NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Banner Elk, NC
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
8 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Banner Elk, North Carolina since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 13 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 8
- Tornadoes
- 13
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Banner Elk
None of the 8 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Banner Elk; the strongest was Hugo in 1989, a tropical storm with 61 mph winds when its centre passed 8 miles away. The record near Banner Elk begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 3 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1900s, with 2 systems. Of the 8 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 475 North Carolina cities on this site, 96% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Banner Elk. The highest rating among the 13 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2 or EF2, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 27, 2011, came within 17 miles. Of the 13, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 7 have come since 2000. April and May have had the most tornadoes, 4 each. The most recent tornado was on September 25, 2024. Of the 475 North Carolina cities, 98% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Banner Elk. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 89 times since 1971, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Banner Elk has more hail reports within 10 miles than 75% of the 475 North Carolina cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Banner Elk
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1959 | GracieSep 30 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 18 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 3 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Banner Elk: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Banner Elk
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s4
- 2000s1
- 1990s3
- 1980s1
- 1970s1
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF2 | 17 mi | 12 mi | 2 / 0 |
| May 5, 1989 | F2 | 18 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 1965 | F2 | 5 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 25, 2024 | EF1 | 10 mi | 0.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 14, 2023 | EF1 | 6 mi | 2.96 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 8, 2017 | EF1 | 23 mi | 7.08 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 1, 2002 | F1 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 3, 1998 | F1 | 19 mi | 9.5 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 20, 1996 | F1 | 11 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 27, 1973 | F1 | 20 mi | 10.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 2019 | EF0 | 20 mi | 0.43 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 12, 2017 | EF0 | 25 mi | 0.13 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 13, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Banner Elk
The Storm Prediction Center has 89 hail reports within 10 miles of Banner Elk since 1971, made on 63 separate days. Of these, 42 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on June 2, 1998. The most recent report is from July 28, 2023. May has the most reports, 31.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Banner Elk
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Banner Elk, NC, 2 miles west of Banner Elk at 3,770 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 77°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 22°F. July is the wettest at 5.7 inches of precipitation on average and November the driest at 3.3 inches; the year adds up to 53.8 inches over 102 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs of 90°F are rare: fewer than one day a year on average. Lows fall below freezing on about 127 nights a year. Snowfall averages 31.4 inches a year, most of it in February. That 53.8 inches is more than at 101 of the 140 North Carolina stations used on this site (72%). Sugar Grove, 6 miles north, has its own station (Flat Springs 1E, NC): 49.1 inches a year, 4.7 less than here, and a July average high of 79°F against 77°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 22 | 4.6 | 9 | 6.9 |
| Feb | 44 | 24 | 3.7 | 8 | 11.4 |
| Mar | 50 | 30 | 4.9 | 9 | 4.8 |
| Apr | 60 | 39 | 4.8 | 9 | 0.8 |
| May | 68 | 47 | 5.1 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 74 | 56 | 5.1 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 77 | 59 | 5.7 | 11 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 76 | 57 | 4.3 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 71 | 52 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 40 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 52 | 31 | 3.3 | 7 | 1.6 |
| Dec | 44 | 26 | 4.3 | 9 | 5.8 |
| Year | 60 | 40 | 53.8 | 102 | 31.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Banner Elk, NC (3,770 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Banner Elk
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 194 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Banner Elk: 71 thunderstorm wind reports, 57 flash floods, 44 floods, 18 heavy rain events and 4 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 15, and the NWS estimated $257.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 31, 2004. July has had the most flash floods, 10 of 57. Of the 472 North Carolina cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 450 have had fewer than Banner Elk.
September 27, 2024: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Banner Elk — 2 killed, 4 injured, $250.0 million damage.
August 13, 2021: lightning strike 5 miles from the centre of Banner Elk — 7 injured.
NWS: “A lightning strike near Macrae Peak in Grandfather Mountain State Park injured seven people. One individual fell, resulting in a head injury which required them to be airlifted to a nearby hospital.”
July 2, 2023: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Banner Elk — 2 injured.
NWS: “County comms reported a tent was blown over, with minor injuries to two people inside.”
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Banner Elk's ZIP code 28604 have filed 85 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1994, and were paid $3.1 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Helene in 2024: 41 claims (48% of all) and $2.4 million, then Tropical Storm Ivan in 2004 with 15. 69% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 263 North Carolina cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 174 have fewer than Banner Elk.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene2024 | 41 | $2.4 million |
| Tropical Storm Ivan2004 | 15 | $275,000 |
Avery County, which includes Banner Elk, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 hurricanes, 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Helene, on September 28, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Avery County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, inland flooding and strong wind; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.3 million a year, the 77th highest of 100 North Carolina counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.9 million (70%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Banner Elk
- Sugar Grove, NC6 mi
- Elk Park, NC6 mi
- Vilas, NC8 mi
- Blowing Rock, NC9 mi
- Newland, NC10 mi
- Boone, NC11 mi
- Zionville, NC12 mi
- Butler, TN14 mi
- Roan Mountain, TN14 mi
- Deep Gap, NC18 mi
- Hampton, TN20 mi
- Mountain City, TN20 mi
All North Carolina cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Banner Elk with another place →