Carter County, Tennessee

What hazards hit Carter County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 149 since 1996. 61% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The rank column places the county among Tennessee's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Carter County had?

NOAA records 4 tornadoes in Carter County from 1989 to 2011, the strongest rated F1, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 4 tornadoes whose track touched Carter County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 4, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Tennessee.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Carter County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the September 27, 2024 flash flood ($58.8 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

Heavy rain resulted in releases from Watauga Dam that began to flash flood garages and yards of riverside homes along Watauga Drive in Elizabethton around 10:30 am EST. Flash flooding flowing down the Doe River from the Roan Mountain vicinity began to flood homes and roads in the Valley Forge area around 11:25 am EST. Flooding of areas near the Doe River in Elizabethton began around 11:45 am EST when the stage exceeded 9.5 feet. Much of Elizabethton along either side of North Main and South Main Streets flooded as the Doe exceeded 10 feet. Billy Bob Garrison Field had as much as two feet of water. Homes and businesses flooded on North East Street (adjacent to North Main), where vehicles were moved and flipped by flood waters. At 1:50 pm EST, Sycamore Shoals Hospital on the west side of Elizabethton was evacuated. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1218684)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Carter County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

61% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Carter County

FEMA's register lists 18 declarations that include Carter County: 12 major disasters, 6 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (5) and flood (4).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Carter County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 43 flood or flash flood records for Carter County from 1996 to 2024, on 28 days, with 7 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Carter County ranks 766th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $5.3 million on 288 claims filed in Carter County; the most in one year was 96 in 1998. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Carter County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Carter County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $15.9 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Carter County

1. Avery County, NC 681
2. Mitchell County, NC 607
3. Sullivan County 520
4. Washington County 405
5. Carter County 377
6. Johnson County 230
7. Unicoi County 228

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in TennesseeEvery Tennessee tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Winter storms in TennesseeThe state's winter storm records, by county, year and month
• The Tennessee recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Carter CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Carter County's FEMA declarations (CSV)18 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis