Lincoln County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Lincoln County: 4.
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, Lincoln$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.

2. Jul 27, 2013Flash Flood$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several roads were flooded in the northwest part of the county. Several swift water rescues were conducted. Some paved county roads completely washed out.

3. Oct 26, 2010Tornado$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This strong tornado touched down near the intersection of Locust Trail and Tola Houser Lane. Several homes at the beginning of the track received major damage to the roof and exterior wall. One home was shifted off its foundation by nearly 20 feet, with an upstairs room removed. Two vehicles at this location were rolled several yards. The tornado moved northeast across Northbrook III School Rd. Several homes were damaged or destroyed and numerous trees snapped off or uprooted just north of the Reeps Grove Church Rd intersection. The damage path at this point was nearly 200 yards wide. The tornado continued northeast, crossing Macedonia Church Rd, Peeler Rd and Patriot Way, with…

4. Sep 27, 2024Tropical Storm, Lincoln$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

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

5. May 24, 1996Hail$1.0 million
6. Mar 20, 2003Flood, Lincoln$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   After heavy early morning rain caused flash flooding, moderating rainfall contributed to slower rises, but continued and additional flooding along numerous creeks and streams across the county. Numerous low lying roads and bridges were washed out. The South Fork of the Catawba River flooded areas near the Gaston County line.

7. Apr 16, 2007High Wind, Lincoln$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…

8. Jul 13, 2010Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado path began on Wingate Hill Rd just east of the Fay Jones Rd intersection. The tornado traveled east northeast, causing intermittent damage to tree tops before affecting two subdivisions on Forney Hill Rd and Saint James Rd in Denver. Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped off, some of which fell on homes. Some homes received minor roof damage and damage to gutters and flashing as well.

9. May 13, 2006Lightning$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning ignited a fire which caused significant damage to a vacant home.

10. Feb 6, 2020Flash Flood$300,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Newspaper reported flash flooding developed along the South Fork Catawba River and at least one of its tributaries after around 5 inches of rain fell across the area in 24 hours, with much of that falling during the morning and early afternoon of the 6th. The South Fork flooded multiple low lying roads and greenway areas in Lincolnton and vicinity, including Reepsville and Madison St. Muddy Creek overflowed its banks near the intersection of Gates Rd and Highway 321, flooding a vehicle detailing business and damaging or destroying multiple vehicles.

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 Aug 21, 1983

All-time low

−6°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

81°FSep 9, 1990

Coldest day

18°FJan 30, 1966

Wettest day

5.46 inOct 8, 2005

Snowiest day

14.5 inJan 22, 1987

Hottest year

2019mean 61.8°F

Coldest year

1958mean 57.4°F

Wettest year

202077.80 in

Driest year

200728.70 in

Snowiest season

21.5 in1965-66

Station Lincolnton 4 W (USC00314996), 887 ft elevation, 9.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1952 to October 26, 2026; 99.6% 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 USC00314996.
• 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.