Catawba County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Catawba County: 1.
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 NASA (2).

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$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A stream gauge on Lyle Creek in the Conover area indicated flash flooding developed along the stream after 6 to 10 inches of rain fell across the area in around three days, with 1 to 2 inches of that falling in less than six hours during the morning of the 27th. Water entered around a half dozen homes while inundating several streets between Section House Rd and County Home Rd.

2. Sep 27, 2024Flash Flood$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A stream gauge on the Catawba River at Lookout Shoals Dam indicated flash flooding developed in the vicinity of the damn after widespread extremely heavy rainfall occurred in the upper part of the basin across the mountains and foothills over three days, with 6-9 inches falling across Catawba County. More than 100 structures were damaged on the Catawba County side of the river, especially in the Carpenters Cover community. Numerous roads were inundated and damaged as well. The gauge at Lookout Shoals reached its highest level since August 1940.

3. May 24, 1996Hail$10.0 million
4. Dec 4, 2002Ice Storm, Catawba$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.

5. Oct 26, 2010Tornado$6.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down initially in an industrial park near Penny Rd, where two large buildings sustained significant roof damage. Part of the exterior wall of one of the buildings collapsed. The tornado moved northeast, causing damage to shingles and siding at several homes on St Vincent Dr. Two outbuildings were thrown 30 to 40 feet and numerous trees were snapped off or uprooted in this area as well. The tornado continued to cause severe damage to trees and generally minor structural damage to homes and a church as it moved northeast toward Catawba St. The damage path continued in a east northeast direction from there, roughly paralleling highway 70. Major roof damage…

6. Aug 17, 2002Flash Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A serious urban flash flood developed when 5 to 6 inches of rain fell in about 2 hours. Sink holes developed, which continued to grow for weeks after the flood. Some flat-roofed businesses collapsed. Water was reported to have accumulated to depths of 17 feet in portions of the downtown area. Rapidly flooding streets caused numerous people to become trapped in vehicles, requiring rescue. Water entered numerous homes and businesses. Numerous large trees were downed from a combination of the excessive rain and wind gusts up to 50 mph.

7. Sep 27, 2024Tropical Storm, Catawba$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

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

8. May 6, 2013Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The gauge on Lookout Shoals Lake crested at a stage of 106.98 feet during the mid afternoon hours of the 6th. The lake only slowly receded over the next few days. Several residences were flooded along the lake. Some of the worst flooding was along Ridge Street in the Carpenter's Cove area as well as Longfield Street and Overlook Drive. In total, 21 homes suffered significant flood damage along the lake, while an additional 32 received minor damage.

9. Jul 27, 2013Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The event started with several streets flooded in Hickory. Over the next couple hours numerous roads and even several homes were flooded in western Catawba County as extremely heavy rain continued to fall. In excess of 10 inches of rain was measured in this area.

10. Jul 27, 2013Flash Flood$1.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Several streams were out of their banks and roads flooded in and around Conover. Flooding then became widespread across the central and northern part of the county. Several structures were damaged by the flood waters. A few roads were washed out|as well. til 10 am EDT.

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

105°F2 times, most recently Jul 29, 1952

All-time low

−8°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

79°FJul 22, 1983

Coldest day

16°F2 times, most recently Jan 8, 1970

Wettest day

6.31 inOct 7, 2005

Snowiest day

16.0 inJan 22, 1987

Hottest year

2024mean 61.4°F

Coldest year

1976mean 56.5°F

Wettest year

202080.64 in

Driest year

200724.76 in

Station Hickory FAA Airport (USW00003810), 1,170 ft elevation, 8.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1949 to October 26, 2026; 98.8% 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 USW00003810.
• 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.