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Alert Pulse · Monthly report · October 2026

Floods stranded Plains drivers as tornadoes damaged North Carolina homes

October flooding forced boat evacuations and road closures across the Plains. In Raleigh, a homeowner said a phone warning sent him to shelter before part of his roof collapsed.

OCT 22 · 920OCT 1OCT 31DISTINCT WARNINGS PER DAY123

October 2026 · 15,623 warningsSeptember 2026 · 24,439 warnings−38% per day vs September 2026Each story below, on the day it peaked

  • Flash flooding · Oct 21–28

    the Southwest

    8 orders to leave came from county agencies

  • Flash flooding · Oct 1

    the Southern Plains

    A flash flood emergency was declared

  • Flash flooding · Oct 9–11

    the Southeast

    A flash flood emergency was declared

  • Flash flooding · Oct 14–15

    Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas

    A county agency told people to leave

  • Tornadoes and severe storms · Oct 11

    North Carolina and South Carolina

    10 tornadoes were seen on the ground

    Named in the warnings: Washington, Grifton, Calico

Warnings prompted shelter and told drivers to avoid flooded streets, but they could not keep water off roads or roofs from collapsing.

Read the month
Floods stranded Plains drivers as tornadoes damaged North Carolina homes (video)Watch on its own page

Where the month happened

Each numbered area is one of the stories below, drawn over the counties its warnings covered.

Map of the United States. 1: Flash flooding in the Southern Plains, Oct 1. 2: Tornadoes and severe storms in North Carolina and South Carolina, Oct 11. 3: Flash flooding in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, Oct 14–15.123
  • Flash flooding in the Southern Plains, Oct 1
  • Tornadoes and severe storms in North Carolina and South Carolina, Oct 11
  • Flash flooding in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, Oct 14–15
Fig. 1. The counties each story covered, numbered as the report tells them. Colour groups the hazard: water, heat and fire, storms. Counties are the smallest area these warnings describe.
The same areas as a list
  • 1. Flash flooding in the Southern Plains and Northern Plains, October 1 · Water · 143 counties drawn
  • 2. Tornadoes and severe storms in North Carolina and South Carolina, October 11 · Storms · 39 counties drawn
  • 3. Flash flooding in the Southern Plains and Texas, October 14 to 15 · Water · 68 counties drawn
Figure 02

When it happened

Each square is one day of the month, shaded by how many warnings went out.Shade is warnings that day. A number is the story it belongs to on the map. A ring marks a day on which news or officials reported what the event did to people.
SunMonTueWedThuFriSatOct 1: 898 warnings · story 1 on the map · documented impact on people11Oct 2: 550 warnings2Oct 3: 345 warnings3Oct 4: 481 warnings4Oct 5: 435 warnings5Oct 6: 290 warnings6Oct 7: 295 warnings7Oct 8: 410 warnings8Oct 9: 630 warnings9Oct 10: 767 warnings10Oct 11: 783 warnings · story 2 on the map · documented impact on people112Oct 12: 344 warnings12Oct 13: 402 warnings13Oct 14: 791 warnings · story 3 on the map · documented impact on people143Oct 15: 670 warnings · story 3 on the map · documented impact on people153Oct 16: 686 warnings16Oct 17: 500 warnings17Oct 18: 337 warnings18Oct 19: 270 warnings19Oct 20: 271 warnings20Oct 21: 509 warnings21Oct 22: 920 warnings22Oct 23: 822 warnings23Oct 24: 515 warnings24Oct 25: 435 warnings25Oct 26: 412 warnings26Oct 27: 295 warnings27Oct 28: 375 warnings28Oct 29: 367 warnings29Oct 30: 485 warnings30Oct 31: 333 warnings31
  • Fewer warnings
  • More warnings
  • Impact on people reported
View as a table
DayWarningsStory on the mapDocumented impact on people
Oct 18981Yes
Oct 2550——
Oct 3345——
Oct 4481——
Oct 5435——
Oct 6290——
Oct 7295——
Oct 8410——
Oct 9630——
Oct 10767——
Oct 117832Yes
Oct 12344——
Oct 13402——
Oct 147913Yes
Oct 156703Yes
Oct 16686——
Oct 17500——
Oct 18337——
Oct 19270——
Oct 20271——
Oct 21509——
Oct 22920——
Oct 23822——
Oct 24515——
Oct 25435——
Oct 26412——
Oct 27295——
Oct 28375——
Oct 29367——
Oct 30485——
Oct 31333——

1Floodwater forced boat evacuations in Lincoln and rescues in Dodge City

  1. OCT 1, 12 AM UTC

    First warning

    Franklin County, Nebraska

  2. OCT 1, 3 AM UTC

    Considerable threat

    Lancaster County, Nebraska

  3. OCT 1, 7 PM UTC

    Catastrophic threat

    Ford County, Kansas

  4. OCT 1, 7 PM UTC

    Particularly dangerous

    Ford County, Kansas

  5. OCT 1, 7 PM UTC

    Emergency declared

    Ford County, Kansas

  6. OCT 1, 9 PM UTC

    County order

    Ford County, Kansas

  7. OCT 11, 3 AM UTC

    Last warning

    Clinton County, Iowa

Map of the area this edition covers. 1: Flash flooding in the Southern Plains, Oct 1.1
  • Flash flooding — coloured as water. 143 counties in the Southern Plains, Oct 1.

In Lincoln, overnight flooding into October 1 forced Domino’s manager and part owner Fang Yu to leave by boat after rescuers ordered her out, she told KLKN-TV. “Because the waters kept going and fast, and I don’t think I can stand in there.” Her evacuation was part of the Plains flooding marked 1 on the map, where rising water left people needing help beyond a warning to stay clear.

The warnings had begun the previous evening in Franklin County, Nebraska, before a flash flood warning identified a considerable damage threat in Lancaster County later that night. By morning, Lincoln firefighters were putting life jackets on four people in two partially submerged minivans near South First Street and Harwood Court. KOLN / 10/11 NOW reported that firefighters brought the occupants to safety.

Archived alert · October 2026Sent October 1, 2026 · NWS Dodge City KS
This is a PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. SEEK HIGHER GROUND NOW! Life threatening flash flooding of low water crossings, small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses.

In Dodge City on October 1, the weather service escalated its warning at 2:32 p.m. Central time: “FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCY FOR DODGE CITY AND CENTRAL FORD COUNTY”. The warning carried a catastrophic damage threat and a particularly dangerous situation designation. Ford County Communications later told residents: “Street level flooding in many areas of Dodge City and SW ford county please avoid travel”. The Weather Channel subsequently reported multiple water rescues there, while KSN reported transportation workers clearing debris and directing traffic away from washed-out roads.

The damage outlasted the rising water. KLKN-TV reported that part of a road near Z-Trip in Lincoln collapsed into a creek. By October 2, the Seward County Road Department said 10 roads remained closed because of excessive damage or water still covering them, according to KLKN-TV. The closures included Camden Bridge and South Second Bridge.

In Persia, Iowa, a road washout during the flooding injured one person, The Weather Channel reported on October 2. Elsewhere in western Iowa, KOLN / 10/11 NOW reported that a mudslide closed Old Lincoln Highway near Honey Creek and Loveland. The documented consequences included both people needing rescue and routes that drivers could no longer use.

Flood alerts by the numbers: every published month, by state and county.

2Tornadoes damaged Raleigh homes and destroyed farm buildings in Clarendon

  1. OCT 11, 12 PM UTC

    First warning

    Anson County, North Carolina

  2. OCT 11, 3 PM UTC

    Tornado seen

    Cumberland County, North Carolina

  3. OCT 11, 5 PM UTC

    Particularly dangerous

    Franklin County, North Carolina

  4. OCT 11, 6 PM UTC

    Particularly dangerous

    Duplin County, North Carolina

  5. OCT 11, 8 PM UTC

    Last warning

    Beaufort County, North Carolina

Map of the area this edition covers. 1: Tornadoes and severe storms in North Carolina and South Carolina, Oct 11.1
  • Tornadoes and severe storms — coloured as storms. 39 counties in North Carolina and South Carolina, Oct 11.

In Raleigh on October 11, homeowner Eric Grubbs took shelter in another room after a phone alert sounded, before a living-room window broke and part of his roof collapsed. “I would have been sitting right there when that roof was collapsing,” he told WRAL. His account shows what a warning could change during the Carolina storms marked 2 on the map: where someone was when the damage happened.

Warnings began that morning in Anson County and identified an observed tornado in Cumberland County by late morning. The weather service in Raleigh subsequently wrote: “At 1203 PM EDT, a confirmed tornado was located over Fayetteville, moving northeast at 35 mph.” Early that afternoon, tornado warnings in Franklin County and then Duplin County were marked as particularly dangerous situations.

