Wilson County, North Carolina

What hazards hit Wilson County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 209 since 1968. 40% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1968 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 Wilson County had?

NOAA records 20 tornadoes in Wilson County from 1953 to 2024, the strongest rated EF3, with 2 deaths and 21 injuries recorded in the county. That is 10th 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 20 tornadoes whose track touched Wilson County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 20, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 3 people, 2 of them in Wilson County.

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 Wilson County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 27, 2026 thunderstorm wind ($1,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

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 Wilson 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?

40% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1968 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 Wilson County

FEMA's register lists 28 declarations that include Wilson County: 13 major disasters, 15 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (15) and severe 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 Wilson County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 51 flood or flash flood records for Wilson County from 1997 to 2025, on 34 days, with 2 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Wilson County ranks 505th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $12.6 million on 498 claims filed in Wilson County; the most in one year was 182 in 1999. 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 Wilson County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Wilson County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $30.1 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 Wilson County

1. Johnston County 864
2. Wayne County 657
3. Pitt County 647
4. Nash County 540
5. Wilson County 452
6. Edgecombe County 388
7. Greene County 288

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 Wilson CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Wilson County's FEMA declarations (CSV)28 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis