Onslow County, North Carolina

What hazards hit Onslow County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 231 since 1964. 48% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1964 fell in June and July. 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 Onslow County had?

NOAA records 50 tornadoes in Onslow County from 1955 to 2026, the strongest rated EF3, with 3 deaths and 149 injuries recorded in the county. That is 8th 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 49 tornadoes whose track touched Onslow County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 50: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 3 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 Onslow County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the April 11, 2025 lightning (1 death and 1 injury).

Broadcast media reports that a lightning strike killed one person fishing near the Northeast Creek Park in Jacksonville, NC, on April 11th, during the late evening hours.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1238944)

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

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: 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 Onslow 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?

48% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1964 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Onslow County

FEMA's register lists 30 declarations that include Onslow County: 15 major disasters, 15 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (22) 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 Onslow County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 63 flood or flash flood records for Onslow County from 1996 to 2025, on 51 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Onslow County ranks 102nd of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $70.7 million on 4,432 claims filed in Onslow County; the most in one year was 1,445 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 Onslow County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Onslow County Relatively High overall, with an expected annual loss of $216 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 Onslow County

1. Onslow County 668
2. Carteret County 625
3. Duplin County 589
4. Pender County 548
5. Jones County 276

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 Onslow CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Onslow County's FEMA declarations (CSV)30 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis