North Carolina severe thunderstorm wind
Every recorded severe thunderstorm wind event since 1955 · 100 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 20,476 severe thunderstorm wind events in North Carolina from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 597 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the July 1, 1990 thunderstorm wind in Tyrrell County: 4 deaths. North Carolina ranks 10th of 52 states and territories by count and 15th of 51 per square mile.
Severe thunderstorm wind in North Carolina, 1955 to 2026
Thunderstorm wind records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996.
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- 1996: all 48 event types recorded from 1996
- Records
- 20,4761955 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 597average
- Deaths
- 46355 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $207Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 20111,140 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are severe thunderstorm wind events common in North Carolina?
North Carolina averages about 597 severe thunderstorm wind events a year since 2000, 10th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2011 (1,140). Per 10,000 square miles of land, North Carolina records 4211 severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955, 15th of 51 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1955, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in North Carolina have the most severe thunderstorm wind events?
Per square mile, New Hanover County leads North Carolina: 130 days with a severe thunderstorm wind event since 1955, 676.3 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Wake County has the most thunderstorm wind records (737 since 1955); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1955 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is the severe thunderstorm season in North Carolina?
47% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955 fell in June and July. The busiest month is July (5,026 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 550 · Feb 537 · Mar 967 · Apr 1,647 · May 2,938 · Jun 4,646 · Jul 5,026 · Aug 2,723 · Sep 692 · Oct 265 · Nov 318 · Dec 167 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1955.
What were the deadliest severe thunderstorm wind events in North Carolina?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990-07-01 | Thunderstorm WindTyrrell County | 4 | 0 | – | |
| 2012-07-01 | Thunderstorm WindMc Connell, Beaufort County One storm episode: 10 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. Convection developed across the Piedmont of North Carolina during the afternoon hours of July 1st. The storms formed into a line of severe thunderstorms similar to a derecho which caused numerous downed trees, hail, and damage to structures across eastern North Carolina. Three fatalities were also reported. | 60 kt wind | 3 | 40 | – |
| 2012-03-23 | Thunderstorm WindSouth Gastonia, Gaston County A partially rotted tree fell on and crushed a vehicle on Stagecoach Rd, killing two occupants and seriously injuring a third. | 40 kt wind | 2 | 1 | – |
| 2013-06-13 | Thunderstorm WindHays, Wilkes County One storm episode: 4 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. A cold front moved across the region in the form of a squall line of storms. Winds of 60 to 70 mph accompanied this squall line, resulting a widespread wind damage. Large hail also accompanied some of the stronger storms. | 55 kt wind | 2 | 0 | $1.7M |
| 2011-05-10 | Thunderstorm WindWhitehouse, Rutherford County One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. A squall line developed over the Ohio Valley during the afternoon hours. The thunderstorm complex rapidly moved to the southeast, crossing the Appalachian Mountains and affecting much of western North Carolina and the northwest piedmont of South Carolina during the late evening hours. | 60 kt wind | 2 | 0 | – |
| 1989-05-06 | Thunderstorm WindIredell County | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 1989-02-21 | Thunderstorm WindHarnett County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (5, in 4 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 1 | 13 | – | |
| 1995-01-07 | Thunderstorm WindJohnston, Wayne County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (10, in 10 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. A family was attempting to leave their mobile home when a downburst blew their home into the highway on State Road 1003, one-hafl mile north of Highway 42. The man of the house was covered with debris from the mobile home. He died later at Duke Hospital. Wife and daughter were also injured. Over 40 structures were ... | 1 | 6 | $10M | |
| 2014-01-11 | Thunderstorm WindNeuse, Wake County One storm episode: 6 records; the totals are the episode's. As a wedge front retreated northwestward into the western piedmont of North Carolina, modest warm sector destabilization via low-level warm advection and weak surface heating resulted in weak to moderate instability across central North Carolina. A line of strong to severe storms in advance of a strong mid-level ... | 75 kt wind | 1 | 4 | $1.7M |
| 2013-06-13 | Thunderstorm WindChapel Hill, Orange County One storm episode: 12 records in 12 places; the totals are the episode's. A ferocious line of strong to severe thunderstorms raced through central North Carolina during the afternoon and into the early evening, uprooting trees and snapping power lines with straight-line wind gusts up to 80 mph. Damage was widespread with numerous trees falling on homes throughout the county warning area. ... | 61 kt wind | 1 | 4 | $9.7M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest severe thunderstorm wind events in North Carolina
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-08-15 | Thunderstorm WindBenson, Johnston County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $29M |
| 1995-01-07 | Thunderstorm WindJohnston, Wayne County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (10, in 10 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 1 | 6 | $10M | |
| 1994-05-03 | Thunderstorm WindColumbus County | 0 | 4 | $10.0M | |
| 2013-06-13 | Thunderstorm WindChapel Hill, Orange County One storm episode: 12 records in 12 places; the totals are the episode's. | 61 kt wind | 1 | 4 | $9.7M |
| 2009-07-26 | Thunderstorm WindStallings, Franklin County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $6.9M |
| 2017-05-29 | Thunderstorm WindPiney Green, Sampson County | 78 kt wind | 0 | 12 | $4.2M |
| 1995-05-15 | Thunderstorm WindRocky Point, Pender County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (3, in 3 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 0 | 0 | $2.9M | |
| 2008-03-15 | Thunderstorm WindAshton, Pender County One storm episode: 4 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 83 kt wind | 0 | 7 | $2.7M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are severe thunderstorm wind events becoming more frequent in North Carolina?
North Carolina's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | North Carolina | United States | North Carolina's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-59 | 67 | 3,482 | 1.9% |
| 1960s | 229 | 10,124 | 2.3% |
| 1970s | 427 | 18,714 | 2.3% |
| 1980s | 1,570 | 39,604 | 4.0% |
| 1990s | 2,314 | 85,554 | 2.7% |
| 2000s | 4,555 | 129,990 | 3.5% |
| 2010s | 6,917 | 161,286 | 4.3% |
| 2020-26 | 4,397 | 126,815 | 3.5% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent severe thunderstorm wind events in North Carolina
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-30 | Thunderstorm WindBiltmore, Buncombe County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | Thunderstorm WindDruid Hills, Henderson County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | Thunderstorm WindSugar Hill, McDowell County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-28 | Thunderstorm WindFreeman, Columbus County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-28 | Thunderstorm WindFreeman, Columbus County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-27 | Thunderstorm WindWaxhaw Airport, Union County | 55 kt wind | 0 | 1 | $10K |
| 2026-06-27 | Thunderstorm WindHarmony, Iredell County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-27 | Thunderstorm WindScotts, Iredell County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-27 | Thunderstorm WindClaremont, Catawba County | 55 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $25K |
| 2026-06-27 | Thunderstorm WindAlexander Mills, Rutherford County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-27 | Thunderstorm WindRhodhiss, Caldwell County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-27 | Thunderstorm WindIcard, Burke County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Federal disaster declarations for severe thunderstorm wind events in North Carolina
FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 11 declarations in North Carolina, 11 of them major disasters; the latest on March 3, 2021.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-03-03 | DR-4588 | Tropical Storm Eta | 19 |
| 2020-05-08 | DR-4543 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 19 |
| 2018-05-08 | DR-4364 | Tornado and Severe Storms | 2 |
| 2011-04-19 | DR-1969 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 20 |
| 2010-10-14 | DR-1942 | Severe Storms, Flooding, and Straight-Line Winds | 14 |
| 2010-02-02 | DR-1871 | Severe Winter Storms and Flooding | 14 |
| 2008-10-08 | DR-1801 | Tropical Storm Hanna | 4 |
| 2000-01-31 | DR-1312 | Severe Winter Storm | 33 |
| 1998-03-22 | DR-1211 | Severe Storms Tornadoes, and Flooding | 7 |
| 1998-01-15 | DR-1200 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 10 |
| 1956-04-24 | DR-56 | Severe Storm | 1 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- New Hanover County: the county's whole recordThe North Carolina county with the most severe thunderstorm wind events per square mile
- Severe thunderstorm wind across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in North CarolinaTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Hail in North Carolina9,900 records
- Winter storms in North Carolina8,965 records
- Floods in North Carolina5,375 records