Buncombe County, North Carolina severe weather history spans 486 recorded events between 1959 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 42.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #924 nationally and #33 in North Carolina.
486
Recorded events
40
Direct deaths
16
Direct injuries
$609.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Buncombe County, North Carolina severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Buncombe County, North Carolina severe weather history averages 7.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 175 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 31 events fall before 1990 and 455 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Buncombe County, North Carolina record is flash flood, responsible for 24 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $605.0M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Buncombe County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 207 | 0 | $5K | 2.5 | 1962–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 201 | 2 | $523K | 75 | 1959–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 37 | 24 | $605.0M | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Lightning | 14 | 1 | $255K | 0 | 1996–2011 |
| Heavy Rain | 9 | 0 | $455K | 0 | 1998–2014 |
| Flood | 8 | 0 | $1.2M | 0 | 2002–2024 |
| Tornado | 7 | 0 | $1.1M | F1 | 1976–2024 |
| Debris Flow | 2 | 13 | $1.0M | 0 | 2013–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–1997 |
Decade by decade
Buncombe County, North Carolina severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
8 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 6 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-05-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-06-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-06-06 | EF1 | 0 | 3 | 28.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1977-06-06 | EF1 | 0 | 2 | 18.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1976-02-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-02-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-05-08 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-05-19 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Buncombe County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 27, 2024 | Flash Flood | RIDGECREST | 15 | 0 | $300.0M |
| Sep 27, 2024 | Debris Flow | BLUE RIDGE | 13 | 0 | $1.0M |
| Sep 27, 2024 | Flash Flood | SHUMON | 9 | 0 | $300.0M |
| Mar 8, 1984 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 1 | $0 | |
| Jun 17, 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | BILTMORE | 1 | 0 | $5K |
| Jun 8, 2009 | Lightning | FAIRVIEW | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 14, 2006 | Lightning | ASHEVILLE | 0 | 4 | $0 |
| Jul 4, 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | WOODFIN | 0 | 3 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A large debris flow developed along Old Fort Rd in the Fairview area, destroying multiple homes and killing 11 members of the same family. A second large debris flow later developed and killed two emergency workers responding to the first event.
Several streets were flooded from the Biltmore Forest area northward to Asheville. Numerous roads were closed by flooding, landslides and fallen trees. Around 9 pm EDT a large debris flow took out part of Vance Gap Road, isolating several homes. Around a dozen residences had to be evacuated as a result of the slide.
Although heavy rainfall tapered off across Buncombe County during the late afternoon and evening, allowing flood waters to briefly begin receding, flooding actually worsened along the Swannanoa River in the Asheville area during the overnight, as backwater affects from a steadily rising French Broad River combined with the already elevated streams levels to result in moderate flooding in Biltmore Village and vicinity. In addition to continued inundation of multiple roads along the stream, the ground floors of a number of buildings were impacted on the south side of the river north of the railroad tracks.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
274,360
Population (ACS)
$392K
Median home value
21
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Sep 28, 2024 | Tropical Storm | TROPICAL STORM HELENE | DR |
| Sep 26, 2024 | Tropical Storm | HURRICANE HELENE | EM |
| Oct 1, 2022 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IAN | EM |
| Sep 8, 2021 | Hurricane | REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM FRED | DR |
| Aug 2, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE ISAIAS | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Buncombe County, North Carolina?
486 events are on record between 1959 and 2026, causing 40 direct deaths and $609.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Buncombe County?
Hail, with 207 recorded events — 42.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Buncombe County?
8 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 6 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Buncombe County?
21 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Buncombe County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Buncombe County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Buncombe County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 89 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Buncombe County, North Carolina severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Brunswick County 532
- Burke County 588
- Bladen County 556
- Cabarrus County 456
- Bertie County 221
- Caldwell County 374
Cite this page
“Buncombe County, North Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-carolina/buncombe-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.