Archived alert · October 2026Sent October 11, 2026 · NWS Raleigh NC
At 118 PM EDT, a confirmed tornado was located near Wake Forest, or 9 miles northeast of Raleigh, moving northeast at 25 mph.

The preliminary surveys documented damage separately from residents’ accounts. In Raleigh, the weather service traced the Perry Creek tornado’s discontinuous path of tree and structural damage from Stone Ridge into Neuse Crossing. In Clarendon, Wilmington weather service surveyors found several open farm buildings destroyed on Roseland Road. An empty grain bin had shifted off its foundation, and roofing and wooden building materials were scattered into trees and an adjacent field.

Southwest of Louisburg, the weather service’s preliminary survey documented damage to trees, structures and fencing along a path crossing the highway just west of Timberlake Road. AOL also reported that downed trees and power lines blocked the highway after the storms. Franklin County emergency managers and sheriff’s personnel helped weather service staff survey the damage.

A review of weather service surveys and reporting by WRAL and other news organizations found no deaths or injuries reported from these storms. That finding does not erase the damaged homes and farm buildings, but it distinguishes the documented human toll from the damage residents and surveyors described.

Tornado alerts by the numbers: every published month, by state and county.

3Floodwater cut off Canadian County roads and stranded an SUV near El Reno

  1. OCT 14, 2 AM UTC

    First warning

    Harper County, Kansas

  2. OCT 14, 11 AM UTC

    Considerable threat

    Canadian County, Oklahoma

  3. OCT 15, 8 PM UTC

    County order

    Lubbock County, Texas

  4. OCT 21, 12 AM UTC

    Last warning

    Wichita County, Texas

Map of the area this edition covers. 1: Flash flooding in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, Oct 14–15.1
  • Flash flooding — coloured as water. 68 counties in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, Oct 14–15.

On Banner Road near El Reno on October 15, crews responded to a reported water rescue after an SUV became stranded in floodwater. Hoodline, citing KOCO 5, did not establish whether a rescue was completed. The incident put a vehicle on a flooded road at the centre of the Southern Plains flooding marked 3 on the map.

The warnings had begun in Harper County, Kansas, the evening before the Oklahoma flooding. At 6:13 a.m. Central time on October 14, a flash flood warning identified a considerable damage threat in Canadian County. KOCO 5 reported that floodwater made county roads impassable that day. A separate weather service warning for the Canadian River near Mustang forecast minor flooding; it was a forecast, not a finding of completed damage.

The road disruption extended into Texas. On October 15, the Texas Department of Transportation issued an emergency alert for Lubbock County: “FM 835 CLOSED DUE TO FLOODING SEEK ALTERNATE ROUTE”. The order applied there, not to the Oklahoma roads where crews had responded to the stranded SUV.

In Norman, storm chaser Nick Smith described the October 14 flooding to KOCO 5 as “one of the worst times I've seen it flood”. Research across local reporting and official accounts found no deaths or injuries reported for this flooding. The following day, Cleveland County’s emergency manager urged residents to send information and photographs of storm and flood damage to the county and Oklahoma’s damage-reporting portal, according to the county government. He said he would assess the reported damage, moving the work from warning residents to documenting what the water had left behind.

Flood alerts by the numbers: every published month, by state and county.

How BePrepared monitors this, all year

This report exists because we already monitor the whole country. Every couple of minutes, around the clock, we read the emergency alerts going out across all fifty states and territories, and we keep them. A month of that record is what you have just read.

The national picture is the part most people never see. What matters to you is much smaller: which of these warnings would have reached your street, and what the risks around you look like on an ordinary day.

That is what BePrepared is for. Put in your ZIP code and you get the picture for where you live — the flood, fire and storm history around you, the dams and facilities nearby, and a plan for your household rather than a general one. With a free account you can keep a watchlist of the places you care about, like your home, your parents' address, and your kids' school, and set what you want to hear about.

Where it hit hardest

Counted as distinct warnings, and as the days a county spent under one. A county is the smallest area these warnings describe.

