Iredell County

Every recorded tornado

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

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Dec 4, 2002Ice Storm, Iredell$10.0 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.

2. Mar 20, 2003Flood, Iredell$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   After morning flash flooding, moderating rainfall led to slower rises, but continued and additional flooding along creeks and streams into the evening hours. The flooding became quite severe, and was described as the worst observed in the county in over 60 years. Fourth Creek flooded portions of I-40 west of Statesville, closing the interstate for 5 hours. Flooding was also observed along Gregory Creek and Third Creek, as well as numerous smaller streams. Some homes, businesses, and assisted living facilties required evacuation. Some schools flooded and were forced to close for several days. Several bridges were destroyed.

3. Jul 7, 2005Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado touched down in the Houstonville Rd area and tracked almost due north. Extensive damage was done to a dairy farm in the Houstonville community, with damage to several other agricultural buildings in the area. In the Misty Rd, Anthony Rd area, the roof was torn off a mobile home as well as another home. The tornado continued to track north, crossing into Yadkin County around Tobacco Rd. At least 13 structures were damaged or destroyed in the county. In addition to the structural damage, damage to tobacco and corn crops was extensive. In addition, numerous trees were blown down along highway 21 and Hunting Creek Rd west of the tornado track. It is unclear whether this…

4. May 7, 1998Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An F1 tornado cut a path from just north of Harmony to near the Davie county line, but caused substantial damage. Forty-six houses and 6 poultry houses were damaged with one poultry house destroyed. Several barns were damaged as well and numerous trees were downed.

5. Apr 16, 2007High Wind, Iredell$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…

6. Aug 3, 2016Flash Flood$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Multiple sources reported severe urban and small stream flooding developed in the city of Statesville when training showers produced as much as 7 inches of rainfall across the city in just a few hours. Several swift water rescues became necessary as vehicles became submerged and water entered structures. Multiple roads were flooded and closed, including Shelton Ave at Allison St, Springdale Dr at Georgia Ave, and Sullivan Rd. The flooding on Sullivan Rd was due to Free Nancy Branch overflowing its banks. This creek also caused damaging flooding at the football field and facilities at Statesville High School on N Center St. Multiple parking lots were reported to have deep standing…

7. May 20, 2006Lightning$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning ignited a fire which destroyed a newly constructed home.

8. May 29, 1996Tornado$250,000
9. May 24, 2017Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS storm survey found the path of a second, more significant tornado in Iredell County. This one touched near the intersection of New Salem Rd and Highway 64. The tornado moved northeast, crossing Highway 64 between Crooked Ln and Hunters Ridge Ln. The most significant damage occurred in this location, as a brick home had its roof completely removed and interior walls collapsed. Material from this home along with tree debris acted as projectiles, causing damage to the exterior of adjacent homes. About a dozen homes were damaged in this fashion. The tornado apparently weakened as it continued northeast, but uprooted or snapped dozens of trees before lifting in the vicinity of 5th…

10. Jul 26, 2010Lightning$220,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Lightning ignited a fire that destroyed a home on Sunny Brae Dr.

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°FAug 18, 1988

All-time low

−8°FJan 31, 1966

Warmest night

80°FSep 7, 1929

Coldest day

18°F2 times, most recently Dec 25, 1983

Wettest day

8.34 inAug 4, 2016

Snowiest day

18.5 inMar 2, 1927

Hottest year

1939mean 62.9°F

Coldest year

2014mean 55.5°F

Wettest year

201875.12 in

Driest year

198627.31 in

Snowiest season

29.4 in1930-31

Station Statesville 2 Nne (USC00318292), 803 ft elevation, 8.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1901 to October 25, 2026; 98.9% 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 USC00318292.
• 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.