Transylvania County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Transylvania 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 (4,833), NASA (3), USGS Conterminous (1).

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$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Stream gauges and county comms reported major flash flooding developed along the headwaters of the French Broad basin after 15-22 inches of rain fell across much of the county over three days. Flash flooding first developed along the French Broad River near Rosman, where Depot St, a portion of Highway 178 near Chestnut St, and Hannah Ford Rd between Rosman and Brevard were inundated. Dozens of homes were damaged in Rosman alone, with some structures destroyed after bring inundated with several feet of water. The stream gauge on the French Broad at Rosman crested at 15.5 feet, which exceeded the record by more than a half foot (October 1964). Flooding later developed along the…

2. Aug 16, 2021Flash Flood$6.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Stream gauges indicated and an NWS flood survey confirmed significant flash flooding developed near the upper reaches of the French Broad River after as much as a foot of rain fell in the headwaters in less than six hours. Multiple structures along the river were inundated in the town of Rosman, including on Depot St, Highway 178, Main St, and Chestnut St. This was the worst flooding along this portion of the French Broad in almost 30 years, while the stream gauge at Rosman registered its 4th-highest level on record. (Continuous observations at that site date back to 1935). Newspaper reported significant flash flooding also occurred upstream of Rosman along the North Fork of the…

3. Dec 4, 2002Ice Storm, Transylvania$6.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Freezing rain began over the extreme southern mountains of North Carolina during the early afternoon on the 4th, and had spread into the southwest piedmont by mid afternoon. Resultant damage due to ice accumulation began during the mid-to-late afternoon. The intensity of the freezing rain increased after midnight, and by sunrise on the 5th, devastating ice accumulations of 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches were observed. The hardest hit area was Charlotte metro. Hundreds of thousands lost power, and the outages lasted for as long as 2 weeks in some areas.

4. Sep 27, 2024Tropical Storm, Transylvania$5.0 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 70-80 mph on exposed high elevation ridgetops.

5. Aug 17, 2021Flash Flood$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Stream gauges indicated significant flash flooding developed for the second day in a row near the upper reaches of the French Broad River after 3 to 6 inches of rain fell in the headwaters in just a few hours. This was on top of the 6-12 inches that fell durimg the morning of the 16th. Flooding was slightly worse in the Rosman and Balsam Grove area than what was observed on the 16th, with the stream gauge at Rosman reaching its second highest level on record (4 October 1964). Multiple structures along the river were once again inundated, including on Depot St, Highway 178, Main St, and Chestnut St in Rosman. Flash flooding again developed along the Davidson River in the Pisgah…

6. Sep 16, 2004Flood, Transylvania$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding began across the county around midnight, as Rosman was evacuated when the French Broad River began to flood. Overnight, flooding spread across much of the remainder of the county, with evacuations required in the Duckworth and Pisgah Forest areas. Numerous roads were closed due to flood damage, including portions of highway 276, which were closed for several days.

7. Jan 7, 1998Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Excessive rain in conjunction with significant flooding of the French Broad and North Transylvania Rivers resulted in 40 to 50 mobile homes and 2 bridges destroyed. In addition, 34 roads were under water through noon on the 8th.

8. Aug 17, 2021Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Although heavy rain ended across the upper French Broad basin during the late afternoon and early evening, runoff from the storm total 8 to 20 inch rainfall resulted in persistent and expanding flooding throughout Transylvania County. In addition to the continued problems at Rosman and along the Davidson River in Pisgah Forest and vicinity, moderate main stem river flooding developed downstream to Blantyre and vicinity during the early morning hours of the 18th, with backwater effects also resulting in minor flooding along the Little River. While most of the water receded by sunrise on the 18th, moderate main stem river flooding persisted at Blantyre and vicinity until the early…

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

   The remnants of Hurricane Frances brought very heavy rainfall to western North Carolina on the 7th and 8th, resulting in widespread severe flooding across the mountains and foothills. Flooding first developed in Transylvania County, as the Little River overflowed its banks during the afternoon. Shortly thereafter, flooding developed along Shaws Creek in Henderson County, and in the Cruso community of Haywood County. As moderate to heavy rainfall continued into the evening hours, flooding gradually worsened and expanded across the area. By the early morning hours of the 8th, flooding was widespread and severe across much of the area, with most creeks and streams in flood. Major…

10. Jan 9, 1997Ice Storm, Transylvania$1.0 million

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

99°F2 times, most recently Jul 21, 1926

All-time low

−20°FFeb 17, 1958

Warmest night

78°F2 times, most recently Aug 11, 1930

Coldest day

14°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

9.93 inSep 7, 2004

Snowiest day

17.0 inDec 3, 1971

Hottest year

1946mean 57.5°F

Coldest year

1963mean 52.9°F

Wettest year

2013112.14 in

Driest year

198838.80 in

Snowiest season

33.0 in2009-10

Station Brevard (USC00311055), 2,175 ft elevation, 1.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1902 to October 24, 2026; 95.6% 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 USC00311055.
• 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.