Hurricane Matthew
One of the tropical cyclone disasters on NOAA’s billion-dollar list: $13 billion in losses at 2024 prices ($10 billion at the time) and 49 deaths.
What the offices filed during it
The 39 most significant tropical cyclone episodes filed in these dates, colored by kind.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Losses, 2024 dollars
- $13 billion
- Losses at the time
- $10 billion
- Deaths
- 49
The losses and deaths are NCEI’s, counting everything the disaster did. The episodes below are only what the Weather Service filed in its Storm Events record, which counts damage differently and often not at all, so the two never add up and are shown apart.
By state, as filed
| State | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 210 | 30 | 1 | $981 million |
| South Carolina | 137 | 5 | 0 | $250 million |
| Virginia | 98 | 1 | 0 | $58 million |
| Arizona | 2 | 0 | 0 | $6.2 million |
| Maryland | 6 | 0 | 0 | $1.0 million |
| Georgia | 30 | 3 | 4 | $86,000 |
| Alaska | 1 | 0 | 0 | $5,000 |
| Oregon | 1 | 0 | 0 | $5,000 |
| Iowa | 10 | 0 | 0 | |
| Florida | 10 | 0 | 0 | |
| Delaware | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Illinois | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| New Mexico | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Indiana | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Oklahoma | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Texas | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Missouri | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Puerto Rico | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Episode by episode
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Iowa, October 6, 2016Low pressure brought strong thunderstorms over Iowa and Illinois the evening of October 6th, 2016. Just ahead of the low's path, a warm front was positioned over Iowa and Illinois near Interstate 80.
- Tornadoes and Damaging Wind in Illinois, October 6, 2016Low pressure brought strong thunderstorms over Iowa and Illinois the evening of October 6th, 2016. Just ahead of the low's path, a warm front was positioned over Iowa and Illinois near Interstate 80.
- Flood in Oklahoma, October 6 to 11, 2016Several rounds of thunderstorms affected southeastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma from the late evening hours of the 4th through the midday hours of the 7th. Rainfall amounts totaling five to eight inches were observed over the 3-day period across this region.
- Coastal Flood in Florida, October 6 to 7, 2016As Hurricane Matthew moved north of the Bahamas, westerly winds below tropical storm force caused an increase in water levels in eastern Florida Bay not associated with any storm surge. Minor street flooding occurred along the bayside in Key Largo, Florida.
- Hurricane and Tropical Storm in Georgia, October 7 to 8, 2016Matthew first developed into a Tropical Storm about 35 miles southeast of St. Lucia on September 28 before quickly strengthening into a powerful hurricane as it tracked westward across the Caribbean Sea.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in South Carolina, October 7 to 8, 2016Hurricane Matthew impacted the region on the night of Friday, October 7th and during much of the day on Saturday, October 8th. Tropical Storm force wind gusts were observed across most of the SC Midlands and Central Savannah River Area.
- Flood in Texas, October 7, 2016Showers and thunderstorms affected areas mainly north of I-20 Thursday night through Friday morning. Minor flooding was reported in the city of Denton where 1.61 inches of rain fell.
- Flood in Missouri, October 7, 2016Slow moving thunderstorms produced isolated heavy rainfall and one report of flooding across west central Missouri.
- Tropical Storm and Storm Surge in South Carolina, October 7 to 8, 2016Matthew first developed into a Tropical Storm about 35 miles southeast of St. Lucia on September 28 before quickly strengthening into a powerful hurricane as it tracked westward across the Caribbean Sea.
- Tropical Storm in Georgia, October 7 to 8, 2016On the morning of September 28th Tropical Storm Matthew formed near the islands of Saint Lucia and St. Vincent on the southern end of the Windward Island chain, moving west.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in North Carolina, October 8 to 13, 2016Hurricane Matthew skirted by the North Carolina coast on October 8, 2016, dropping torrential rainfall of 8 to 15 inches and producing wind gusts of 50 to 70 mph across Central and Eastern North Carolina.
- Hurricane and Tornado in South Carolina, October 8 to 25, 2016Major Hurricane Matthew moved up the southeast coast and slowly weakened to a category 1 storm as it moved up along the South Carolina coast and then eastward near the North Carolina coast.
- Flooding in Virginia, October 8, 2016Hurricane Matthew tracked up the east coast October 7-9 producing mainly moderate rains across parts of the Blue Ridge and western piedmont counties in Virginia.
- Hurricane and Tropical Storm in North Carolina, October 8 to 17, 2016Major Hurricane Matthew moved up the southeast coast and slowly weakened to a category 1 storm as it moved up along the South Carolina coast and then eastward near the North Carolina coast.
- Heavy Rain in Virginia, October 8 to 9, 2016The combination of a cold front moving through the Mid Atlantic and Post Tropical Cyclone Matthew tracking northeast just off the North Carolina and Virginia coasts, produced heavy rain across central and south central Virginia, and the Virginia Northern Neck from Saturday,…
- Hurricane and Tropical Storm in North Carolina, October 8 to 13, 2016Hurricane Matthew moved northeast offshore of the North Carolina coast late on October 8th through October 9th. Widespread heavy rain developed on October 8th and continued through early on October 9th as Matthew approached and moved offshore of the coast.
- Heavy Rain in Virginia, October 8 to 9, 2016The combination of a cold front moving through the Mid Atlantic and Post Tropical Cyclone Matthew tracking northeast just off the North Carolina and Virginia coasts, produced heavy rain across southeast Virginia and the Virginia Eastern Shore from Saturday, October 8th into…
- Heavy Rain in North Carolina, October 8 to 9, 2016The combination of a cold front moving through the Mid Atlantic and Post Tropical Cyclone Matthew tracking northeast just off the North Carolina and Virginia coasts, produced heavy rain across northeast North Carolina from Saturday, October 8th into Sunday, October 9th.
- Heavy Rain in Maryland, October 8 to 9, 2016The combination of a cold front moving through the Mid Atlantic and Post Tropical Cyclone Matthew tracking northeast just off the North Carolina and Virginia coasts, produced heavy rain across the Lower Maryland Eastern Shore from Saturday, October 8th into Sunday, October 9th.
- Flooding in North Carolina, October 8 to 13, 2016The combination of a cold front moving through the Mid Atlantic and Post Tropical Cyclone Matthew tracking northeast just off the North Carolina and Virginia coasts, produced heavy rain which caused flooding across much of northeast North Carolina from late Saturday afternoon,…
- Flooding in Virginia, October 8 to 13, 2016The combination of a cold front moving through the Mid Atlantic and Post Tropical Cyclone Matthew tracking northeast just off the North Carolina and Virginia coasts, produced heavy rain which caused flooding across much of southeast Virginia from late Saturday afternoon, October…
- Flash Flooding in Virginia, October 8 to 9, 2016The combination of a cold front moving through the Mid Atlantic and Post Tropical Cyclone Matthew tracking northeast just off the North Carolina and Virginia coasts, produced heavy rain which caused flash flooding across southeast Virginia from Saturday evening, October 8th into…
- Flash Flooding in North Carolina, October 8 to 9, 2016The combination of a cold front moving through the Mid Atlantic and Post Tropical Cyclone Matthew tracking northeast just off the North Carolina and Virginia coasts, produced heavy rain which caused flash flooding across northeast North Carolina from Saturday evening, October…
- Coastal Flood in Virginia, October 8 to 9, 2016Post Tropical Cyclone Matthew tracking northeast just off the North Carolina and Virginia coasts, produced very strong northeast or north winds over southeast Virginia and the Virginia Eastern Shore.
- Flood in North Carolina, October 8 to 13, 2016Heavy rains from the combination of a cold front moving through the Mid Atlantic and Post Tropical Cyclone Matthew tracking northeast just off the North Carolina and Virginia coasts, resulted in the Cashie River exceeding major flood stage.
- Flooding in Virginia, October 8 to 11, 2016The combination of a cold front moving through the Mid Atlantic and Post Tropical Cyclone Matthew tracking northeast just off the North Carolina and Virginia coasts, produced heavy rain which caused flooding across portions of the Virginia Eastern Shore from Saturday night,…
- Flood in Virginia, October 8 to 9, 2016The combination of a cold front moving through the Mid Atlantic and Post Tropical Cyclone Matthew tracking northeast just off the North Carolina and Virginia coasts, produced heavy rain which caused flooding across portions of south central Virginia from Saturday night, October…
- Flooding in Maryland, October 9 to 11, 2016The combination of a cold front moving through the Mid Atlantic and Post Tropical Cyclone Matthew tracking northeast just off the North Carolina and Virginia coasts, produced heavy rain which caused flooding across portions of the Lower Maryland Eastern Shore from early Sunday…
- Flash Flood and Hail in Arizona, October 8 to 9, 2016An upper level shortwave trough moving through the region ignited severe thunderstorms which produced large hail and flash flooding in the Safford area.
- Flood in Alaska, October 9 to 14, 2016High pressure in place over mainland Alaska caused a persistent series of storms to move repeatedly across the Alaska Peninsula region.
- Flood and High Wind in Delaware, October 9, 2016Hurricane Matthew tracked up the east coast and interacted with a cold front. This interaction brought increased winds and a period of heavy rain to the region. Rainfall amounts were from two to four inches in Sussex county to around two inches in Kent and New Castle counties.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in New Mexico, October 9, 2016A weak upper level trough was moving across the Rockies with a 50 knot jet streak on the back side of it. Low level winds were out of the southeast providing plenty of wind shear and Gulf moisture to the region for strong to severe thunderstorms.
- Coastal Flood in South Carolina, October 10, 2016High pressure building over the Eastern United States led to a strong north/northeast wind and long fetch over coastal waters, helping produce a period of elevated tides and shallow coastal flooding along the Southeast South Carolina coast.
- Flash Flood in Puerto Rico, October 10, 2016A tropical wave brought showers and thunderstorms with very heavy rainfall across the East section of Puerto Rico. Between 2 to 3 inches were recorded in Trujillo Alto municipality.
- Flooding in South Carolina, October 11 to 12, 2016Heavy rains from recently passing Hurricane Matthew led to a period of prolonged freshwater flooding across portions of Dorchester and Charleston counties where water flowed into the Edisto River, Ashley River and nearby tributaries.
- Coastal Flood in Florida, October 12 to 15, 2016The combination of higher than normal tidal departures coupled with the annual spring tide (King Tides) brought minor flooding at high tides for a week during mid-October.
- Tornadoes and Damaging Wind in Indiana, October 12, 2016A narrow axis of moisture lifted ahead of a front with strong shear, but weak instability. This allowed for isolated thunderstorms to develop. One storm developed a weak circulation that produced 2 brief tornadoes.
- Coastal Flood in South Carolina, October 12, 2016High pressure positioned over the Eastern United States led to a strong north/northeast wind and long fetch over coastal waters, helping produce a period of elevated tides and shallow coastal flooding during the approaching perigee along the Southeast South Carolina coast.
- Heavy Rain in Oregon, October 13, 2016Slow moving front brought heavy rain to the Coast, resulting in flooding of local roads and a landslide in Tillamook County.
More
Every billion-dollar disasterEvery storm of 2016The 2016 hurricane seasonTornadoes in 2016
Sources
NOAA NCEI, U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (2025), https://doi.org/10.25921/stkw-7w73, and the Storm Events Database for the episodes.