Montgomery County, North Carolina severe weather history spans 261 recorded events between 1950 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 58.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,040 nationally and #63 in North Carolina.
261
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
7
Direct injuries
$5.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Montgomery County, North Carolina severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Montgomery County, North Carolina severe weather history averages 3.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 89 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 23 events fall before 1990 and 238 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $2.8M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Montgomery County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 152 | 0 | $2.4M | 61 | 1970–2025 |
| Hail | 59 | 0 | $25K | 4.5 | 1970–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 34 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2021 |
| Tornado | 7 | 0 | $2.8M | F2 | 1950–2004 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 1998–2010 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $617K | 0 | 2010–2018 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2006 |
Decade by decade
Montgomery 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
9 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 8 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976-05-15 | EF2 | 0 | 7 | 18.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-03-24 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 30.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1988-06-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-02-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 16.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1950-05-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-09-27 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-09-29 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-28 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Montgomery County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 1976 | Tornado | 0 | 7 | $2.5M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Torrential rainfall of 8 to 10 inches caused widespread flooding across the county. Flooding damaged approximately 18 structures throughout the county, resulting in $617 thousand in property damage and over $20 million in crop damage. Numerous streets and roads were reported flooded.
Torrential rainfall of 10 to 15 inches caused widespread flash flooding across the county. The heavy rains caused several creeks to overspill their banks. Numerous roads throughout the county were closed, due to flooding, with two culverts washed out on River Road and Mullinix Road. Numerous homes and businesses were flooded as well.
Several roads across Montgomery County were closed due to flash flooding from heavy rainfall of four to six inches. Among th3 list of roads include Blaine Road, River Road and Pinehaven Drive near Eldorado, and South Main Street and Hunsucker Road near Biscoe.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
26,007
Population (ACS)
$162K
Median home value
24
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| 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 |
| Mar 25, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Montgomery County, North Carolina?
261 events are on record between 1950 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $5.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Montgomery County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 152 recorded events — 58.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Montgomery County?
9 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 Montgomery County?
24 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Montgomery County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Montgomery County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Montgomery County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 49 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Montgomery 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
- Mitchell County 100
- Moore County 532
- Mecklenburg County 889
- Nash County 429
- Martin County 241
- New Hanover County 605
Cite this page
“Montgomery County, North Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-carolina/montgomery-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.