Henderson County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Henderson 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 (588), NASA (6).

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$200 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Historic and catastrophic flash flooding developed along multiple streams across Henderson County during the overnight and early morning hours as rainfall rates began to intensify again during the evening. Flash flooding first redeveloped along the Rocky Broad River in the Bat Cave community, but spread to encompass most of the other major streams in the county, including Mud Creek and Bat Fork in the Hendersonville area, as well as Mills River and Cane Creek. The most intense rainfall occurred around sunrise, as the tropical rain bands near the center of Helene swept across the area. Catastrophic flash flooding first developed along the Rocky Broad River and its tributary…

2. Sep 27, 2024Tropical Storm, Henderson$20.0 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 80-90 mph on exposed high elevation ridgetops.

3. Sep 17, 2004Flood, Henderson$3.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding began shortly after midnight across portions of the southern mountains and foothills. Henderson County experienced the most severe flooding, as numerous homes were damaged by flood waters, with damaged homes from the combination of the Ivan and Frances floods numbering in the hundreds. Residents described the small stream flooding experienced in Henderson County as the worst seen in many years. Numerous roads were blocked by high water, including highways 64, 280, and 25. The situation was much less serious in Polk County, although flooding did develop along the Pacolet River and several of its tributaries, as well as some creeks in the Columbus area.

4. May 2, 2003Hail$2.0 million
5. Sep 7, 2004Flood, Henderson$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The remnants of Hurricane Frances brought very heavy rainfall to western North Carolina on the 7th and 8th, resulting in widespread severe flooding across the mountains and foothills. Flooding first developed in Transylvania County, as the Little River overflowed its banks during the afternoon. Shortly thereafter, flooding developed along Shaws Creek in Henderson County, and in the Cruso community of Haywood County. As moderate to heavy rainfall continued into the evening hours, flooding gradually worsened and expanded across the area. By the early morning hours of the 8th, flooding was widespread and severe across much of the area, with most creeks and streams in flood. Major…

6. Sep 8, 2004Debris Flow, Henderson$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The remnants of Hurricane Frances brought very heavy rainfall to western North Carolina on the 7th and 8th, resulting in widespread severe flooding across the mountains and foothills. Flooding first developed in Transylvania County, as the Little River overflowed its banks during the afternoon. Shortly thereafter, flooding developed along Shaws Creek in Henderson County, and in the Cruso community of Haywood County. As moderate to heavy rainfall continued into the evening hours, flooding gradually worsened and expanded across the area. By the early morning hours of the 8th, flooding was widespread and severe across much of the area, with most creeks and streams in flood. Major…

7. Sep 11, 1997Hail$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Unusually cold temperatures aloft enabled a couple of thunderstorms that developed across the mountains in the early to middle afternoon to become severe. Large hail fell on Sugar Mountain in Avery county and accumulated to a depth of 2 inches. Large hail also fell in abundance in Henderson county, covering I-26 for some time near Flat Rock and Hendersonville. Extensive damage occurred to the apple crop which was near it peak. Other field crops were severely damaged or destroyed and a couple of car dealerships sustained damage as well.

8. Jan 9, 1997Ice Storm, Henderson$1.0 million
9. Sep 27, 2024Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Although rainfall ended across Henderson County during the morning, catastrophic flooding lingered through the afternoon as runoff from historic rainfall amounts continued to fill waterways. While smaller streams receded by late evening of the 27th, major river flooding continued along the French Broad River until the evening of the 29th. The river remained above flood stage until the evening of the 30th.

10. Apr 16, 2007High Wind, Henderson$1.0 million
    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

101°FJul 28, 1952

All-time low

−16°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

75°FJul 22, 1983

Coldest day

8°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

5.78 inSep 26, 2024

Snowiest day

16.3 inDec 3, 1971

Hottest year

2024mean 59.2°F

Coldest year

1966mean 52.2°F

Wettest year

201879.48 in

Driest year

198826.58 in

Snowiest season

48.2 in1968-69

Station Asheville Airport (USW00003812), 2,118 ft elevation, 7.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1946 to October 26, 2026; 99.9% 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 USW00003812.
• 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.