Durham County, North Carolina
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 37063 · population 324,580 · 288 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 624 records for Durham County, North Carolina from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 412 days; the most frequent are severe thunderstorm wind events (264 records). The deadliest single record is the April 9, 2016 strong wind, filed for the forecast zone Durham, which covers the county: 1 death, 1 injury and $37,000 in damage in 2025 dollars. FEMA has issued 25 declarations naming the county since 1977, 23 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Winter Storm” on January 24, 2026.
The record, 1950 to 2026
Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $100,000
- $100,000 or more
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more, or a death
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
- 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
- Storm records
- 624on 412 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 514 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $95Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 11strongest F2
- FEMA declarations
- 25latest 2026
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.
What hazards hit Durham County most?
The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 264 since 1956. 40% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1956 fell in May and June. 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.
| Hazard | Records | Days | First, last | Killed | Injured | Damage | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 264 | 178 | 1956-2026 | 2 | 4 | $1.8M | 3 of 100 |
| Hail | 127 | 85 | 1955-2025 | 0 | 0 | $18K | 6 of 100 |
| Floods | 95 | 67 | 1996-2025 | 0 | 0 | $20M | 3 of 100 |
| Winter storms | 69 | 68 | 1996-2026 | 0 | 0 | $1.8M | 26 of 100 |
| High wind and dust storms | 23 | 20 | 1998-2020 | 1 | 1 | $1.8M | 22 of 100 |
| Tornadoes | 11 | 11 | 1975-2024 | 0 | 5 | $68M | 29 of 100 |
| Lightning | 10 | 10 | 1997-2021 | 1 | 4 | $247K | 11 of 100 |
| Hurricanes and tropical storms | 8 | 8 | 1996-2022 | 1 | 0 | $1.6M | 24 of 100 |
| Heat | 6 | 6 | 1998-2025 | 0 | 0 | – | 4 of 100 |
| Heavy rain | 6 | 4 | 1998-2020 | 0 | 0 | – | 25 of 100 |
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | 3 | 1 | 2006-2006 | 0 | 0 | – | 42 of 100 |
| Extreme cold | 2 | 2 | 1996-2025 | 0 | 0 | – | 51 of 100 |
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 Durham County had?
NOAA records 11 tornadoes in Durham County from 1975 to 2024, the strongest rated F2, with 0 deaths and 5 injuries recorded in the county. That is 29th of 100 North Carolina 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 11 tornadoes whose track touched Durham County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 11, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.
Map of the strongest tornado tracks in North Carolina.
Every tornado record filed for Durham County (11)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-09-27 | Mangum Store, Durham County | EF1 0.6 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $28K |
| 2022-05-23 | Weaver, Durham County | EF0 1.53 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $151K |
| 2022-03-31 | Clegg, Durham County | EF1 0.22 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $101K |
| 2016-02-24 | Huckleberry Spg, Durham County | EF1 0.43 mi x 30 yd | 0 | 0 | $123K |
| 2014-05-15 | Hope Vly, Durham County | EF1 0.76 mi x 150 yd | 0 | 0 | $312K |
| 2006-05-14 | Gorman, Durham County | F0 0.5 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1998-03-20 | Bahama, Durham County | F2 2.5 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 1 | $1.1M |
| 1989-07-16 | Durham County | F1 | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1989-05-05 | Durham County | F2 8.7 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $25M step |
| 1984-04-04 | Durham County | F2 1.7 mi x 67 yd | 0 | 4 | $2.5M step |
| 1975-12-31 | Durham County | F0 0.1 mi x 7 yd | 0 | 0 | $250 step |
A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.
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 Durham County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 22, 2026 thunderstorm wind ($1,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindHuckleberry Spg, Durham County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindWest Durham, Durham County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $5K |
| 2026-03-16 | Thunderstorm WindHope Vly, Durham County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 1 | $20K |
| 2026-01-31 | Winter StormDurham County · forecast zone Durham | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-24 | Winter StormDurham County · forecast zone Durham | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-11-11 | Frost/FreezeDurham County · forecast zone Durham | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-07-28 | Excessive HeatDurham County · forecast zone Durham | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-07-27 | Excessive HeatDurham County · forecast zone Durham | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-07-26 | Excessive HeatDurham County · forecast zone Durham | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-07-19 | Thunderstorm WindEast Durham, Durham County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $2K |
| 2025-07-17 | Thunderstorm WindNorth Durham, Durham County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $5K |
| 2025-07-09 | Flash FloodWest Durham, Durham County | 0 | 0 | $100K |
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
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-04-09 | Strong WindDurham County · forecast zone Durham Strong winds of 40 to 50 mph downed scattered trees and limbs, resulting in scattered power outages across the county. The wind toppled a tree onto a car on West Trinity Avenue, killing the passenger and seriously injuring the driver. | 37 kt wind | 1 | 1 | $37K |
| 2014-03-12 | Thunderstorm WindHope Vly, Durham County Numerous trees, power lines and power poles were blown down from near Chapel Hill to near Parkwood. A 55-year old man was killed by a falling tree as he was standing on the back deck of his home on Roper Lane in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. | 50 kt wind | 1 | 0 | $10K |
| 2011-06-10 | LightningGorman, Durham County A 45 year old male died when he was struck by lightning while feeding his livestock. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1996-09-05 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Durham County · forecast zone Durham Hurricane FRAN was the worst natural economic disaster to occur in North Carolina history. In the RAH county warning area along, the damage exceeded 2 billion dollars. Damage to crops, livestock, farm equipment/buildings was over 400 million. The agricultural damage was the greatest in Sampson, Johnston, and Wayne ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1986-08-11 | Thunderstorm WindDurham County | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1984-04-04 | TornadoDurham County | F2 1.7 mi x 67 yd | 0 | 4 | $2.5M step |
| 2021-09-08 | LightningDurham County Three men were injured by lightning at an apartment complex along Broad Street. | 0 | 3 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Thunderstorm WindHope Vly, Durham County A tree fell on a house and injured a child in the 1000 block of Red Oak Avenue. | 50 kt wind | 0 | 1 | $20K |
A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-09-17 | FloodGenlee, Durham County | 0 | 0 | $19M | |
| 2015-02-25 | Winter StormDurham County · forecast zone Durham | 0 | 0 | $1.2M | |
| 1998-03-20 | TornadoBahama, Durham County | F2 2.5 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 1 | $1.1M |
| 2003-09-18 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Durham County · forecast zone Durham | 0 | 0 | $329K | |
| 2014-05-15 | TornadoHope Vly, Durham County | EF1 0.76 mi x 150 yd | 0 | 0 | $312K |
| 2016-02-24 | Thunderstorm WindHuckleberry Spg, Durham County | 70 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $307K |
| 2016-07-15 | Thunderstorm WindFew, Durham County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 1 | $184K |
| 2022-05-23 | TornadoWeaver, Durham County | EF0 1.53 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $151K |
Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $25M, in the dollars of the day) holds: May 5, 1989 (tornado, Durham County).
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 Durham 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).
| Hazard | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 6 | 7 | 5 | 30 | 24 | 37 | 81 | 74 |
| Hail | 2 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 30 | 37 | 32 | 5 |
| Floods | – | – | – | – | 12 | 19 | 31 | 33 |
| Winter storms | – | – | – | – | 5 | 25 | 27 | 12 |
| High wind and dust storms | – | – | – | – | 2 | 8 | 10 | 3 |
| Tornadoes | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).
What time of year?
40% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1956 fell in May and June. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 48 · Feb 31 · Mar 41 · Apr 48 · May 112 · Jun 98 · Jul 91 · Aug 60 · Sep 47 · Oct 20 · Nov 9 · Dec 19 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Durham County
FEMA's register lists 25 declarations that include Durham County: 11 major disasters, 14 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (11) and snowstorm (3).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-24 | EM-3637 | Winter Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| 2025-09-11 | DR-4889 | Tropical Depression | Tropical Depression Chantal |
| 2024-09-26 | EM-3617 | Tropical Storm | Hurricane Helene |
| 2024-08-06 | EM-3608 | Tropical Storm | Tropical Storm Debby |
| 2022-10-01 | EM-3586 | Hurricane | Hurricane Ian |
| 2020-08-02 | EM-3534 | Hurricane | Hurricane Isaias |
| 2020-03-25 | DR-4487 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3471 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 2019-09-03 | EM-3423 | Hurricane | Hurricane Dorian |
| 2018-09-14 | DR-4393 | Hurricane | Hurricane Florence |
| 2018-09-10 | EM-3401 | Hurricane | Hurricane Florence |
| 2016-10-07 | EM-3380 | Hurricane | Hurricane Matthew |
| 2005-09-05 | EM-3222 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| 2003-09-18 | DR-1490 | Hurricane | Hurricane Isabel |
| 2002-12-12 | DR-1448 | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Ice Storm |
| 2000-01-31 | DR-1312 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| 1999-09-16 | DR-1292 | Hurricane | Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations |
| 1999-09-15 | EM-3146 | Hurricane | Hurricane Floyd Emergency Declarations |
| 1998-03-22 | DR-1211 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms Tornadoes, and Flooding |
| 1996-09-06 | DR-1134 | Hurricane | Hurricane Fran |
| 1996-01-13 | DR-1087 | Snowstorm | Blizzard of 96 |
| 1993-03-17 | EM-3110 | Snowstorm | Severe Snowfall & Winter Storm |
| 1989-05-17 | DR-827 | Tornado | Tornadoes |
| 1977-08-11 | EM-3049 | Drought | Drought |
| 1977-03-02 | EM-3033 | Snowstorm | Drought & Freezing |
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 Durham County had?
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 95 flood or flash flood records for Durham County from 1996 to 2025, on 67 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Durham County ranks 560th of 2,942 U.S. counties.
| Storm | Began | Records | Deaths in the county |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Fran | 1996-09-05 | 1 | 1 |
| Tropical Depression Chantal | 2025-07-06 | 3 | 0 |
| Hurricane Ian | 2022-09-30 | 1 | 0 |
| Hurricane Florence | 2018-09-17 | 1 | 0 |
| Hurricane Isabel | 2003-09-18 | 1 | 0 |
The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $11.0 million on 443 claims filed in Durham County; the most in one year was 76 in 1996. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.
The values, year by year
1979: 2 · 1980: 1 · 1981: 2 · 1982: 1 · 1983: 2 · 1984: 5 · 1986: 6 · 1989: 1 · 1992: 1 · 1993: 1 · 1994: 2 · 1995: 2 · 1996: 76 · 1997: 5 · 1998: 16 · 1999: 18 · 2000: 16 · 2001: 3 · 2002: 17 · 2003: 2 · 2004: 5 · 2005: 8 · 2006: 6 · 2007: 1 · 2008: 7 · 2009: 3 · 2010: 1 · 2011: 2 · 2012: 5 · 2013: 16 · 2014: 9 · 2015: 6 · 2016: 41 · 2017: 3 · 2018: 58 · 2019: 5 · 2020: 6 · 2022: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2024: 30 · 2025: 47 · 2026: 1; the other years: 0.
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 Durham County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Durham County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $90.9 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.
| Hazard | Risk rating | Expected annual loss | Modeled frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tornado | Relatively High | $11M | once in about 8 years (modeled) |
| Lightning | Relatively High | $1.4M | 47 a year (modeled) |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | $2.1M | 1.3 a year (modeled) |
| Ice Storm | Relatively High | $552K | 1.7 a year (modeled) |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | $5.5M | 5.6 modeled event-days a year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | $57M | 2.1 a year (modeled) |
| Hurricane | Relatively Moderate | $7.6M | once in about 7 years (modeled) |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | $1.8M | 4.2 a year (modeled) |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.
Counties that share a border with Durham County
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 Durham CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Durham County's FEMA declarations (CSV)25 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis