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Watauga County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes

 
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The chance of earthquake damage in Watauga County is higher than North Carolina average and is lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Watauga County is much 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, #4

Watauga County
0.89
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, #1

Watauga County
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, #91

Watauga County
45.12
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 15,205 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Watauga County were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:

TypeCountTypeCountTypeCountTypeCountTypeCount
Avalanche:0Blizzard:3Cold:67Dense Fog:8Drought:116
Dust Storm:0Flood:1,658Hail:4,204Heat:25Heavy Snow:406
High Surf:0Hurricane:13Ice Storm:72Landslide:4Strong Wind:247
Thunderstorm Winds:7,219Tropical Storm:13Wildfire:16Winter Storm:165Winter Weather:218
Other:751 

Volcanos Nearby

No volcano is found in or near Watauga County.

Historical Earthquake Events

No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Watauga County.

No historical earthquake events found in or near Watauga County.

Historical Tornado Events

A total of 21 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Watauga County.

Distance (miles)DateMagnitudeStart Lat/LogEnd Lat/LogLengthWidthFatalitiesInjuriesProperty DamageCrop DamageAffected County
13.01965-04-09236°11'N / 81°56'W0.50 Mile300 Yards0125K0Avery
19.61989-05-05235°57'N / 81°41'W36°01'N / 81°25'W15.00 Miles73 Yards00250K0Caldwell
29.81974-04-04235°49'N / 81°32'W35°52'N / 81°27'W5.70 Miles33 Yards00250K0Caldwell
32.41998-05-07435°52'N / 81°23'W35°52'N / 81°19'W4.00 Miles1320 Yards021.1M0Caldwell
 Brief Description: A violent, F4 tornado touched down near Dudley Shoals then moved east-southeast cutting a winding path through valleys, to the Alexander county border. The damage path was 100 yards wide on average, but reached a width of 3/4 of a mile at times. One well-constructed home was totally destroyed, other homes were damaged, and many mobile homes 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..
33.61979-05-24235°45'N / 81°40'W0.30 Mile30 Yards00250K0Burke
37.11962-06-03236°36'N / 82°12'W0025K0Washington
37.91975-01-25236°47'N / 81°46'W36°47'N / 81°44'W1.30 Miles30 Yards0025K0Washington
38.41975-01-25236°47'N / 81°44'W36°48'N / 81°42'W1.90 Miles30 Yards0225K0Smyth
39.61951-08-09235°45'N / 81°20'W0.50 Mile100 Yards0025K0Catawba
41.12005-07-07235°50'N / 81°10'W35°52'N / 81°08'W4.00 Miles100 Yards00150K0Alexander
 Brief Description: This tornado touched down near highway 16 just north of the Catawba County line. Two brick homes and a business received severe roof damage in this area, while a mobile home was completely destroyed. The tornado tracked northeast, damaging the roofs of several homes at a mobile home park along Friendship Church Rd before lifting near the intersection of Millersville Rd and Dairy Rd. Numerous trees were also blown down along the tornado path.
43.91974-04-04336°51'N / 81°55'W36°52'N / 81°49'W5.40 Miles177 Yards11250K0Washington
44.41989-05-05435°35'N / 81°27'W35°41'N / 81°25'W6.00 Miles800 Yards0325.0M0Catawba
44.41974-04-04336°52'N / 81°49'W36°53'N / 81°46'W3.00 Miles177 Yards03250K0Smyth
45.22009-05-08236°33'N / 81°02'W36°32'N / 80°57'W5.00 Miles200 Yards06200K0KAlleghany
 Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A low end EF-2 tornado touched down on Osee Road and was intermittently on the ground approximately 5 miles moving east-southeast, finally lifting between Old Barrett Road and Glade Valley Road. A single wide mobile home was destroyed on Osee Road, causing four injuries. Along the track, cement silos were collapsed, 5 other homes were damaged, and several other structures were heavily damaged. Two people received minor injuries when struck by debris after winds blew out windows in their home. Monetary damages are estimates. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A thunderstorm complex over Kentucky and Tennessee moved east into the area during the evening of May 8th. The storm environment was such that storms would have rotation due to strong wind shear, and a low level boundary in place. Supercells developed over southeast Kentucky and moved southeast into far southwest Virginia and into northwest North Carolina during the late evening of May 8th. One storm produced an EF-2 tornado in Northern Alleghany County, with another brief EF-1 tornado touching down just south of the EF-2 track.
