Surry County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Surry 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 (8).

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 5, 2011Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Around 35 to 40 homes were damaged along with numerous large trees down by a tornado with winds estimated up to 100 MPH. The damage included: huge trees down on homes and barns, roofs lifted off and shingles blown off of houses and barns, carports collapsed on vehicles, and the windows blown out at Longhill Community Building.

2. Jan 14, 2005Flash Flood$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A persistent southeast fetch of moisture laden air encountered the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge. This scenario allowed for numerous showers and thunderstorms to produce copious rainfall in a very localized region of North Carolina -- all areas of steep terrain. The resultant run-off produced areas of flash flooding and subsequent flooding during the evening of the 13th and the early morning hours of the 14th. Specific flash flooding in Watuaga Co. included flooding near the Boone Mall when Kraut Creek left its banks. This flash flooding resulted in the need for one swift water rescue. In Boone, flash flooding along the Kraut Creek and South Fork of the New River prompted flash…

3. May 7, 1998Tornado$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours on the 7th produced two tornadoes, hail up to golf ball size, and damaging winds.A tornado formed seven and a half miles southwest of Leasburg at 1535 EST and traveled about one half mile northeast before dissipating at 1537 EST seven miles southwest of Leasburg. This tornado damaged several homes, two chicken houses, a mobile home, a carport, a business, and a rest home, knocked down trees, and injured two people.A tornado formed one mile east southeast of Level Cross at 1719 EST and traveled east northeastward about two and a half miles before dissipating three and a half miles east of Level Cross at 1725 EST. The tornado…

4. Oct 11, 2018Flash Flood$659,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Dispatch reports of roads closed by high water started as early as noon with 13 roads reported closed at one time. The CREST hydrologic model indicated the highest runoff across western sections of Surry County. Two water rescues were rerported, one of those on Rockford Road just before reaching the Yadkin River bridge, and the other was on Longhill Road in the Pilot Mountain area. Flooding along Big Elkin creek flooded portions of the the Elkin High School athletic fields, the Elkin Park and closed Memorial Park Drive. There was damage in to walking trails in the park. In addition, flooding along the Mitchell River destroyed the historic Kapp's Mill dam in the Mountain Park area.…

5. Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds blew at least 200 trees down across the county. Fallen trees damaged the roofs of five homes and damage eight vehicles. Damage values are estimated.

6. Mar 2, 2018High Wind, Surry$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Damaging winds downed at least 200 trees and nearly 100 power lines across the county. Much of the county was left without power. Two homes and one outbuilding sustained damage from downed trees. Multiple grass fires erupted due to the downed power lines. Damage values are estimated.

7. May 16, 1998Hail$450,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorms during the evening hours on the 16th produced hail up to golf ball size and damaging winds.Thunderstorm winds knocked down trees and broke off tree limbs in Mount Airy.Hail up to the size of golf balls broke out windows and damaged hundreds of vehicles in Mount Airy.

8. Jul 28, 1997Lightning$425,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms during the evening hours on the 28th produced damaging winds and damaging lightning.Thunderstorms winds knocked down trees in Lone Hickory and 2 miles north of Reidsville and knocked down trees and power lines 4 miles north-northwest of Yadkinville and in Wilkesboro. In Eden, a large tree crushed a minivan. Thunderstorm winds damaged tobacco crops from 6 miles northwest of Yadkinville to Yadkinville.Lightning started a fire to a trucking company 3 miles northwest of Mount Airy. The building was nearly destroyed with damaged estimated at $425,000.

9. Feb 1, 1996Ice Storm, Surry$300,000
10. May 11, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$300,000

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°FJul 14, 1954

All-time low

−10°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

79°F2 times, most recently Aug 16, 1939

Coldest day

13°FDec 25, 1983

Wettest day

9.45 inJun 13, 1947

Snowiest day

12.0 in3 times, most recently Feb 19, 1979

Hottest year

1990mean 59.6°F

Coldest year

2008mean 53.7°F

Wettest year

200369.96 in

Driest year

193019.76 in

Snowiest season

30.0 in1894-95

Station Mount Airy 2 W (USC00315890), 1,080 ft elevation, 4.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 27, 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 USC00315890.
• 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.