Watauga County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Watauga 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 (4,752), NASA (6), USGS Conterminous (3).

Deadly landslides

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 27, 2024Flash Flood$250 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Runoff from continued heavy rain resulted in numerous roads becoming flooded and impassible across Watauga County per reports from the public and from the Watauga County 911 Dispatch Center. Rainfall totals ranging from seven to locally 11 inches were observed across much of the county on the 26th, resulting in numerous flooded creeks, as well as several roads that were covered by several inches to feet of flowing water. After a brief lull in rainfall as the Predecessor Rainfall Event concluded early on the morning of the 27th, allowing flooding to slow down briefly, heavy rain associated with the arrival of Tropical Storm Helene moved across the county, falling at rates of one to…

2. Sep 27, 2024High Wind, Watauga$28.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees and power lines were downed county wide due to high winds associated with the remnants of Hurricane Helene. Countless roads were blocked by trees and power lines, and over 25,000 customers were reported without power at the peak of the high winds during late Friday morning and early Friday afternoon. Power and water outages continued for several days after the high winds dissipated. A personal weather station one mile south of Rutherwood recorded a peak gust of 91 mph at 10:01 AM. Timber damage alone totaled over $27 million.

3. Sep 25, 2011Flash Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding occurred along parts of Route 321 in and southeast of Boone to the Mall area as Kraut Creek flooded. Flash flooding along Boone Creek within the Appalachian State University resulted in flooding with several buildings on campus including Rankin Science West, Edwin Duncan Hall and Newland Hall. Evacuations were ordered for 12 to 15 people in six apartments when dirt around a culvert washed away prompting concern for structural damage to nearby apartments. Others were ordered to shelter in place along Boone Docks where water surrounded, but did not flood their apartments. Water inundated most of the parking lot of the Boone Mall. Damage values are estimated.

4. Sep 18, 2004Flood, Watauga$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Damaging gradient winds in the early morning hours of 18 Nov 2004 behind the exiting remnants of hurricane Ivan downed numerous trees and power lines. 2000 people were without power in Ashe Co. Locally heavy rain around the Foscoe area of Watauga Co. prompted flooding of small streams and mudslides...which caused damage to several homes.

5. Sep 7, 2004Flood, Watauga$2.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The remnants of Tropical Depression Frances brought flooding rains to portions of Northwest North Carolina from late in the evening on the 7th through the 8th. Rainfall totals averaged 4 to 6 inches...with amounts higher in portions of the mountains.In Watauga County, the Watauga River flooded, leading to evacuations of homes in the Foscoe area. The headwaters of the New River, including the Middle and East Fork also flooded. A mud slide destroyed one home in the Bamboo area.In Ashe County, small streams and creeks flooded during the early morning of the 8th. Subsequently, the rainfall and runoff lead to the South Fork of the New River flooding later that morning. Several roads…

6. Mar 4, 2008Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain from thunderstorms caused one foot of water to flood the Watauga River Bridge between Seven Devils and Grandfather Mountain. Watauga County Sheriff's department reported that a large retaining wall at a motel in Boone, NC had fallen because of heavy rains. Water flowing across Route 105 closed two lanes near Boone, North Carolina. A mudslide was reported along Clarks Creek Road in Foscoe.

7. Nov 19, 2003Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Moderate to heavy rain late on the 18th and on the 19th resulted in flash flooding and small stream flooding. Runoff from heavy rain resulted in the flooding of numerous creeks, some of which flooded roads across Wilkes, Watauga, Alleghany, and Ashe counties.

8. May 18, 2018Flash Flood$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread flooding was reported across southern Watauga County. The Boone Fire Department said a woman driving on a flooded section of Bamboo Road got her SUV swept up by the flood waters. Rescue crews quickly got her to safety with no serious injuries. One foot of water was estimated to be flowing down Seven Devils Road onto Route 105 near Foscoe. Linville Creek was reported to have flooded over the bridge at Linville Creek Road. The Watauga River at Sugar Grove (SGWN7) crested at 16.15 feet, the highest stage since September, 2004. Several debris flows were reported across the area, blocking roads. Overall damage to road infrastructure was around $1 million.

9. Oct 23, 2017Flash Flood$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe flash flooding was reported in various locations in and around Boone. Rainfall of 1 to 2 inches earlier in the day was followed by rainfall rates that increased sharply toward late afternoon reaching 2 to 3 inches per hour for about a one-hour period and this led to flash flooding. Boone Creek, which runs from the Appalachian State University campus southeast through (and under) the town, caused some of the worst damage. At least a dozen water rescues were reported across Boone and numerous cars were flooded and abandoned. A later report said that 13 commercial properties and 53 residential units suffered some flood damage, with 7 commercial and 36 residential sustaining…

10. Sep 6, 2011Flash Flood$750,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Heavy flashes of rain prompted flash flooding along Kraut/Boone Creek in Boone. Water inundated portions of Appalachian State University and also the parking lot of the Boone Mall. Several cars were flooded up to their windows in the deluge. Two water rescues were required when motorists chose to ignore cones and signs that indicated the Boone Mall parking lot was closed, and their vehicles became stalled in the water. Damage values are estimated.

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

93°FJul 27, 2005

All-time low

−24°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

73°FJul 22, 1983

Coldest day

−4°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

7.65 inSep 27, 2024

Snowiest day

19.0 inJan 27, 1998

Hottest year

1990mean 53.6°F

Coldest year

1996mean 48.8°F

Wettest year

201893.42 in

Driest year

198835.78 in

Snowiest season

78.5 in1986-87

Station Boone 1 Se (USC00310982), 3,100 ft elevation, 2.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1980 to October 27, 2026; 97.5% 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 USC00310982.
• 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.