Graham County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Graham County: 2.
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 (5), NASA (3).

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. Apr 16, 2007High Wind, Graham$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…

2. May 7, 2003Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Another round of heavy rain-producing thunderstorms caused a second consecutive day of flash flooding across the county. Several roads were closed due to flooded creeks and streams, as well as due to rock and mud slides. Portions of highways 28 and 129 were closed. Rock and mudslides caused some homes and trailers to be swept away. Yellow Creek flooded several homes. Numerous bridges were washed out.

3. May 6, 2003Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding resulting from persistent overnight rainfall worsened during the morning hours, as numerous thunderstorms produced intense rainfall rates. By late afternoon, 24-hour rainfall totals averaged around 6 inches across the county. The result was numerous washed out or submerged bridges, as well as widespread rock and mud slides.

4. May 2, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and powerlines were blown down, resulting in widespread power outages. A tree was blown onto a house, resulting in damage.

5. Sep 16, 2004High Wind, Graham$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   High winds developed across the mountains, as the remants of Hurricane Ivan moved just west of the area. Locations near the southern exposure of the Blue Ridge were the hardest hit, with major damage occurring in and around Highlands, Cashiers, Brevard, and southern Henderson County. Thousands of trees were blown down, including 90,000 apple trees in Henderson County. Numerous trees fell on structures and vehicles. A 55-year-old man was killed shortly after midnight near Hendersonville, when a tree fell through his house. Hundreds of structures in Henderson County were damaged by fallen trees and debris. A woman in Highlands was injured when a tree limb hit her in the head.

6. Sep 16, 2004Flood, Graham$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   In response to persistent moderate to heavy rainfall associated with the remnants of Hurricane Ivan, severe flooding developed across the mountains for the second time in 9 days. Flooding first developed across the southwest mountains, when several small streams and creeks overflowed their banks, including Toot Hollow Creek near Bryson City. Several rescues were required during the evening in Macon County, as creeks and streams began to threaten homes. Overnight, flooding became more widespread, with Macon County enduring the worst of it. The Little Tennessee River overflowed its banks during the early morning of the 17th, and continued to flood through much of the day. The river…

7. Oct 24, 2001Thunderstorm Wind$10,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and power lines down across the county. The squall line reached the center of the county, Robbinsville, shortly before 1 am. At least two of the trees fell onto automobiles.

8. Mar 7, 2004High Wind, Graham$5,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong winds developed across the mountains just ahead of and along a strong cold front. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down. Weak thunderstorms may have contributed to the high winds across the northern mountains, but damage extended to areas far away from those affected by the storms.

9. Dec 23, 2004High Wind, Graham$5,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   In Graham County, a garage was blown down in the Sweetwater district. In Madison County, a large sign was blown onto a pickup truck along I-26. Trees were also downed. The strongest winds occurred just before daybreak.

10. Aug 30, 2005High Wind, Graham$5,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    As the remnants of hurricane Katrina moved across middle and west Tennessee, high winds developed over the mountains of North Carolina. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down, with damage being most concentrated in the southwest mountains, and in Avery County of the northern mountains. At least 2 trees fell on and damaged structures.

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°F2 times, most recently Jul 2, 2012

All-time low

−16°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

89°FMay 28, 1879

Coldest day

3°FFeb 20, 1879

Wettest day

10.50 inMar 16, 1880

Snowiest day

15.0 inJan 1, 1877

Hottest year

2012mean 59.7°F

Coldest year

1981mean 53.7°F

Wettest year

198981.94 in

Driest year

201633.34 in

Snowiest season

22.9 in2010-11

Station Murphy 4ESE (USC00316001), 1,600 ft elevation, 20.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1873 to October 26, 2026; 96.4% 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 USC00316001.
• 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.