Surry County, North Carolina severe weather history spans 758 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 62.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #333 nationally and #4 in North Carolina.
758
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
18
Direct injuries
$9.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Surry County, North Carolina severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Surry County, North Carolina severe weather history averages 10.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 276 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 51 events fall before 1990 and 707 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $3.3M in reported property damage. In total, 10 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Surry County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 476 | 0 | $3.3M | 75 | 1974–2025 |
| Hail | 144 | 0 | $489K | 3 | 1955–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 62 | 0 | $2.5M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 28 | 0 | $40K | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 19 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2018–2024 |
| Lightning | 17 | 0 | $861K | 0 | 1997–2021 |
| Tornado | 9 | 0 | $2.3M | F1 | 1959–2023 |
| Debris Flow | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2020–2020 |
| Winter Weather | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2000 |
| Frost/Freeze | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2002–2002 |
Decade by decade
Surry 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
11 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 8 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-05-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-09-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-05-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-04-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-04-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-05-27 | EF1 | 0 | 3 | 32.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1960-03-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 56.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1959-01-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-04-28 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Surry County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 18, 1988 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 6 | $0 | |
| May 28, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $250K | |
| May 19, 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | ELKIN | 0 | 2 | $75K |
| Apr 28, 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | ELKIN | 0 | 1 | $250K |
| Jun 24, 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | WOODVILLE | 0 | 1 | $50K |
| Aug 20, 2009 | Lightning | ARARAT | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 20, 2009 | Lightning | WHITE PLAINS | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 24, 2001 | Lightning | MT AIRY | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Around 35 to 40 homes were damaged along with numerous large trees down by a tornado with winds estimated up to 100 MPH. The damage included: huge trees down on homes and barns, roofs lifted off and shingles blown off of houses and barns, carports collapsed on vehicles, and the windows blown out at Longhill Community Building.
Dispatch reports of roads closed by high water started as early as noon with 13 roads reported closed at one time. The CREST hydrologic model indicated the highest runoff across western sections of Surry County. Two water rescues were rerported, one of those on Rockford Road just before reaching the Yadkin River bridge, and the other was on Longhill Road in the Pilot Mountain area. Flooding along Big Elkin creek flooded portions of the the Elkin High School athletic fields, the Elkin Park and closed Memorial Park Drive. There was damage in to walking trails in the park. In addition, flooding along the Mitchell River destroyed the historic Kapp's Mill dam in the Mountain Park area. The County was later included in a request by the state of North Carolina for a Presidential Major Disaster declaration.
A swath of thunderstorm straight line wind damage occurred within an area almost five miles long and around three miles wide near Elkin. The damage consisted of multiple locations with scattered to numerous trees and power lines downed. Additionally, there was wind damage to some small barns and outbuildings, and trees and tree limbs were downed on many homes. In one case of home damage, a sunroom was partially destroyed by a fallen tree. One person was trapped under a fallen tree, sustained minor injuries and required hospitalization. Occurring within this path of destruction was a brief EF-0 tornado which is discussed in detail in a 15:44 EST Tornado report. Damage values are estimated.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
71,425
Population (ACS)
$178K
Median home value
20
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 |
| Aug 6, 2024 | Tropical Storm | TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | EM |
| Oct 1, 2022 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IAN | EM |
| Aug 2, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE ISAIAS | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Surry County, North Carolina?
758 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $9.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Surry County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 476 recorded events — 62.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Surry County?
11 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 8 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Surry County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Surry County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Surry County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Surry County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 74 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Surry 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
- Stokes County 488
- Swain County 134
- Stanly County 393
- Transylvania County 276
- Scotland County 237
- Tyrrell County 86
Cite this page
“Surry County, North Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-carolina/surry-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.