Rutherford County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Rutherford 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 (3,941), NASA (5).

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$35.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Historic, catastrophic flash flooding developed along the Broad River during the overnight and early morning hours as rainfall rates began to intensify again during the evening. The most intense rainfall occurred around sunrise, as the tropical rain bands near the center of Helene swept across the area. Dozens of structures were swept downstream and dozens more damaged during this time. Much of the Chimney Rock community was destroyed, with considerable debris swept downstream and deposited into Lake Lure. Dozens of landslides also occurred across this part of Rutherford County, especially in the upper part of the Hickory Nut Gorge. This contributed further to structural damage.…

2. Dec 4, 2002Ice Storm, Rutherford$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.

3. Sep 27, 2024Tropical Storm, Greater Rutherford$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tens of thousands of trees were blown down, with hundreds of trees down on homes, vehicles, and power lines. Two fatalities occurred due to trees falling on structures. Frequent gusts up to 70 mph occurred, with occasional gusts of 80 mph.

4. Sep 4, 1996Flash Flood$3.0 million
5. Sep 4, 1996Flash Flood$2.0 million
6. Sep 27, 2024Tropical Storm, Rutherford Mountains$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tens of thousands of trees were blown down, with dozens 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.

7. Sep 7, 2004Flood, Rutherford$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding expanded to the southern foothills by late afternoon, as small streams and creeks overflowed their banks in Polk County, and the Rocky Broad River exceeded flood stage in the Lake Lure and Chimney Rock areas. The situation gradually worsened and expanded during the evening and overnight hours, as flooding developed along the Green River and Silver Creek, and evacuations became necessary along the Rocky Broad. Several public buildings and private residences were damaged and at least one home destroyed by flood water. In Rutherford County, the Riverwalk over the Rocky Broad was washed away for the second time in 8 years. In addition, numerous roads and bridges were washed…

8. Oct 7, 2021Flash Flood$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding developed across northwest Rutherford County after 3 to 6 inches of rain fell across the area in just a few hours. Flash flooding first developed along the Broad River near the Henderson County line, where a stream gauge in the Bat Cave community indicated flooding of campgrounds and a few structures between Bat Cave and Chimney Rock. In addition, emergency management reported significant flash flooding along Cedar Creek in the Single Hollow community, particularly along Bills Creek Rd, where a camping trailer and a vehicle were swept down the creek, requiring swift water rescues of the occupants. Around a dozen homes were also damaged in this area. A debris flow…

9. Apr 16, 2007High Wind, Greater Rutherford$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…

10. May 7, 2013Debris Flow$500,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A home along Lake Lure was condemned and a boat house destroyed after a landslide occurred along the immediate lake shore.

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

107°FJul 30, 1952

All-time low

−11°FJan 31, 1966

Warmest night

78°F4 times, most recently Jul 12, 1992

Coldest day

16°FJan 8, 1988

Wettest day

5.82 inAug 11, 1928

Snowiest day

15.0 inFeb 17, 1969

Hottest year

1939mean 62.8°F

Coldest year

1963mean 55.7°F

Wettest year

199570.55 in

Driest year

200724.56 in

Snowiest season

27.3 in1959-60

Station Shelby 2 Nw (USC00317845), 820 ft elevation, 18.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 27, 2026; 97.3% 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 USC00317845.
• 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.