New Hanover County, North Carolina

What hazards hit New Hanover County most?

The most frequent records are floods and flash floods: 189 since 1996. 52% of its floods and flash floods since 1996 fell in September and October. 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 New Hanover County had?

NOAA records 33 tornadoes in New Hanover County from 1954 to 2025, the strongest rated EF1, with 0 deaths and 8 injuries recorded in the county. That is 1st of 100 North Carolina counties and 14th 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 33 tornadoes whose track touched New Hanover County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 33, 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 New Hanover County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 28, 2026 lightning ($300,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Lightning started a fire that destroyed a home on Costmary Lane.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1336255)

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 New Hanover 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).

Hurricanes and tropical storms in the 2010s: 22 records against 7 in the decade before, 22 of them forecast-zone records. Cells marked z rose mostly through zone records. The local National Weather Service office files these once per forecast zone, so a change in how it draws its zones or splits a storm into records moves this count as much as the weather does; read it beside the New Hanover County days with a record above.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

52% of its floods and flash floods since 1996 fell in September and October. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for New Hanover County

FEMA's register lists 32 declarations that include New Hanover County: 16 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 New Hanover County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 189 flood or flash flood records for New Hanover County from 1996 to 2025, on 83 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), New Hanover County ranks 48th of 2,942 U.S. counties. The 100 counties with the most claims

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $188 million on 11,183 claims filed in New Hanover County; the most in one year was 3,783 in 1996. 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 New Hanover County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates New Hanover County Relatively High overall, with an expected annual loss of $257 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 New Hanover County

1. New Hanover County 813
2. Brunswick County 641
3. Pender County 548

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
• Floods in North CarolinaThe state's floods and flash floods, 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 New Hanover CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download New Hanover County's FEMA declarations (CSV)32 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis