78
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$72K
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Swain County, North Carolina: 78 recorded events between 1986 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 60. That places the county #2,481 nationally and #88 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Swain County, North Carolina: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Swain County is the 2000s, when 30 of the county's 78 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Swain County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 58.2% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #2,481 for this hazard and #88 within North Carolina, putting it in the 21.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Swain County with 21 recorded events, while Sep is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28, 2014 | BIRDTOWN | 50 | 1 | 0 | $5K |
| Jul 4, 1997 | BRYSON CITY | 50 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 24, 2025 | GOVERNORS IS | 50 | $0 |
| Jun 24, 2025 | RAVENSFORD | 50 | $0 |
| May 17, 2025 | LAUADA | 50 | $0 |
| Jul 16, 2024 | CHEROKEE | 50 | $0 |
| May 9, 2024 | CHEROKEE | 55 | $0 |
| Aug 12, 2023 | PROCTOR | 50 | $0 |
| Aug 7, 2023 | BRYSON CITY | 50 | $0 |
| Mar 25, 2023 | BRYSON CITY | 50 | $0 |
| Aug 26, 2022 | BIG COVE | 50 | $0 |
| Jul 24, 2022 | ALMOND | 50 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Broadcast media reported a 53-year-old man was extricated from his vehicle then later died from injuries suffered after a tree fell on his vehicle as he was traveling along Old Number 4/Jess Nations Rd. Other trees were reported down in the area as well.
Utility company reported trees blown down on power lines in the Bryson City area. Emergency manager reported multiple trees blown down in the town of Cherokee and across the Qualla Boundary. Trees were also blown down on power lines in the Alarka community.
One person was injured when a tree fell on a camper. The Smoky Mountain Railroad train became trapped when trees fell across the tracks ahead of and behind it. The train and its passengers were not found until 10 pm EST.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Swain County, North Carolina?
78 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Swain County between 1986 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Swain County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Swain County measured 60.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Swain County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Swain County, North Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-carolina/swain-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.