Carroll County

Every recorded tornado

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

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 NASA (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. Jan 30, 2013Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several, if not all, of the wooden flash boards at the Byllesby/Buck Dams were damaged or washed away due to flooding on the New River. In addition, turbines were damaged.

2. Sep 27, 2024High Wind, Carroll$1.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees were downed countywide by high winds associated with the remnants of Hurricane Helene, resulting in numerous power outages. A 64 MPH wind gust was measured near Woodlawn at 10:40 AM EDT and the high winds damaged at least 20 structures across the county. The high winds also destroyed 25 to 50 percent of the apple crops resulting in $617,000 worth of damage. At the peak of the high winds, nearly 17,000 customers were reported without power.

3. Mar 27, 2021Hail$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hail larger than the size of golf balls, caused widespread damage around Hillsville, including numerous cars. Several roofs in the area had to be repaired due to the damage.

4. Jan 8, 1998Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain and isolated thunderstorms during the early morning hours on the 8th produced damaging winds and flash flooding.Thunderstorm winds knocked down power lines in Galax. Flash flooding in Pulaski County resulted in the closing of route 693 near Allisonia and the flooding of Big Reed Island Creek and Little Reed Island Creek. Little Stoney and Big Stoney Creeks in Giles County, Little Reed Island Creek in Wythe County, Masons Creek 3 miles south of Bennett Springs in Roanoke County, Craig Creek in the southeastern portion of Craig County, and Crab Creek and the North Fork of the Roanoke River in Montgomery County were flooded. Two houses near Pearisburg in Giles County were…

5. Sep 27, 2010Dense Fog, Carroll$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Dense fog developed along the Fancy Gap corridor of Interstate 77. Between mile markers six and seven, a vehicle accident occurred between a car and a tractor trailer at 14:00 EST. After this first collision, additional collisions followed by vehicles that came upon the first accident too quickly for conditions to stop. In total, there were seven accident that involved a total of 18 vehicles including cars, pickup trucks, and tractor trailers. There were four indirect injuries.

6. Mar 31, 2013Dense Fog, Carroll$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The dense fog, with visibility reported to be near zero, led to a horrific series of accidents around 1:15 PM EDT near mile marker 6 in the southbound (downhill) lanes of I-77. According to newspaper accounts there were 17 separate crashes along a 1-mile stretch involving 95 cars. Three people were killed and 25 taken to area hospitals. State Police cited the fog and excessive speed as factors causing the event.

7. Mar 23, 2022Tornado$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down along Kinzer Road four miles east-southeast of Gladesboro, VA. The tornado traveled northeast along Gladesboro Road toward Football Lane before lifting south of U.S. Highway 58. Numerous trees were snapped and two structures were damaged along the tornado path. The one structure was a two story family home that was shifted off its foundation and had its roof torn off along Gladesboro Road. Additionally, a modular home along Football Lane had its roof partially blown off. Damage values are estimated. There was $255,000 in damage to the two damage structures, $45,000 in roof damages and approximately $100,000 in replacement costs for outbuilding structures.

8. Nov 12, 2006High Wind, Carroll$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   High winds channeling through Fancy Gap Mountain, along Interstate 77, caused a few vehicles to overturn. Three tractor-trailers and two pickup trucks were blown over. One tractor-trailer driver was seriously injured.

9. Sep 5, 2011Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph touched down very briefly at a gas station on U.S. 52, Fancy Gap Highway. The tornadic winds blew the roof off the station and into the awning covering the gas pumps. Some of the debris fell on a vehicle parked in the parking lot of the station. No other damage was noted. A piece of wood from the roof was carried 100 yards northwest along the highway. Two people were injured inside the gas station. Minor straight line wind damage occurred to nearby large limbs and small trees. Damage values are estimated.

10. May 21, 2001Dense Fog, Carroll / Galax$300,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Forty to fifty vehicles were involved in a chain reaction accident in dense fog on Interstate Route 77 at Fancy Gap during the early afternoon of the 21st.

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

98°F4 times, most recently Jun 30, 2012

All-time low

−20°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

77°F2 times, most recently Aug 18, 2010

Coldest day

−3°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

4.85 inJul 18, 1964

Snowiest day

16.0 inJan 7, 1996

Hottest year

1949mean 56.4°F

Coldest year

1997mean 50.2°F

Wettest year

202065.31 in

Driest year

193021.36 in

Snowiest season

59.3 in1986-87

Station Wytheville (USC00449301), 2,095 ft elevation, 22.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 23, 2026; 96.9% 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 USC00449301.
• 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.