45.41998-05-07235°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..
47.51954-08-18235°40'N / 81°12'W35°44'N / 81°09'W5.40 Miles50 Yards0025K0Catawba
47.91957-04-08236°17'N / 82°35'W36°19'N / 82°33'W3.00 Miles440 Yards003K0Washington
48.62010-10-26235°42'N / 81°09'W35°43'N / 81°07'W3.00 Miles100 Yards006.6M0KCatawba
 Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The tornado touched down initially in an industrial park near Penny Rd, where two large buildings sustained significant roof damage. Part of the exterior wall of one of the buildings collapsed. The tornado moved northeast, causing damage to shingles and siding at several homes on St Vincent Dr. Two outbuildings were thrown 30 to 40 feet and numerous trees were snapped off or uprooted in this area as well. The tornado continued to cause severe damage to trees and generally minor structural damage to homes and a church as it moved northeast toward Catawba St. The damage path continued in a east northeast direction from there, roughly paralleling highway 70. Major roof damage occurred to a food processing plant on highway 70 and several outbuildings were destroyed. Numerous headstones were blown down in a cemetery adjacent to the plant. Numerous trailers were then overturned and part of a building destroyed at a truck depot near Liberty Hill Church Rd. The tornado continued east northeast for about another half mile before lifting. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Scattered supercell thunderstorms developed over the western Carolinas and northeast Georgia as strong wind shear and moderate instability overspread the region ahead of a strong cold front. A number of tornadoes were spawned by the storms. Two strong tornadoes affected the western piedmont and foothills of North Carolina.
48.71989-05-05435°32'N / 81°29'W35°35'N / 81°27'W3.00 Miles800 Yards41925.0M0Lincoln
49.52010-10-26235°32'N / 81°28'W35°34'N / 81°26'W3.00 Miles200 Yards0111.2M0KLincoln
 Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This strong tornado touched down near the intersection of Locust Trail and Tola Houser Lane. Several homes at the beginning of the track received major damage to the roof and exterior wall. One home was shifted off its foundation by nearly 20 feet, with an upstairs room removed. Two vehicles at this location were rolled several yards. The tornado moved northeast across Northbrook III School Rd. Several homes were damaged or destroyed and numerous trees snapped off or uprooted just north of the Reeps Grove Church Rd intersection. The damage path at this point was nearly 200 yards wide. The tornado continued northeast, crossing Macedonia Church Rd, Peeler Rd and Patriot Way, with additional homes as well as barns and a chicken house damaged or destroyed. Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped off in this area as well. As the tornado continued east northeast, damage became more intermittent in the area around Palm Tree Church Rd, where only the tops of trees were snapped. The tornado entered into Catawba County in the vicinity of Dansbury Lane. Eleven people were injured, two seriously. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Scattered supercell thunderstorms developed over the western Carolinas and northeast Georgia as strong wind shear and moderate instability overspread the region ahead of a strong cold front. A number of tornadoes were spawned by the storms. Two strong tornadoes affected the western piedmont and foothills of North Carolina.
50.02009-05-08236°56'N / 81°57'W1.00 Mile250 Yards000K0KRussell
 Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A tornado touched down about eight miles east-northeast of Lebanon, Virginia with maximum wind speeds of 125 miles an hour. The path length was 1.1 mile and maximum width was 250 yards. Approximately 100 trees were snapped and uprooted along the tornado path. In addition...a well constructed wooden barn was completely destroyed and while a home incurred moderate damage. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A highly organized mesoscale convective vorticity maximum with strong low to mid tropospheric flow coupled with moderate instability resulted in the development of discrete supercellular thunderstorms. These storms produced a long-lived tornado across Northeast Tennessee late in the afternoon and another long duration tornado across Southwest Virginia later in the evening.


* 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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