Cabarrus County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. Dec 4, 2002Ice Storm, Cabarrus$12.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Freezing rain began over the extreme southern mountains of North Carolina during the early afternoon on the 4th, and had spread into the southwest piedmont by mid afternoon. Resultant damage due to ice accumulation began during the mid-to-late afternoon. The intensity of the freezing rain increased after midnight, and by sunrise on the 5th, devastating ice accumulations of 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches were observed. The hardest hit area was Charlotte metro. Hundreds of thousands lost power, and the outages lasted for as long as 2 weeks in some areas.

2. Aug 27, 2008Flash Flood$5.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous roads were closed, mainly due to stream flooding from Harrisburg to Concord to Mount Pleasant. Several homes received significant damage due to floodwater, with Harrisburg being the hardest hit. Closed roads included highway 73 near Dutch Rd, Red Bird Cir, Morehead Rd from highway 29 to highway 49, Miami Church Rd, Stough Rd near Marlboro Dr, Bowman Barrier Rd, Zion Church Rd at Flowes Store Rd, Pharr Mill Rd at Sequoia Hills Dr, and a portion of highway 200.

3. Jul 23, 1997Flash Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A cluster of thunderstorms producing very heavy rain sank south in the Charlotte metro area shortly before midnight of the 23rd and continued to redevelop over the area through mid-morning. Severe flash flooding resulted as nearly 10 inches of rain fell in some spots. Mecklenburg county officials requested that people not try to go to work or drive around. Numerous roads and bridges were washed out or damaged. A railroad trestle collapsed, dropping a locomotive 100 feet into a raging creek. Two women died after their vehicles became trapped in flood waters around 2 AM EST. A young girl perished around 9 AM EST when she went to play in the waters and was swept away. In Cabarrus…

4. Mar 3, 2012Tornado$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado moved into Cabarrus County from Mecklenburg County, south of Harrisburg and west of the Robinson Church Rd and Peach Orchard Rd intersection. The tornado affected several residential areas, damaging around 30 homes and destroying two homes which slid off their foundations. The tornado crossed Robinson Church Rd and Peach Orchard Rd, lifting just short of Hickory Ridge Rd.

5. Mar 20, 2003Flood, Cabarrus$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   After morning flash flooding, moderating rainfall contributed to slower rises, but continued and additional flooding along numerous creeks and streams into the evening hours. Flooding was quite severe from Kannapolis to Concord, as well as across southern and eastern sections of the county. A nursing home and a school had to be evacuated due to rising water. At least 10 roads were closed across the county.

6. Aug 27, 2008Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous streets and roads were closed in and around Kannapolis, due to flooding streams and poor drainage. Evacuations were necessary at a rest home on Pine St. Closed roads included Sloop Rd, Trinity Church Rd, Dogwood Bvd, Dakota St, Lane St, Oakwood Ave, South Little Texas Rd, Mallard Point Rd, and East 1st St. At least 14 swift water rescues were necessary. Approximately 70 buildings were damaged by floodwater across Cabarrus County.

7. Sep 28, 2004Flash Flood$700,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding developed across the county shortly after midnight in response to an intense tropical rain band. Roads were damaged and water entered homes and businesses, particularly in the Harrisburg area.

8. Feb 6, 2020Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS storm survey found the damage path of an EF2 tornado that began just west of I-85 near Lane St where trees were snapped and uprooted as the tornado crossed the interstate and moved east along Lane St. The awning of a service station was also damaged. The tornado then moved along Old Salisbury-Concord Rd snapping and uprooting trees until it reached Gold Fish Rd where several homes were damaged. The tornado then moved east along Irish Potato Rd snapping and uprooting trees. Farther along this road another home was damaged. Little damage was noted as the tornado moved east until it crossed Dutch Buffalo Creek where trees were snapped and uprooted. The strongest damage was found…

9. Apr 16, 2007High Wind, Cabarrus$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…

10. Jul 20, 1998Lightning$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    An isolated severe thunderstorm in Waynesville downed numerous limbs and power lines. One thousand people power lost power as well. A cluster of thunderstorms moved from northern Cleveland county, east-southeast and became severe in the eastern portions, downing numerous trees. This cluster of severe thunderstorms moved across Gaston county, continuing to down trees and some power lines and leaving 6500 people without power for a while. The storms then moved into southern Mecklenburg county, blowing down 6 trees on the southwest side of Charlotte. Intense cloud to ground lightning from these storms that became nearly stationary struck 15 dwellings ranging from apartments to…

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°FAug 22, 1983

All-time low

−5°F2 times, most recently Jan 22, 1985

Warmest night

79°F5 times, most recently Aug 11, 2010

Coldest day

16°FJan 11, 1982

Wettest day

8.80 inAug 27, 2008

Snowiest day

11.0 inFeb 27, 2004

Hottest year

1949mean 62.7°F

Coldest year

1976mean 58.1°F

Wettest year

201868.38 in

Driest year

198628.94 in

Snowiest season

23.8 in1935-36

Station Concord (USC00311975), 670 ft elevation, 3.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1891 to October 27, 2026; 99.5% 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 USC00311975.
• 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.