Swain County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Swain 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 (189), NASA (3), USGS Conterminous (2).

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. Jan 16, 2013Debris Flow$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A large landslide destroyed a 200 foot section of highway 441 in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was estimated the road would take months to repair, thus indefinitely shutting down the Park's only paved throroughfare. Seven to 10 inches of rain fell across the North Carolina section of the park from the 14th through the 17th.

2. Jan 15, 2013Flood$3.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooded locations in and near the Cherokee Indian reservation included the Parkwary entrance (US441), the Saunooke Bridge, which connects Big Cove Road to Newfound Gap Road, Meetinghouse Road and Whitewater Drive. Big Cove Road was also flooded in the Piney Grove area along Rabun Fork. Mt. Noble Road was damaged by mudslide. Oconaluftee Island Park was flooded for a while by the Oconaluftee River in Cherokee, though damage to the park was minimal. Several roads were damaged by flash flooding and landslides, resulting in a federal disaster declaration.

3. Mar 11, 2007Wildfire, Swain$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An extended period of dry, gusty weather allowed a forest fire to spread rapidly in the Grassy Ridge community of Swain County during the afternoon and evening. The fire burned 9 homes in the area. More than 200 fire fighters were required to extinguish the blaze.

4. Apr 16, 2007High Wind, Swain$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…

5. Sep 27, 2024Tropical Storm, Swain$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hundreds of trees were blown down, with dozens of trees down on homes, vehicles, and power lines. Frequent gusts up 50 to 60 mph occurred, with occasional gusts of 70-80 mph, especially on higher peaks and ridgetops.

6. Sep 27, 2024Flood$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Although heavy rain ended across Swain County by late morning, flooding continued to steadily worsen along the Tuckasegee River through the morning and early afternoon, as runoff from the very heavy rainfall that fell throughout the basin over about a two-day period continued to work downstream. The stream gauge at Bryson City crested at just under 15 feet, which was the highest crest since August 1940. Water inundated portions of several roads, including Everett St, Carringer St, and especially Island St, where several businesses were inundated and damaged. Other structures were reportedly damaged outside the city as well. While two-day rainfall totals in Swain County were…

7. May 7, 2003Flash Flood$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   For the second day in a row, flash flooding developed across southern portions of the county after a series of thunderstorms produced very heavy rainfall. Some of the same campgrounds that flooded on the 6th flooded again on the morning of the 7th. Mud and rock slides developed, causing some houses and trailers to be swept away. A portion of highway 19 was also washed away.

8. Sep 16, 2004Flood, Swain$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   In response to persistent moderate to heavy rainfall associated with the remnants of Hurricane Ivan, severe flooding developed across the mountains for the second time in 9 days. Flooding first developed across the southwest mountains, when several small streams and creeks overflowed their banks, including Toot Hollow Creek near Bryson City. Several rescues were required during the evening in Macon County, as creeks and streams began to threaten homes. Overnight, flooding became more widespread, with Macon County enduring the worst of it. The Little Tennessee River overflowed its banks during the early morning of the 17th, and continued to flood through much of the day. The river…

9. Feb 6, 2020Flash Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Automated stream gauges indicated flash flooding developed along the Tuckasegee River in the Bryson City area after more than 4 inches of rain fell over the region in about 24 hours, with much of that falling during the morning of the 6th. Multiple roads and businesses flooded around the downtown area, including along Gibson Ave, Island St, Everett St, Carringer St, and Collins St. Although the rate of rise slowed during the afternoon as rain began to taper off, minor flooding persisted along the Tuckasegee through the evening hours of the 6th.

10. Jan 14, 2013Heavy Rain$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A culvert backed up, causing a sink hole to develop under 6 mobile homes along Water Street in Bryson City. The mobile homes were subsequently condemned.

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

102°FMay 22, 1996

All-time low

−23°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

70°F4 times, most recently Jul 24, 2026

Coldest day

9°FJan 28, 1986

Wettest day

5.02 inMar 17, 1990

Snowiest day

12.0 inJan 10, 2011

Hottest year

2016mean 57.3°F

Coldest year

1969mean 50.1°F

Wettest year

201373.03 in

Driest year

200827.19 in

Snowiest season

41.9 in1959-60

Station Oconaluftee (USC00316341), 2,040 ft elevation, 8.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1958 to October 26, 2026; 94.2% 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 USC00316341.
• 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.