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Asheville Metro Area Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes

 

The chance of earthquake damage in Asheville Area is higher than North Carolina average and is lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Asheville Area is lower than North Carolina average and is much lower than the national average.

Topics:Earthquake IndexVolcano IndexTornado IndexOther Weather Extremes EventsVolcanos NearbyHistorical Earthquake EventsHistorical Tornado Events

Earthquake Index, #123

Asheville Area
0.76
North Carolina
0.18
U.S.
1.81

The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.

Volcano Index, #129

Asheville Area
0.0000
North Carolina
0.0000
U.S.
0.0023

The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.

Tornado Index, #696

Asheville Area
53.75
North Carolina
115.21
U.S.
136.45

The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.

Other Weather Extremes Events

A total of 15,534 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Asheville Area were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:

TypeCountTypeCountTypeCountTypeCountTypeCount
Avalanche:0Blizzard:0Cold:50Dense Fog:10Drought:105
Dust Storm:0Flood:1,314Hail:4,198Heat:24Heavy Snow:197
High Surf:0Hurricane:18Ice Storm:53Landslide:2Strong Wind:140
Thunderstorm Winds:8,352Tropical Storm:22Wildfire:10Winter Storm:135Winter Weather:111
Other:793 

Volcanos Nearby

No volcano is found in or near Asheville Area.

Historical Earthquake Events

A total of 2 historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Asheville Area.

Distance (miles)DateMagnitudeDepth (km)LatitudeLongitude
48.81979-08-263.7234.93-82.97
23.21981-05-053.51335.33-82.43

Historical Tornado Events

A total of 10 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Asheville Area.

Distance (miles)DateMagnitudeStart Lat/LogEnd Lat/LogLengthWidthFatalitiesInjuriesProperty DamageCrop DamageAffected County
30.01975-01-10235°09'N / 82°50'W35°12'N / 82°48'W4.30 Miles20 Yards0025K0Transylvania
33.41976-06-28235°19'N / 83°10'W0.20 Mile10 Yards00250K0Jackson
36.21963-03-11236°00'N / 83°07'W36°02'N / 83°01'W6.20 Miles200 Yards11250K0Cocke
38.71976-02-18235°57'N / 83°13'W1.00 Mile33 Yards0102.5M0Cocke
39.21998-05-07235°37'N / 81°59'W35°37'N / 81°59'W3.70 Miles880 Yards00482K0Mcdowell
 Brief Description: Another supercell which tracked across the mountains spawned a tornado that travelled through a portion of Glenwood. Several homes and mobiles sustained damage or were destroyed. Supercell thunderstorms developed in a highly sheared atmosphere in eastern Tennessee then moved east across the mountains, foothills and western piedmont of North Carolina. These long-lived, cyclic supercells produced a considerable amount of large hail and some damaging winds in the mountains. The first tornado of the day in western North Carolina occurred in Madison county. Numerous reports of hail as large as golf balls were reported from the mountains. In Madison and Yancey counties, hail covered roads. More supercell thunderstorms developed behind the previous ones and followed similar tracks. In northern Buncombe county, the town of Barnardsville had three separate severe storms cross overhead and drop hail on the ground to a depth of 3 inches. Yancey county also had 3 separate storms move across the county that accumulated hail to 6 inches in depth. The hail was still on the ground the next morning. As the supercells moved into the foothills, they began to curve a little to the right, indicative of strong mesocyclonic circulations present. One supercell produced several tornadoes from Alexander county to Davie county. Another storm produced a tornado that tracked from western Caldwell county into south-central Alexander county. A third supercell that emerged out of the mountains in McDowell county produced several tornadoes from the southern part of that county to northern Mecklenburg county. Damage was fairly significant across western North Carolina with numerous homes either damaged or destroyed. Fortunately, no one was killed. However, 2 people were injured as a result of the violent F4 tornado in eastern Caldwell county. One person received minor injuries from a lightning strike in Yancey county later in the evening. The storms continued to reform in eastern Tennessee until very late in the evening and still produced large hail as they crossed the border into the mountain counties of North Carolina, before weakening shortly after midnight..
41.61967-03-12236°08'N / 82°55'W36°15'N / 82°40'W16.00 Miles300 Yards15250K0Greene
41.71967-04-22236°12'N / 82°41'W0.20 Mile250 Yards00250K0Greene
46.11973-05-27234°53'N / 82°47'W34°59'N / 82°23'W23.60 Miles150 Yards0025K0Pickens
49.11957-04-08236°17'N / 82°35'W36°19'N / 82°33'W3.00 Miles440 Yards003K0Washington
49.91975-05-18235°23'N / 81°50'W003K0Rutherford


* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.


 
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