NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lake Toxaway, 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
10 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Lake Toxaway, North Carolina since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 33 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 10
- Tornadoes
- 33
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Lake Toxaway
None of the 10 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Lake Toxaway; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1949, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 51 miles away. The record near Lake Toxaway begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 39 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1900s, with 3 systems. Of the 10 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 475 North Carolina cities on this site, 91% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Lake Toxaway. The strongest of the 33 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on March 27, 1994; its path came within 21 miles. Of the 33, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 19 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 8. The most recent tornado was on September 25, 2024. Of the 475 North Carolina cities, 85% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Lake Toxaway. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 49 times since 1985, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 475 North Carolina cities, 66% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Lake Toxaway.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Lake Toxaway
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1975 | EloiseSep 24 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 15 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 28 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Lake Toxaway: 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 Lake Toxaway
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s5
- 2000s3
- 1990s4(1 EF3+)
- 1980s2
- 1970s8
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 27, 1994 | F3 | 21 mi | 28 mi | 0 / 37 |
| Mar 23, 2022 | EF2 | 19 mi | 6.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 13, 2020 | EF2 | 19 mi | 7.97 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Oct 8, 2017 | EF2 | 21 mi | 8.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 26, 1994 | F2 | 12 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 28, 1976 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 10, 1975 | F2 | 5 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 1973 | F2 | 19 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 1973 | F2 | 20 mi | 23.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 1973 | F2 | 14 mi | 22.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 8, 2024 | EF1 | 13 mi | 1.52 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2024 | EF1 | 11 mi | 9.38 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 33, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lake Toxaway
The Storm Prediction Center has 49 hail reports within 10 miles of Lake Toxaway since 1985, made on 41 separate days. Of these, 20 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on March 31, 1993. The most recent report is from September 20, 2017. May has the most reports, 16.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lake Toxaway
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lake Toxaway 2 SW, NC, 4 miles southwest of Lake Toxaway at 3,200 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 79°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 46°F and 28°F. July and September are the wettest at 9.4 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 6.7 inches; the year adds up to 96.5 inches over 99 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 52% of the year's precipitation (49.9 of 96.5 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 10 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 73°F and 9.4 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 3 days a year, almost all from August. Lows fall below freezing on about 100 nights a year. Snowfall averages 11.6 inches a year, most of it in January and December. That 96.5 inches is more than at 139 of the 140 North Carolina stations used on this site (99%). Brevard, 10 miles east, has its own station (Brevard, NC): 75.7 inches a year, 20.8 less than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 79°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 46 | 28 | 8.7 | 8 | 3.3 |
| Feb | 50 | 30 | 7.1 | 7 | 2.8 |
| Mar | 57 | 35 | 7.8 | 8 | 2.0 |
| Apr | 67 | 42 | 7.4 | 9 | 0.0 |
| May | 73 | 51 | 7.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 76 | 60 | 7.8 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 79 | 63 | 9.4 | 12 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 77 | 62 | 8.9 | 11 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 56 | 9.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 65 | 45 | 6.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 57 | 36 | 7.7 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Dec | 49 | 31 | 8.6 | 8 | 3.3 |
| Year | 64 | 45 | 96.5 | 99 | 11.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lake Toxaway 2 SW, NC (3,200 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 Lake Toxaway
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 78 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lake Toxaway: 42 thunderstorm wind reports, 19 flash floods, 14 floods, 2 lightning strikes and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $62.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 63 mph, on August 4, 2000. July has had the most flash floods, 4 of 19. Of the 472 North Carolina cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 270 have had fewer than Lake Toxaway.
September 26, 2024: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Lake Toxaway — $50.0 million damage.
August 16, 2021: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Lake Toxaway — $6.0 million damage.
August 17, 2021: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Lake Toxaway — $4.0 million damage.
NWS: “Stream gauges indicated significant flash flooding developed for the second day in a row near the upper reaches of the French Broad River after 3 to 6 inches of rain fell in the headwaters in just a few hours. This was on top of the 6-12 inches that fell durimg the morning of the 16th.”
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
Transylvania County, which includes Lake Toxaway, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1993, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms, 2 tropical storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Helene, on September 28, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Transylvania County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail and inland flooding; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $17.9 million a year, the 60th highest of 100 North Carolina counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.8 million (49%), 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 Lake Toxaway
- Brevard, NC10 mi
- Sunset, SC14 mi
- Cullowhee, NC15 mi
- Pisgah Forest, NC17 mi
- Highlands, NC17 mi
- Salem, SC18 mi
- Pickens, SC20 mi
- Etowah, NC21 mi
- Six Mile, SC22 mi
- Sylva, NC22 mi
- Marietta, SC23 mi
- Horse Shoe, NC23 mi
All North Carolina cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Lake Toxaway with another place →