Carteret County, North Carolina

What hazards hit Carteret County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 209 since 1965. 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 Carteret County had?

NOAA records 80 tornadoes in Carteret County from 1963 to 2024, the strongest rated EF2, with 0 deaths and 11 injuries recorded in the county. That is 2nd of 100 North Carolina counties and 15th of 3,080 U.S. counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. 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 81 tornadoes whose track touched Carteret County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 80: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); 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 Carteret County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the July 12, 2020 rip current (2 deaths).

Emerald Isle officials say two men died Sunday afternoon after drowning in the ocean. The victims were two men, from Cornelius, NC, and from Raleigh, NC. The town manager said that a 911 call was made shortly after 4 p.m. for two swimmers in distress in the area of 9901 Coast Guard Road in the beach strand near Shipwreck Lane. Four surfers and a town lifeguard went into the water and pulled the two men to shore. Emergency personnel attempted life-saving measures but were unable to revive the men.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 893627)

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 Carteret 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?

Records by month in Carteret County. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Carteret County

FEMA's register lists 30 declarations that include Carteret County: 14 major disasters, 16 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (23) and tropical storm (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 Carteret County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 79 flood or flash flood records for Carteret County from 1996 to 2024, on 47 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Carteret County ranks 61st of 2,942 U.S. counties. The 100 counties with the most claims

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $129 million on 8,997 claims filed in Carteret County; the most in one year was 2,521 in 2018. 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 Carteret County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Carteret County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $129 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 Carteret County

1. Craven County 683
2. Onslow County 668
3. Carteret County 625
4. Jones County 276
5. Hyde County 253
6. Pamlico County 209

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
• Severe thunderstorm wind in North CarolinaThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, 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 Carteret CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Carteret County's FEMA declarations (CSV)30 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis