 22, 1948

Coldest day

18°FDec 25, 1983

Wettest day

7.39 inJun 14, 1947

Snowiest day

17.0 inMar 2, 1942

Hottest year

1953mean 61.1°F

Coldest year

1920mean 55.9°F

Wettest year

202075.39 in

Driest year

192529.76 in

Snowiest season

30.3 in1968-69

Station Morganton (USC00315838), 1,180 ft elevation, 1.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 27, 2026; 94.4% 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 USC00315838.
• 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.