Warnings by region

  • Southwest557
  • Texas290
  • Southeast219
  • Southern Plains210
  • Upper Midwest92

Most days under a warning

  • San Diego County, CA24 days
  • Orange County, CA24 days
  • Volusia County, FL23 days
  • Nassau County, FL22 days
  • Lake County, FL20 days
  • Los Angeles County, CA18 days
  • San Bernardino County, CA18 days
  • Clay County, FL17 days
Figure 03Embed this chart

Where the warnings landed

Every county that received a warning this month, coloured and scaled by how many; the faint dots received none.3,006 of the country's counties received at least one warning; the faint dots are the counties that received none, and a quiet county is not a safe county. Each county wears its MOST frequent kind of warning and its dot scales with how many it received; the month's three biggest kinds carry color and every other kind wears gray, with the panels below giving each kind its own map. The full per-county mix is in the CSV. 644 warned areas — marine zones and territories — have no county position on this map, about 22% of county-level warning volume. They are still counted in every figure and table.
Saline, NE: 46 warnings · mostly floodingHenderson, NC: 46 warnings · mostly floodingBerkeley, SC: 46 warnings · mostly everything elseLexington, SC: 46 warnings · mostly floodingCalhoun, TX: 46 warnings · mostly floodingKings, CA: 47 warnings · mostly extreme heatSan Mateo, CA: 47 warnings · mostly floodingCostilla, CO: 47 warnings · mostly everything elseBroward, FL: 47 warnings · mostly floodingSt. Lucie, FL: 47 warnings · mostly everything elseEddy, NM: 47 warnings · mostly everything elseJackson, OK: 47 warnings · mostly floodingCulberson, TX: 47 warnings · mostly everything elseMarin, CA: 48 warnings · mostly floodingPutnam, FL: 48 warnings · mostly floodingLiberty, GA: 48 warnings · mostly everything elseWashita, OK: 48 warnings · mostly floodingHardeman, TX: 48 warnings · mostly severe stormsWillacy, TX: 48 warnings · mostly floodingPima, AZ: 49 warnings · mostly everything elseMcIntosh, GA: 49 warnings · mostly everything elseGallatin, MT: 49 warnings · mostly everything elseKleberg, TX: 49 warnings · mostly floodingInyo, CA: 50 warnings · mostly floodingBryan, GA: 50 warnings · mostly everything elseCobb, GA: 50 warnings · mostly safety & civilKiowa, OK: 50 warnings · mostly floodingFoard, TX: 50 warnings · mostly severe stormsBaker, FL: 51 warnings · mostly floodingChatham, GA: 51 warnings · mostly everything elseHidalgo, NM: 51 warnings · mostly severe stormsKing, TX: 51 warnings · mostly severe stormsSanta Cruz, CA: 52 warnings · mostly floodingSan Miguel, CO: 52 warnings · mostly floodingBrevard, FL: 52 warnings · mostly everything elseGlynn, GA: 52 warnings · mostly everything elsePottawatomie, OK: 52 warnings · mostly floodingWichita, TX: 52 warnings · mostly floodingPiute, UT: 52 warnings · mostly everything elseSonoma, CA: 53 warnings · mostly floodingMineral, CO: 53 warnings · mostly floodingCharlton, GA: 53 warnings · mostly floodingMarshall, KS: 53 warnings · mostly floodingAlamosa, CO: 54 warnings · mostly floodingOrleans, LA: 54 warnings · mostly floodingJackson, MS: 54 warnings · mostly everything elseWayne, UT: 54 warnings · mostly everything elseMariposa, CA: 55 warnings · mostly extreme heatHarrison, MS: 55 warnings · mostly everything elseCameron, TX: 55 warnings · mostly floodingNueces, TX: 55 warnings · mostly floodingMendocino, CA: 56 warnings · mostly everything elseFulton, GA: 56 warnings · mostly safety & civilLewis and Clark, MT: 56 warnings · mostly everything elseSanta Fe, NM: 56 warnings · mostly everything elseTorrance, NM: 56 warnings · mostly everything elseLake, CA: 57 warnings · mostly everything elseSt. Tammany, LA: 57 warnings · mostly everything elseOklahoma, OK: 57 warnings · mostly floodingTerrell, TX: 58 warnings · mostly severe stormsAlbany, WY: 58 warnings · mostly everything elseMadera, CA: 59 warnings · mostly extreme heatDare, NC: 59 warnings · mostly everything elseLa Plata, CO: 60 warnings · mostly floodingGulf, FL: 60 warnings · mostly everything elseBrantley, GA: 60 warnings · mostly floodingFlagler, FL: 61 warnings · mostly floodingFranklin, FL: 61 warnings · mostly everything elseGrady, OK: 61 warnings · mostly floodingBay, FL: 62 warnings · mostly everything elseWalton, FL: 62 warnings · mostly floodingTillman, OK: 62 warnings · mostly floodingColleton, SC: 62 warnings · mostly everything elseVal Verde, TX: 62 warnings · mostly floodingWilbarger, TX: 62 warnings · mostly floodingCochise, AZ: 63 warnings · mostly severe stormsGarfield, UT: 63 warnings · mostly everything elseClay, FL: 64 warnings · mostly floodingCamden, GA: 64 warnings · mostly floodingBeaver, UT: 64 warnings · mostly everything elseHancock, MS: 65 warnings · mostly everything elseDoña Ana, NM: 65 warnings · mostly severe stormsSanta Barbara, CA: 67 warnings · mostly floodingPecos, TX: 67 warnings · mostly severe stormsNew Hanover, NC: 68 warnings · mostly everything elseSoutheast Fairbanks, AK: 69 warnings · mostly everything elseHudspeth, TX: 69 warnings · mostly severe stormsMohave, AZ: 70 warnings · mostly floodingDickens, TX: 70 warnings · mostly severe stormsIron, UT: 70 warnings · mostly everything elseTulare, CA: 72 warnings · mostly extreme heatMontezuma, CO: 72 warnings · mostly floodingCatron, NM: 72 warnings · mostly severe stormsSierra, NM: 72 warnings · mostly severe stormsCaddo, OK: 72 warnings · mostly floodingPalm Beach, FL: 73 warnings · mostly floodingLake, FL: 75 warnings · mostly floodingSan Bernardino, CA: 76 warnings · mostly floodingLuna, NM: 76 warnings · mostly severe stormsMcClain, OK: 77 warnings · mostly floodingArchuleta, CO: 78 warnings · mostly floodingBernalillo, NM: 78 warnings · mostly everything elseValencia, NM: 79 warnings · mostly everything elseGrant, NM: 81 warnings · mostly severe stormsGreenlee, AZ: 83 warnings · mostly severe stormsVentura, CA: 83 warnings · mostly everything elseCharleston, SC: 83 warnings · mostly everything elseBrewster, TX: 83 warnings · mostly floodingOtero, NM: 84 warnings · mostly floodingKern, CA: 86 warnings · mostly everything elseRiverside, CA: 86 warnings · mostly floodingClark, NV: 86 warnings · mostly floodingCleveland, OK: 86 warnings · mostly floodingFresno, CA: 88 warnings · mostly everything elseApache, AZ: 89 warnings · mostly severe stormsChaves, NM: 89 warnings · mostly severe stormsCanadian, OK: 89 warnings · mostly floodingKane, UT: 92 warnings · mostly everything elseOrange, CA: 93 warnings · mostly floodingNassau, FL: 96 warnings · mostly floodingConejos, CO: 98 warnings · mostly floodingEl Paso, TX: 98 warnings · mostly severe stormsMonroe, FL: 99 warnings · mostly floodingSt. Johns, FL: 101 warnings · mostly floodingEscambia, FL: 103 warnings · mostly everything elseMobile, AL: 104 warnings · mostly everything elseRio Grande, CO: 107 warnings · mostly floodingBaldwin, AL: 111 warnings · mostly everything elseSan Juan, UT: 111 warnings · mostly floodingWashington, UT: 111 warnings · mostly floodingYavapai, AZ: 112 warnings · mostly severe stormsVolusia, FL: 114 warnings · mostly floodingLincoln, NM: 114 warnings · mostly severe stormsRio Arriba, NM: 114 warnings · mostly floodingMcKinley, NM: 115 warnings · mostly floodingDuval, FL: 117 warnings · mostly floodingSan Diego, CA: 119 warnings · mostly floodingSocorro, NM: 121 warnings · mostly floodingSanta Rosa, FL: 127 warnings · mostly everything elsePinal, AZ: 128 warnings · mostly everything elseCibola, NM: 131 warnings · mostly floodingLos Angeles, CA: 135 warnings · mostly everything elseSan Juan, NM: 138 warnings · mostly floodingGila, AZ: 146 warnings · mostly severe stormsNavajo, AZ: 146 warnings · mostly severe stormsOkaloosa, FL: 146 warnings · mostly floodingGraham, AZ: 147 warnings · mostly severe stormsCoconino, AZ: 160 warnings · mostly severe stormsMaricopa, AZ: 166 warnings · mostly everything elseSandoval, NM: 176 warnings · mostly severe stormsSandoval, NM · 176Maricopa, AZ · 166Coconino, AZ · 160
  • Flooding
  • Winter
  • Severe storms
  • Everything else

Flooding13,509 warnings · 1,503 counties

Winter5,492 warnings · 1,201 counties

Severe storms3,876 warnings · 520 counties

Hurricane & tropical2,622 warnings · 263 counties

Fire1,838 warnings · 279 counties

Tornadoes761 warnings · 222 counties

Safety & civil679 warnings · 289 counties

Extreme heat613 warnings · 51 counties

View as a table
CountyStateWarningsMost frequent kind
SandovalNM176Severe storms
MaricopaAZ166Everything else
CoconinoAZ160Severe storms
GrahamAZ147Severe storms
OkaloosaFL146Flooding
NavajoAZ146Severe storms
GilaAZ146Severe storms
San JuanNM138Flooding
Los AngelesCA135Everything else
CibolaNM131Flooding
PinalAZ128Everything else
Santa RosaFL127Everything else
SocorroNM121Flooding
San DiegoCA119Flooding
DuvalFL117Flooding
McKinleyNM115Flooding
VolusiaFL114Flooding
LincolnNM114Severe storms
Rio ArribaNM114Flooding
YavapaiAZ112Severe storms

The human record

What it cost, and who reported it

These figures are not ours. Our archive records that a warning was issued, never what happened next, so every number here comes from the organization named beside it and was retrieved on November 3, 2026.

  • Toll

    1person injured

    The Weather Channel reported one person injured when a section of road washed out in Persia, Iowa, during the flooding.

    Source: The Weather Channel

    ArchiveOur records place this event in Iowa between 2026-10-01 and 2026-10-01.

  • Toll

    Reporting on October 1, The Reader said no deaths or serious injuries had been reported in the Omaha and Lincoln flooding.

    Source: The Reader

  • Rescue

    4people rescued

    At approximately 8 a.m. on October 1, Lincoln firefighters rescued four people from two partially submerged minivans near South First Street and Harwood Court, putting life jackets on the occupants before bringing them to safety.

    Source: KOLN / 10/11 NOW

  • Rescue

    The Weather Channel reported that multiple water rescues were needed in Dodge City during the flooding.

    Source: The Weather Channel

  • In their words

    In an October 1 interview about the overnight flooding near 11th Street and Cornhusker Highway in Lincoln, Domino’s manager and part owner Fang Yu described being evacuated by boat after rescuers ordered her to leave.

    “Because the waters kept going and fast, and I don’t think I can stand in there.”
    Fang Yu, Manager and part owner of the Domino’s near 11th Street and Cornhusker Highway in Lincoln, to KLKN-TV

    Source: KLKN-TV

  • Toll

    0deaths

    0injuries

    The National Weather Service's preliminary survey recorded no deaths or injuries from the October 11 Clarendon tornado in Columbus County.

    Source: National Weather Service Wilmington, archived by Iowa Environmental Mesonet

    ArchiveOur records show tornadoes and severe storms warnings covering this area on October 11.

  • Toll

    0deaths

    0injuries

    The National Weather Service's preliminary survey recorded no deaths or injuries from the October 11 Carpenter tornado in Wake County.

    Source: National Weather Service Raleigh, archived by Iowa Environmental Mesonet

    ArchiveOur records show tornadoes and severe storms warnings covering this area on October 11.

  • Toll

    0deaths

    0injuries

    The National Weather Service's preliminary survey recorded no deaths or injuries from the October 11 Perry Creek tornado in Wake County.

    Source: National Weather Service Raleigh, archived by Iowa Environmental Mesonet

    ArchiveOur records show tornadoes and severe storms warnings covering this area on October 11.

  • Toll

    0deaths

    0injuries

    The National Weather Service's preliminary survey recorded no deaths or injuries from the October 11 Louisburg tornado in Franklin County.

    Source: National Weather Service Raleigh, archived by Iowa Environmental Mesonet

    ArchiveOur records show tornadoes and severe storms warnings covering this area on October 11.

  • In their words

    Raleigh homeowner Eric Grubbs told WRAL that a phone alert prompted him to take shelter in another room before a living-room window broke and part of his roof collapsed.

    “I would have been sitting right there when that roof was collapsing”
    Eric Grubbs, Raleigh homeowner whose home was damaged, to WRAL

    Source: WRAL

  • Rescue

    Crews responded to a reported water rescue on October 15 after an SUV became stranded in floodwater on Banner Road near State Highway 66 between Yukon and El Reno, but the report did not establish a rescue outcome.

    Source: Hoodline, citing KOCO 5

  • In their words

    Nick Smith described flooding in Norman.

    “one of the worst times I've seen it flood”
    Nick Smith, First Alert Storm Chaser, to KOCO 5

    Source: KOCO 5

  • Closed

    Floodwater made Canadian County roads impassable on October 14.

    Source: KOCO 5

    ArchiveOur records show flash flooding warnings covering this area on October 14.

  • Closed

    The Texas Department of Transportation issued an October 15 emergency alert closing FM 835 because of flooding and directing drivers to seek an alternate route, with the alert identifying Lubbock County rather than the Oklahoma counties.

    Source: Texas Department of Transportation, alert reproduced by GovOneStop

    ArchiveOur records show flash flooding warnings covering this area on October 15.

  • Response

    Cleveland County Emergency Manager George Mauldin urged residents to submit information and photographs of storm and flood damage to the county and Oklahoma's damage-reporting portal, and said he would assess reported damage.

    Source: Cleveland County government

    ArchiveOur records place this event in Oklahoma between 2026-10-14 and 2026-10-15.

For 2 of these stories, research looked for reported deaths and injuries and found none. As far as the record shows, no one was hurt.

The numbers behind this report

Every warning counted once, by type, place, day and hour, with the method below and the whole table downloadable at the end of the page.

Distinct warnings
15,623
carried by 36,616 messages (2.34× echo)
Counties reached
3,650
across 54 states and territories
Overnight
4,274
10pm–6am local · 82 of the most severe
Effective on arrival
99%
take effect the moment they are sent

What was warned about

Alert typeWarningsMessages
Small Craft Advisory2,42211,492
Severe Thunderstorm Warning1,6391,639
Flood Warning1,3671,832
Special Weather Statement1,2991,316
Flood Advisory1,2781,286
Flash Flood Warning851851
Dense Fog Advisory521767
Flood Watch498654

Where

StateWarnings
TX1,271
NM999
FL897
AZ870
CA833
AK499
NC497
KS496

The busiest hour of the period was 6pm local time, with 919 warnings.

Counties reached most often

CountyStateWarnings
SandovalNM176
MaricopaAZ166
CoconinoAZ160
GrahamAZ147
OkaloosaFL146
NavajoAZ146
GilaAZ146
San JuanNM138
Los AngelesCA135
CibolaNM131

A county with no alerts is not a county with no risk. It can mean a quiet period, or a hazard that this feed does not carry.

Figure 04Embed this chart

When the warnings arrived

Distinct warnings by the local hour they were sent, across the whole period.Local time in the place each alert was sent to. 4,274 arrived between 10pm and 6am, 82 of them at the highest severity.
025050075012am: 444 warnings1am: 530 warnings2am: 651 warnings3am: 491 warnings4am: 448 warnings5am: 466 warnings6am: 527 warnings7am: 441 warnings8am: 593 warnings9am: 620 warnings10am: 599 warnings11am: 734 warnings12pm: 638 warnings1pm: 799 warnings2pm: 817 warnings3pm: 768 warnings4pm: 743 warnings5pm: 824 warnings6pm: 919 warnings7pm: 855 warnings8pm: 753 warnings9pm: 719 warnings10pm: 612 warnings11pm: 632 warnings91912am3am6am9am12pm3pm6pm9pmShaded hours are overnight, 10pm to 6am local
View as a table
Local hourWarningsOf which most severe
12am4448
1am5304
2am65113
3am4918
4am4486
5am46617
6am5276
7am4418
8am5939
9am62018
10am59928
11am73441
12pm63837
1pm79954
2pm81747
3pm76854
4pm74349
5pm82455
6pm91946
7pm85556
8pm75326
9pm71924
10pm61212
11pm63214
Figure 05Embed this chart

The feed repeats itself

How many messages the feed carried, how many distinct warnings they represent, and how many counties those reached.An echo rate of 2.34× — for every warning issued, 2.34 messages carried it. Reporting messages as warnings would overstate this month by 20,993.
Messages received21,544 of them updates to a warning already sent36,616Distinct warningswhat every figure in this report counts15,623Counties reacheda warning usually covers several at once3,650
View as a table
StageCount
Messages received36,616
Of which updates21,544
Of which cancels0
Distinct warnings15,623
Counties reached3,650
Figure 06Embed this chart

How severe they were

Distinct warnings by the severity the issuing agency assigned.
MinorMinor: 5,0605,060ModerateModerate: 3,7093,709SevereSevere: 6,1226,122ExtremeExtreme: 640640Not classifiedNot classified: 9292
  • Minor
  • Moderate
  • Severe
  • Extreme
  • Not classified
View as a table
SeverityWarnings
Minor5,060
Moderate3,709
Severe6,122
Extreme640
Not classified92
Figure 07Embed this chart

What people were told to do

The share of warnings carrying each instruction to the public.These are response counts. They record the instruction an alert carried, not the hazard behind it.
Avoid: 7,527 (48.2%)Avoid 48%Follow instructions: 2,925 (18.7%)Shelter: 1,940 (12.4%)Everything else: 3,231 (20.7%)Everything else 21%
  • Avoid
  • Follow instructions
  • Shelter
  • Everything else

Where those instructions came from

  • Shelter (1,940) — 380 corroborated as flood, 592 corroborated as tornado, 7 corroborated as wildfire, 3 corroborated as hurricane, 958 with no hazard stated in the alert text
  • Evacuate (30) — 14 corroborated as flood, 10 corroborated as wildfire, 6 with no hazard stated in the alert text
View as a table
ResponseWarningsShare
Avoid7,52748.2%
Follow instructions2,92518.7%
Shelter1,94012.4%
Prepare1,71211.0%
Monitor1,2267.8%
Unstated2381.5%
Evacuate300.2%
All clear250.2%

What this report cannot tell you

  • This report records the warnings that were sent: when, where, and what people were told to do. It cannot say whether anyone received them, whether they acted, or whether they had anywhere to go.
  • Deaths, injuries, damage and acreage come from the news organizations and agencies named beside each figure. Our own records measure warnings, never outcomes, and are never the source for a toll.
  • A county is the smallest area these alerts describe, so "a county was warned" does not mean every street in it was at risk.
  • Where no figure has been reported, this report says so rather than estimating.

How these numbers were counted

Counted OCT 1, 2026 – NOV 1, 2026 · Frozen at publish

The alert figures in this report — how many warnings, where, when, and how severe — come from the alerts this archive received from FEMA IPAWS and the National Weather Service between October 1, 2026 and November 1, 2026, counted once and frozen when the report was published.

Deaths, damage and acreage are not ours and are never drawn from this archive. Each is attributed to the organization that reported it, above.

What was counted

  • cap_status = 'Actual' (tests, exercises and demos excluded)
  • SAME test codes RWT/RMT/DMO/NPT/NAT excluded, and any event type containing "test"
  • An event is the first message of a CAP identifier chain; updates and cancels are counted separately
  • Alert time is cap_sent, falling back to ingest time when the feed omits it
  • Counties come from the alert geocodes (SAME/FIPS); statewide codes are not counted as counties

What these numbers cannot tell you

  • Lead time is the gap between when an alert was sent and when it takes effect. This archive collapses CAP onset into effective, so for many products those are the same instant by design — it is not a measure of forecast warning time.
  • 167 alerts expire exactly 24 hours after they were sent because the feed omitted an expiry and the ingest substitutes a default. They are excluded from the duration distribution rather than charted as real forecasts.
  • Evacuation and shelter figures are RESPONSE counts. They record what people were told to do, not what caused it; where the alert text does not name a hazard, the row is reported as unstated.
  • Hour-of-day figures use each alert’s own local time, resolved from its state. Alerts spanning several states resolve to the first state in their geocodes.
  • National Weather Service alerts began arriving in volume on 2026-06-12. Earlier months hold only the handful that reached this archive by other routes, so they undercount weather alerts badly and cannot be compared with later months.
  • Population figures are not available for these counties, so alert counts are reported per county and never per resident.

This archive

Collection began 2026-03-27. National Weather Service alerts began arriving in volume on 2026-06-12 (a small number reached the archive by other routes from 2026-03-31). Months from 2026-07-01 onward can be compared with each other; earlier ones cannot.

For newsrooms and researchers

Use these figures

Figures v1 · Frozen

Journalists, emergency managers and researchers are welcome to reuse anything in this report, including the underlying counts, with attribution. Version 1 of these figures is frozen: if a correction changes them, it appears above as a dated note rather than silently replacing what you cited.

Download the figures (CSV)Ask about the data
Cite this report
BePreparedSolutions.co. "Floods stranded Plains drivers as tornadoes damaged North Carolina homes." Alert Pulse, November 3, 2026. https://bepreparedsolutions.co/reports/alert-pulse/2026-10
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Source: BePrepared Solutions, Alert Pulse (2026). Alert counts from FEMA IPAWS and National Weather Service feeds; casualty and damage figures as attributed in the report.
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