Swain County, North Carolina severe weather history spans 134 recorded events between 1974 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 58.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,765 nationally and #93 in North Carolina.
134
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$6.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Swain County, North Carolina severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Swain County, North Carolina severe weather history averages 2.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 50 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 5 events fall before 1990 and 129 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Swain County, North Carolina record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is debris flow, with $5.0M 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 Swain County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 78 | 1 | $72K | 60 | 1986–2025 |
| Hail | 20 | 0 | $0 | 1.25 | 1998–2020 |
| Flash Flood | 17 | 0 | $711K | 0 | 1997–2024 |
| Flood | 6 | 0 | $406K | 0 | 2009–2024 |
| Tornado | 4 | 0 | $283K | F2 | 1974–2022 |
| Heavy Rain | 4 | 0 | $210K | 0 | 2002–2019 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $100K | 0 | 2012–2019 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2002 |
| Debris Flow | 1 | 0 | $5.0M | 0 | 2013–2013 |
Decade by decade
Swain 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
3 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974-04-03 | EF2 | 2 | 11 | 24.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2022-05-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-03-02 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Swain County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28, 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | BIRDTOWN | 1 | 0 | $5K |
| Jun 22, 2019 | Lightning | BIG COVE | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 4, 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | BRYSON CITY | 0 | 1 | $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.
A large landslide destroyed a 200 foot section of highway 441 in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was estimated the road would take months to repair, thus indefinitely shutting down the Park's only paved throroughfare. Seven to 10 inches of rain fell across the North Carolina section of the park from the 14th through the 17th.
Although heavy rain ended across Swain County by late morning, flooding continued to steadily worsen along the Tuckasegee River through the morning and early afternoon, as runoff from the very heavy rainfall that fell throughout the basin over about a two-day period continued to work downstream. The stream gauge at Bryson City crested at just under 15 feet, which was the highest crest since August 1940. Water inundated portions of several roads, including Everett St, Carringer St, and especially Island St, where several businesses were inundated and damaged. Other structures were reportedly damaged outside the city as well. While two-day rainfall totals in Swain County were generally 4-8 inches, totals in the Tuckasegee headwaters across southeast Jackson County were in the 10-15 inch range.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
14,013
Population (ACS)
$207K
Median home value
17
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Apr 20, 2025 | Fire | SAM DAVIS ROAD FIRE | FM |
| Mar 26, 2025 | Fire | ALARKA FIRE | FM |
| Sep 28, 2024 | Tropical Storm | TROPICAL STORM HELENE | DR |
| Sep 26, 2024 | Tropical Storm | HURRICANE HELENE | EM |
| Oct 1, 2022 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IAN | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Swain County, North Carolina?
134 events are on record between 1974 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $6.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Swain County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 78 recorded events — 58.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Swain County?
3 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 2 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Swain County?
17 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Swain County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Swain County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Swain County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 49 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Swain 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
- Surry County 758
- Transylvania County 276
- Stokes County 488
- Tyrrell County 86
- Stanly County 393
- Union County 502
Cite this page
“Swain County, North Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-carolina/swain-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.