NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Burnsville, 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
9 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Burnsville, North Carolina since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 12 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 9
- Tornadoes
- 12
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
8 deaths in all
What the records show for Burnsville
None of the 9 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Burnsville; the strongest was Hugo in 1989, a tropical storm with 63 mph winds when its centre passed 34 miles away. The record near Burnsville begins with an unnamed storm in 1901; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm directly overhead. The busiest decade was the 1900s, with 3 systems. Of the 9 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 475 North Carolina cities on this site, 93% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Burnsville. The highest rating among the 12 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 27, 2011, came within 24 miles. Of the 12, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 6 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 4. The most recent tornado was on May 8, 2024. Of the 475 North Carolina cities, 99% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Burnsville. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 32 times since 1969, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 475 North Carolina cities, 87% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Burnsville.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Burnsville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | overhead | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1959 | GracieSep 30 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 18 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 15 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 28 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Burnsville: 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 Burnsville
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s4(2 EF3+)
- 1980s1(1 EF3+)
- 1970s4
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF3 | 24 mi | 15.8 mi | 6 / 33 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF3 | 24 mi | 13.6 mi | 2 / 70 |
| Jul 10, 1980 | F3 | 20 mi | 1.9 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Aug 7, 2023 | EF1 | 9 mi | 6.23 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 1977 | F1 | 24 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 1977 | F1 | 8 mi | 18.1 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 6, 1977 | F1 | 16 mi | 28.5 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Feb 18, 1976 | F1 | 11 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 8, 1956 | F1 | 10 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2024 | EF0 | 17 mi | 2.32 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 2019 | EF0 | 20 mi | 0.43 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 2011 | EF0 | 17 mi | 1.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 12, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Burnsville
The Storm Prediction Center has 32 hail reports within 10 miles of Burnsville since 1969, made on 27 separate days. Of these, 14 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on June 10, 1969. The most recent report is from May 17, 2025. June has the most reports, 13.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Burnsville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Burnsville Ag, NC, 3 miles northeast of Burnsville at 2,825 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 45°F and 27°F. June and July are the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 2.6 inches; the year adds up to 45.9 inches. Highs reach 90°F on about 2 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 96 nights a year. That 45.9 inches is more than at 18 of the 140 North Carolina stations used on this site (13%). Barnardsville, 11 miles southwest, has its own station (Mt Mitchell, NC): 81.2 inches a year, 35.3 more than here, and a July average high of 67°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45 | 27 | 3.8 |
| Feb | 49 | 29 | 3.5 |
| Mar | 56 | 34 | 3.8 |
| Apr | 66 | 42 | 4.2 |
| May | 73 | 49 | 3.9 |
| Jun | 80 | 58 | 4.4 |
| Jul | 83 | 61 | 4.4 |
| Aug | 81 | 60 | 4.3 |
| Sep | 76 | 54 | 4.2 |
| Oct | 67 | 42 | 2.6 |
| Nov | 57 | 34 | 3.0 |
| Dec | 48 | 29 | 3.8 |
| Year | 65 | 43 | 45.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Burnsville Ag, NC (2,825 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 Burnsville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 44 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Burnsville: 32 thunderstorm wind reports, 11 flash floods and 1 flood. They killed 14 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $125.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 69 mph, on June 13, 2013. September has had the most flash floods, 4 of 11. Of the 472 North Carolina cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 147 have had fewer than Burnsville.
September 26, 2024: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Burnsville — 9 killed, $75.0 million damage.
September 27, 2024: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Burnsville — 4 killed, $20.0 million damage.
NWS: “Extensive flooding of the North Toe and Nolichucky Rivers as well as the lower portion of the Cane River developed during the overnight and early morning hours of the 27th as rainfall rates began to intensify again during the evening of the 26th.”
September 27, 2024: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Burnsville — 1 killed, $30.0 million damage.
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 Burnsville's ZIP code 28714 have filed 128 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1983, and were paid $7.5 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Helene in 2024: 66 claims (52% of all) and $6.5 million. 67% 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, 188 have fewer than Burnsville.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene2024 | 66 | $6.5 million |
Yancey County, which includes Burnsville, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 hurricanes, 3 floods, 3 severe storms, 3 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Helene, on September 28, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Yancey County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $8.8 million a year, the 91st highest of 100 North Carolina counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.2 million (59%), 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 Burnsville
- Barnardsville, NC11 mi
- Bakersville, NC12 mi
- Mars Hill, NC12 mi
- Spruce Pine, NC13 mi
- Erwin, TN18 mi
- Weaverville, NC18 mi
- Old Fort, NC20 mi
- Black Mountain, NC20 mi
- Marion, NC20 mi
- Swannanoa, NC21 mi
- Unicoi, TN22 mi
- Marshall, NC22 mi
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