NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Marion, 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
12 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Marion, North Carolina since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 20 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 12
- Tornadoes
- 20
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Marion
None of the 12 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Marion; the strongest was Hugo in 1989, a tropical storm with 64 mph winds when its centre passed 22 miles away. The record near Marion begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 19 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1900s, with 3 systems. Of the 12 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 475 North Carolina cities on this site, 88% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Marion. The highest rating among the 20 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 7, 1998, came within 7 miles. Of the 20, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 10 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, 92% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Marion. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 107 times since 1985, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Marion has more hail reports within 10 miles than 86% of the 475 North Carolina cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Marion
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1959 | GracieSep 30 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 15 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 3 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 28 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 67 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 Marion: 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 Marion
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s3
- 2000s4
- 1990s2
- 1970s7
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 7, 1998 | F2 | 7 mi | 3.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 1979 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 27, 2010 | EF1 | 14 mi | 2.59 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 1977 | F1 | 16 mi | 18.1 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 6, 1977 | F1 | 24 mi | 28.5 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Feb 18, 1976 | F1 | 23 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 24, 1975 | F1 | 24 mi | 10.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F1 | 18 mi | 6.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 1973 | F1 | 24 mi | 10.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 8, 1956 | F1 | 13 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 25, 2024 | EF0 | 16 mi | 0.38 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2024 | EF0 | 18 mi | 2.32 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 20, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Marion
The Storm Prediction Center has 107 hail reports within 10 miles of Marion since 1985, made on 76 separate days. Of these, 49 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on May 24, 2000. The most recent report is from June 25, 2025. June has the most reports, 33.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Marion
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Marion, NC, 2 miles south of Marion at 1,410 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 49°F and 28°F. June is the wettest at 5.5 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.7 inches; the year adds up to 56.7 inches over 82 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (28.9 of 56.7 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 12 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 79°F and 4.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 32 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 102 nights a year. Snowfall averages 7.1 inches a year, most of it in February. That 56.7 inches is more than at 111 of the 140 North Carolina stations used on this site (79%). Old Fort, 11 miles southwest, has its own station (Mt Mitchell, NC): 81.2 inches a year, 24.5 more than here, and a July average high of 67°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 49 | 28 | 4.7 | 6 | 1.9 |
| Feb | 53 | 31 | 3.7 | 6 | 2.1 |
| Mar | 61 | 37 | 4.3 | 7 | 1.4 |
| Apr | 70 | 46 | 4.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| May | 76 | 55 | 5.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 63 | 5.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 67 | 5.1 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 66 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 60 | 4.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 48 | 4.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 60 | 38 | 4.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 51 | 31 | 4.9 | 7 | 1.7 |
| Year | 68 | 47 | 56.7 | 82 | 7.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Marion, NC (1,410 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 Marion
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 176 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Marion: 149 thunderstorm wind reports, 18 flash floods, 5 floods, 2 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $1.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 2, 2003. Of the 472 North Carolina cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 260 have had fewer than Marion.
August 17, 2016: lightning strike 4 miles from the centre of Marion — 1 injured.
August 22, 2019: lightning strike 2 miles from the centre of Marion — 1 injured.
NWS: “Emergency manager reported a person was injured due to a lightning strike in Marion.”
May 29, 2018: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Marion — $500,000 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 Marion's ZIP code 28752 have filed 64 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1981, and were paid $3.7 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Helene in 2024: 25 claims (39% of all) and $3.3 million. 42% 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, 159 have fewer than Marion.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene2024 | 25 | $3.3 million |
McDowell County, which includes Marion, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 hurricanes, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Helene, on September 28, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives McDowell 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 $16.8 million a year, the 66th highest of 100 North Carolina counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $11.6 million (69%), 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 Marion
- Nebo, NC7 mi
- Old Fort, NC11 mi
- Spruce Pine, NC14 mi
- Union Mills, NC16 mi
- Morganton, NC17 mi
- Black Mountain, NC18 mi
- Lake Lure, NC20 mi
- Burnsville, NC20 mi
- Bostic, NC22 mi
- Barnardsville, NC23 mi
- Swannanoa, NC23 mi
- Fairview, NC24 mi
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