Polk County, North Carolina

What hazards hit Polk County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 159 since 1996. 64% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. The rank column places the county among North Carolina'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 Polk County had?

NOAA records 4 tornadoes in Polk County from 1977 to 2024, the strongest rated EF1, 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 Polk 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 North Carolina.

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 Polk County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the September 27, 2024 flash flood (1 death and $14.1 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

Stream gauges and the media reported catastrophic flash flooding developed along the North Pacolet and Green River basins in the western half of Polk County after 15-20 inches of rain fell across the area over three days, with 1.5 to 2.5 inches of that falling in less than three hours on the morning of the 27th as tropical rainbands near the remnant center of Helene swept across the area. Dozens of structures were damaged or destroyed along Green River Cove Rd and along Highway 176 due to flooding along the North Pacolet. In addition to the major stream flooding, the extreme rainfall triggered dozens of landslides across the western third of the county. One of these landslides destroyed a home off Highway 176, killing a 67-year-old woman.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1218202)

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 Polk 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?

64% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Polk County

FEMA's register lists 23 declarations that include Polk County: 12 major disasters, 10 emergencies and one fire management assistance declaration. Most were for hurricane (9) and snowstorm (3).

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 Polk County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 37 flood or flash flood records for Polk County from 1996 to 2024, on 29 days, with 1 death. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Polk County ranks 1424th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $4.4 million on 79 claims filed in Polk County; the most in one year was 31 in 2024. 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 Polk County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Polk County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $8.0 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 Polk County

1. Greenville County, SC 1,561
2. Spartanburg County, SC 1,272
3. Rutherford County 801
4. Henderson County 728
5. Polk County 516

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 North CarolinaEvery North Carolina tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Winter storms in North CarolinaThe state's winter storm records, by county, year and month
• The North Carolina recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Polk CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Polk County's FEMA declarations (CSV)23 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis