Storm hazard · NOAA Storm Events Database
High Wind in the United States
National statistics for high wind events from the NOAA Storm Events Database (2015–2025): how often they occur, where they hit hardest, and the human and property toll.
- 50,942
- Events recorded
- 125
- Fatalities
- $5.7B
- Property damage
- 53
- States affected
How dangerous are High Wind events in the U.S.?
NOAA's Storm Events Database has catalogued 50,942 high wind events across 53 states and territories between 2015 and 2025. The cumulative human toll is 125 fatalities and 337 injuries, and the financial footprint reaches $5.8B in combined property ($5.7B) and crop ($120.4M) damage. On a per-fatality basis this places high wind events at a very high severity tier relative to other tracked hazard types in the NOAA catalog.
Geographic exposure is heavily concentrated in a handful of high-severity states. The three states absorbing the largest share of events are WY (5,943 events, 0 fatalities), CA (4,876 events, 14 fatalities), MT (4,597 events, 2 fatalities), reflecting both physical geography (coastal exposure, plains corridors, terrain) and dense population sitting directly in harm's way. At the other end, states such as LA, DC, GU report far fewer events, a genuinely rare event outside the leading states, not merely an underreported one.
The year-to-year record shows real volatility around a high baseline. The peak year on record was 2022, logging 10,358 events and $56.9M in property damage in a single calendar year. The most recent year in the dataset is 2025 with 9,206 events recorded. Across the full 11-year window, annual event counts reflect seasonal climate cycles (ENSO phases, active vs. quiet severe-weather years) and long-term shifts tied to a warming climate both help explain the swings.
How to interpret this data
NOAA storm event data is filed by local National Weather Service forecast offices, so reporting intensity can vary by jurisdiction and should be interpreted alongside FEMA disaster declarations for a fuller picture.
For household and business preparedness, this state-and-year view should be paired with local-level FEMA National Risk Index ratings, flood-zone maps where applicable, and up-to-date NWS watch/warning information, population exposure and asset value matter as much as raw event frequency for estimating real-world risk.
High Wind by State
| # | State | Events | Fatalities | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wyoming WY | 5,943 | 0 | $2.2M |
| 2 | California CA | 4,876 | 14 | $229.3M |
| 3 | Montana MT | 4,597 | 2 | $7.8M |
| 4 | Texas TX | 3,796 | 1 | $6.8M |
| 5 | South Dakota SD | 3,123 | 0 | $35.0K |
| 6 | New Mexico NM | 2,915 | 0 | $19.8M |
| 7 | Colorado CO | 2,522 | 6 | $21.3M |
| 8 | Nebraska NE | 2,261 | 1 | $22.7M |
| 9 | Nevada NV | 2,229 | 0 | $15.5M |
| 10 | Kansas KS | 2,039 | 2 | $10.9M |
| 11 | North Dakota ND | 1,553 | 2 | $3.1M |
| 12 | New York NY | 1,147 | 5 | $33.9M |
| 13 | Oklahoma OK | 1,075 | 0 | $1.6M |
| 14 | Oregon OR | 967 | 17 | $3.2B |
| 15 | Alaska AK | 849 | 0 | $10.9M |
| 16 | Iowa IA | 834 | 0 | $423.0K |
| 17 | Massachusetts MA | 774 | 3 | $10.9M |
| 18 | Washington WA | 686 | 15 | $1.1B |
| 19 | Virginia VA | 645 | 4 | $71.2M |
| 20 | Utah UT | 605 | 4 | $13.0M |
| 21 | Arizona AZ | 591 | 0 | $936.0K |
| 22 | Idaho ID | 546 | 5 | $13.4M |
| 23 | Illinois IL | 501 | 2 | $1.0M |
| 24 | Minnesota MN | 487 | 1 | $1.1M |
| 25 | Ohio OH | 472 | 3 | $7.0M |
| 26 | Michigan MI | 445 | 3 | $669.0M |
| 27 | North Carolina NC | 408 | 6 | $48.5M |
| 28 | New Jersey NJ | 372 | 2 | $12.2M |
| 29 | Tennessee TN | 369 | 6 | $76.3M |
| 30 | Kentucky KY | 366 | 1 | $2.7M |
| 31 | Pennsylvania PA | 360 | 3 | $4.9M |
| 32 | Indiana IN | 352 | 2 | $5.3M |
| 33 | West Virginia WV | 341 | 0 | $6.4M |
| 34 | Maine ME | 327 | 3 | $40.0K |
| 35 | Missouri MO | 243 | 0 | $821.0K |
| 36 | Maryland MD | 204 | 3 | $290.0K |
| 37 | Wisconsin WI | 149 | 0 | $1.8M |
| 38 | Connecticut CT | 144 | 1 | $2.5M |
| 39 | Rhode Island RI | 137 | 1 | $436.7K |
| 40 | South Carolina SC | 129 | 3 | $7.6M |
| 41 | Vermont VT | 120 | 2 | $11.4M |
| 42 | Hawaii HI | 89 | 0 | $165.0K |
| 43 | Delaware DE | 62 | 0 | $110.0K |
| 44 | American Samoa AS | 47 | 0 | $2.2M |
| 45 | Mississippi MS | 41 | 0 | $319.0K |
| 46 | Alabama AL | 38 | 2 | $15.5K |
| 47 | Florida FL | 36 | 0 | $217.0K |
| 48 | Georgia GA | 34 | 0 | $130.0K |
| 49 | Arkansas AR | 33 | 0 | $79.0K |
| 50 | New Hampshire NH | 31 | 0 | $5.0K |
| 51 | Louisiana LA | 23 | 0 | $85.0K |
| 52 | District of Columbia DC | 7 | 0 | $0 |
| 53 | Guam GU | 2 | 0 | $0 |
High Wind by Year
| Year | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 9,206 | 14 | 18 | $24.3M |
| 2024 | 3,994 | 13 | 23 | $128.0M |
| 2023 | 3,491 | 16 | 22 | $95.5M |
| 2022 | 10,358 | 20 | 14 | $56.9M |
| 2021 | 4,599 | 11 | 29 | $236.0M |
| 2020 | 3,682 | 8 | 56 | $4.3B |
| 2019 | 3,787 | 1 | 8 | $94.2M |
| 2018 | 2,977 | 16 | 31 | $53.7M |
| 2017 | 3,536 | 11 | 29 | $587.6M |
| 2016 | 3,120 | 7 | 75 | $76.7M |
| 2015 | 2,192 | 8 | 32 | $35.4M |
Related Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
How many high wind events have occurred in the US?
Which states are most affected by high wind events?
How much damage do high wind events cause?
What year had the most high wind events?
How dangerous are high wind events?
Which states have the fewest high wind events?
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (2015-2025) NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (2015-2025) For informational purposes only
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
Every figure on PlainHazard is rendered directly from FEMA federal disaster data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on FEMA federal disaster data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or national statistics report, or report a data error.