North America Weather & Natural Hazards Today – November 5, 2026

By Paul Harrison, Orbis Weather · Nov 5, 2026

At a glance

Near-record flash flooding on the Georgia-Tennessee line was North America’s main hazard in the 24 hours to Thursday morning, November 5, as a cross-country storm moved its rain to the East Coast.

• Floods: more than 30 water rescues in McCaysville, Georgia, with flash flood emergencies there and in Copperhill, Tennessee; no confirmed deaths.
• Storms: rain spreads along the I-95 corridor Thursday and Friday; the storm earlier brought deadly flooding to Arizona and heavy mountain snow to the Rockies.
• Earthquakes: quiet, with a magnitude 5.0 off Northern California causing no expected damage.
• Fires: US activity is light, at preparedness level 1.
• Tropics and volcanoes: no active tropical storms near North America; no major new eruption.

The National Weather Service, Environment Canada, Mexico’s national weather service and local authorities issue the official warnings; follow them first.

Storms and severe weather

A storm that has crossed the United States since the weekend is now bringing rain to the East Coast, after near-record flooding on the Georgia-Tennessee line overnight.

The system first hit the Southwest. FOX Weather reported more than a foot of snow in the San Juan, Sawatch, Wasatch and Uinta ranges, and states of emergency in Arizona, Utah and Colorado. A man was found dead on Monday in Flagstaff, Arizona, after being swept into floodwaters, and police are investigating a second possibly weather-related death there, according to FOX Weather. A tornado touched down in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, on Tuesday, November 3.

East Coast, Thursday and Friday: FOX Weather expects more than an inch (25 mm) of rain along much of the I-95 corridor, with 2 to 3 inches (50–75 mm) possible locally from Virginia to southeast New England. The rain ends a dry spell of more than two weeks in cities such as New York, Boston and Philadelphia. FOX Weather’s flash flood risk for Friday is highest, at level 2 of 4, around Newport and Providence, Rhode Island, and parts of southeast Massachusetts.

Canada: Environment Canada’s only weather summary on Thursday morning reported a record low of −6.2°C (20.8°F) on November 4 at Winterland, Newfoundland, beating the previous record of −3.4°C (25.9°F) from 2013 (Environment Canada).

Floods

The most serious flooding is in McCaysville, Georgia, and neighboring Copperhill, Tennessee, where crews made more than 30 water rescues overnight and water rose over the roofs of some homes.

The Toccoa River, which becomes the Ocoee in Tennessee, rose to near or above its 1990 record. Atlanta News First cited NOAA data showing 18.05 feet, above the 17.8-foot record set on February 16, 1990. KCRG, in a syndicated report, said the river crested at 17.73 feet as of 8 a.m., just short of the record. CNN said it crested just above the record shortly after 6 a.m. ET. The sources disagree, and the official gauge reading may be revised.

Up to 6 inches (150 mm) of rain fell in six hours at several gauges, which CNN described as at least a 1-in-200-year rainfall, according to CNN’s report via KVIA. McCaysville Police Chief Michael Earley reported the rescue count and said several people were still trapped in homes. The city is under a state of emergency and closed until further notice. No deaths or injuries had been confirmed.

CNN said the rain has ended in north Georgia and no more downpours are expected through the weekend.

Earthquakes

It was a quiet day for earthquakes in North America. The US Geological Survey (USGS) catalog lists two of magnitude 3.5 or greater in the 24 hours to 13:29 UTC (8:29 a.m. EST) on November 5.

The magnitude 5.0 struck at sea off Northern California. USGS gave it a green PAGER alert, meaning little or no expected damage, and 124 people reported feeling it, with light shaking at most. No tsunami was flagged for either quake. USGS catalog search, run at 13:29 UTC.

Fires

US wildfire activity is light, at the lowest national preparedness level, though the 2026 season’s acreage is far above average. Figures come from the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) situation report dated 7:30 a.m. MDT, Wednesday, November 4.

• Sisi Fire, Washington: 4,816 acres (1,949 ha), 45% contained; NIFC notes “residences threatened.”
• Bee Haven 2, Florida: 2,060 acres (834 ha), 85% contained.
• Wild River, New Hampshire: 288 acres (117 ha), 11% contained.

In the Northeast, the incoming rain follows a dry spell; FOX Weather noted that Maine is in drought.

Tropics and volcanoes

No tropical storm is active near North America, but the National Hurricane Center (NHC) is watching three areas.

Outlooks were issued at 1 a.m. EST (Atlantic) and 10 p.m. PST November 4 (Eastern Pacific); newer outlooks replace these figures.

No major new volcanic eruption was reported in North America on November 4 or 5. In the most recent Smithsonian/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report in its public feed, for October 8–14, Kilauea (Hawaii) was at alert level Watch with lava fountaining at its summit. Great Sitkin (Alaska) and Popocatépetl (Mexico) were also erupting. The USGS volcano observatories and Mexico’s CENAPRED issue the current alert levels.

What to watch next

• North Georgia and southeast Tennessee: the Toccoa-Ocoee River’s fall and any update on rescues or damage. Fannin County Emergency Management and NWS Morristown issue updates.
• East Coast rain, Thursday into Saturday morning: local NWS offices issue any flood watches or warnings from Virginia to New England.
• The low south of Bermuda: NHC Tropical Weather Outlooks track its chance of becoming subtropical this weekend.
• Southwest recovery: evacuations remain near the San Juan River in New Mexico and Colorado.
• Wildfires: NIFC’s next situation report updates national fire figures.

About this report

This report covers weather and natural hazards across the United States, Canada and Mexico in the 24 hours to about 8:30 a.m. EST (13:30 UTC) on Thursday, November 5, 2026, with forecasts for the days ahead. It draws on the USGS, NHC, NIFC, Environment Canada, the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program and news reports. Agency figures are preliminary and change as updates arrive, and casualty counts carry their source. The National Weather Service, Environment Canada, Mexico’s national weather service and local authorities issue the official warnings; follow them first.

Glossary

• Flash flood emergency: the NWS’s most serious flood alert, used when severe threat to life and catastrophic damage are under way or imminent.
• Crest: the highest level a river reaches during a flood.
• 1-in-200-year rainfall: rain so heavy that it has about a 0.5% chance of happening in any given year at that place.
• PAGER alert: a USGS estimate of an earthquake’s likely impact, from green (little or none) to red.
• Preparedness level: NIFC’s 1-to-5 scale of how stretched national firefighting resources are; 1 is the lowest.

Frequently asked questions

How bad is the flooding in McCaysville, Georgia? The police chief reported more than 30 water rescues, and water reached the roofs of some homes. No deaths or injuries had been confirmed as of Thursday morning.

Did the Toccoa River break its record? Reports disagree. Atlanta News First cited a reading above the 1990 record, while a syndicated report put the crest just below it; the official NWS gauge record will settle it.

Will the East Coast see flooding? FOX Weather expects 1 to 3 inches of rain from Virginia to New England into Friday, with the highest flash flood risk in Rhode Island and southeast Massachusetts. Watch for local NWS alerts.

Was the earthquake off California dangerous? No damage was expected. The magnitude 5.0 struck about 69 miles offshore, USGS gave it a green alert, and no tsunami was flagged.

Sources

Storms and floods

• Atlanta News First: McCaysville flooding triggers more than 30 water rescues
• KCRG: Flooding prompts state of emergency in Georgia
• CNN via KVIA: “Catastrophic flood event” in North Georgia and southern Tennessee
• FOX 5 Atlanta: North Georgia flash flooding
• NWS Morristown flash flood warning text (repost)
• FOX Weather: Flash Flood Emergency at Tennessee-Georgia border
• FOX Weather: Cross-country storm to impact 35+ states
• Environment Canada weather summaries

Earthquakes

• USGS earthquake catalog search

Fires, tropics and volcanoes

• NIFC Incident Management Situation Report, Nov 4
• NHC Atlantic Tropical Weather Outlook
• NHC Eastern Pacific Tropical Weather Outlook
• Smithsonian/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report feed