Flood in North Carolina
Every flood event the National Weather Service has filed in North Carolina, year by year, with the most significant episodes. Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
The most significant on the map
The most significant flood episodes in North Carolina.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The record
- Events
- 1,194
- Deaths
- 39
- Injuries
- 7
- Damage
- $1.7 billion
Every year
The most significant
Ranked by deaths, injuries, damage and size together.
- Tornado and Tropical Storm in North Carolina, September 25 to 29, 2024Tropical Cyclone Helene began organizing over the western Caribbean on the 23rd and 24th of September before rapidly intensifying as it moved north through the eastern Gulf of Mexico on the 25th and 26th.
- 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.
- Tornadoes and Tropical Storm in North Carolina, September 13 to 25, 2018A ridge of high pressure over eastern North America stalled Florence's forward motion a few miles off the southeast North Carolina coast on September 13th.
- Hurricane and Tornadoes in North Carolina, September 13 to 18, 2018Hurricane Florence was a long-lived Cape Verde hurricane and the wettest tropical cyclone on record in the Carolinas.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in North Carolina, November 12 to 14, 2020Tropical Cyclone Eta moved from the eastern Gulf of Mexico, across the northern Florida peninsula, to off the South Carolina coast throughout the 11th and 12th.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in North Carolina, August 17 to 18, 2021Tropical Storm Fred made landfall in the Florida Panhandle on the 16th and lifted steadily north through Georgia and into the southern Appalachians during the 16th and throughout the 17th.
- 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.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in North Carolina, September 27 to 30, 2010A stalled front across eastern North Carolina combined with a deep southerly flow of very moist air led to several days of torrential rain across eastern North Carolina from September 27th through the 30th.
- Debris Flow and Flooding in North Carolina, September 16 to 17, 2004In response to persistent moderate to heavy rainfall associated with the remnants of Hurricane Ivan, severe flooding developed across the mountains for the second time in 9 days.
- Debris Flow and Flood in North Carolina, September 16 to 17, 2004After an extended period of moderate to heavy rainfall, flooding developed first across the western part of the county, when several secondary roads became covered with water.
- Debris Flow and Flood in North Carolina, September 16 to 17, 2004After many hours of moderate to heavy rainfall, gradual rises on creeks and streams resulted in the second devastating flood across the county in just 9 days. Flooding first began around Candler, but eventually affected every valley community in the county.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in North Carolina, October 23 to 24, 2017A band of rain showers along and ahead of a strong cold front quickly intensified during the afternoon across Upstate South Carolina, then moved quickly northeast into the North Carolina foothills and far western Piedmont.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in North Carolina, September 16 to 17, 2018Tropical Cyclone Florence made landfall on the 15th and moved slowly west while weakening through the 16th.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in North Carolina, January 9 to 10, 2024A major/complex frontal system brought widespread rain with embedded thunderstorms to western North Carolina, mainly during the afternoon of the 9th.
- Flooding and Coastal Flood in North Carolina, November 12 to 15, 2009The remnants of Tropical Storm Ida interacted with a strong upper level disturbance to produce a deep, slow moving, low pressure system off the Carolina coast November 11th through the 13th.
- Debris Flows and Flooding in North Carolina, May 5 to 7, 2013A strong upper low slowly lifted northeast across the southern Appalachian Mountains over the 3 day period.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in North Carolina, June 8 to 11, 2019A moist upslope flow developing north of a stationary front resulted in widespread showers and thunderstorms developing across western North Carolina during the evening of the 8th into the overnight and early morning hours of the ninth.
- Flood and Hail in North Carolina, August 18, 2000Thunderstorms erupted in an unstable atmosphere during the late afternoon and early evening. Many of the storms or short line segments evolved into bow echoes, leaving a considerable amount of wind damage in their wake.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in North Carolina, February 6 to 8, 2020Unusually high levels of moisture for early February combined with a slow-moving frontal system to produce an extended period of moderate to heavy rainfall across western North Carolina from the morning of the 5th until the early morning hours of the 7th.
- Flash Flooding and Flood in North Carolina, January 7 to 9, 1998A powerful winter storm pumped abundant moisture on very strong southerly winds into western North Carolina.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in North Carolina, September 14 to 16, 2024Potential Tropical Cyclone #8 located off the SC coast was classified by the National Hurricane Center on September 15 and a Tropical Storm Warning was issued for the entire coast of southeast NC and northeast SC at that time.
- Flash Flooding and Debris Flow in North Carolina, May 18 to 19, 2018Wait for it.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in North Carolina, January 24 to 26, 2010Widespread heavy rain affected the region ahead of a slow moving cold front. Rainfall amounts of 3 to 4 inches were common across western North Carolina. Quite a bit of flash flooding developed as a result of the heavy rain falling on already saturated ground.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in North Carolina, May 5, 2009Two tornadic supercells developed along a stalled warm front that extended across souther piedmont and coastal plain of North Carolina.|The cells produced 4 tornadoes in Johnston, Nash and Wilson counties.
- Flash Flood and Flooding in North Carolina, April 30, 2020An area of widespread rainfall developed across the western Carolinas in advance of a cold front late on the 29th into the early morning hours of the 30th.
More
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24.