North Carolina winter storms
Every recorded winter storm record since 1996 · 100 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 8,965 winter storm records in North Carolina from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 287 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the February 2, 1996 winter storm: 5 deaths, 165 injuries and $583,000 in damage in 2025 dollars across 9 records. North Carolina ranks 10th of 51 states and territories by count and 18th of 50 per square mile.
Winter storms in North Carolina, 1996 to 2026
Winter storm records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- 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
- Records
- 8,9651996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 287average
- Deaths
- 57240 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $440Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2010700 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 winter storm records common in North Carolina?
North Carolina averages about 287 winter storm records a year since 2000, 10th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2010 (700). Per 10,000 square miles of land, North Carolina records 1844 winter storm records since 1996, 18th of 50 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, 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 winter storm records?
Per square mile, Mitchell County leads North Carolina: 363 days with a winter storm record since 1996, 1640.7 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Avery County has the most winter storm records (403 since 1996); 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 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is winter storm season in North Carolina?
66% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. The busiest month is January (3,528 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 3,528 · Feb 2,406 · Mar 904 · Apr 169 · May 5 · Jun 0 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 0 · Oct 73 · Nov 333 · Dec 1,547 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest winter storm records in North Carolina?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-02-02 | Winter StormBeaufort County · forecast zone Beaufort One storm episode: 9 records in 9 places, 1996-02-02 to 1996-02-03; the totals are the episode's. An unusual winter storm began with freezing rain on Friday morning, February 2 across Greene, Lenoir, Pitt, Martin, Washington and Beaufort counties. Snow began falling across all of the region Saturday morning with snowfall accumulations of from 2-3 inches except around an inch along immediate coastal areas by Sunday ... | 5 | 165 | $583K | |
| 2010-12-04 | Winter WeatherNash County · forecast zone Nash One storm episode: 6 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. As a storm system track just south of the region between one to three inches of snow fell along and north of Highway 64 to the Virginia border. The heaviest snow fell in a band more more than 30 miles wide. | 5 | 10 | – | |
| 1998-02-17 | Winter StormCarteret County · forecast zone Carteret The third coastal storm in less than 3 weeks struck mainly coastal areas from Onslow to Hyde County. Up to 5 inches of rain fell along the coast . Belhaven had almost three feet of water standing in low-lying streets and City Hall was flooded. A marina in Swan Quarter was flooded. Large areas of flooding occurred in ... | 4 | 0 | $45K | |
| 2010-12-16 | Winter WeatherMoore County · forecast zone Moore One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. A weak storm system tracking west to east across the state combined with cold air to produce a prolonged period of light snow and light freezing rain. Many location experienced enough icing to cause accidents. Due to the snow and ice falling in the morning near rush hour numerous accidents were reported. Three ... | 3 | 3 | – | |
| 2018-01-03 | Winter StormMoore County · forecast zone Moore One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A surface low intensified off the Carolina coast, resulting in snow occurring over much of Central North Carolina. Bands of heavy snow developed, resulting in snowfall totals of 3 to 6 inches in some locations. | 3 | 0 | $12K | |
| 1998-01-19 | Winter StormBeaufort County · forecast zone Beaufort One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. Low pressure intensifying off the South Carolina coast produced snow across much of east central North Carolina. Totals ranged from 4 inches in Martin and Pitt counties to a trace along the coast. Numerous accidents were reported as vehicles slid into ditches. A mother and her son were killed in a head-on collision on ... | 2 | 14 | – | |
| 2007-01-18 | Winter WeatherWayne County · forecast zone Wayne One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Snow moved into Central North Carolina just prior to sunrise on January 18th impacting local schools and morning communters. Between one to two inches of snow fell across the area resulting in numerous accidents. About eight children were injured in Asheboro when a school bus over turned and two indirect deaths were ... | 2 | 8 | – | |
| 2014-01-28 | Winter WeatherSurry County · forecast zone Surry One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. A low pressure system passed up the Atlantic coast, radiating moisture inland which was forced into the mountains. Canadian high pressure wedged along the eastern face of the Appalachian chain kept temperatures cold enough that the moisture precipitated in the form of snow across the mid-Atlantic region. In many ... | 2 | 5 | – | |
| 2016-01-20 | Winter WeatherWilkes County · forecast zone Wilkes One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A fast moving clipper system brought light snowfall accumulations across portions of the region during the overnight hours on January 20th/21st. Snowfall accumulations ranging between a trace to 4 inches were reported across portions of northwest North Carolina, resulting in multiple vehicle crashes with reported ... | 2 | 1 | $37K | |
| 2010-12-25 | Winter StormLee County · forecast zone Lee One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A powerful winter storm struck North Carolina bringing a prolonged period of heave snow lasting from late Christmas morning through much of December 26th. Eight to fifteen inches of snow blanketed the region and prolonged cold temperatures allows road condition to remain dangerous in some areas for many days. Due to ... | 2 | 0 | – |
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 winter storm records in North Carolina
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-12-04 | Ice StormMecklenburg County · forecast zone Mecklenburg One storm episode: 7 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $162M | |
| 1996-02-02 | Ice StormAvery County · forecast zone Avery | 0 | 0 | $94M | |
| 2002-12-04 | Ice StormRowan County · forecast zone Rowan One storm episode: 11 records in 11 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $44M | |
| 1998-02-03 | Winter StormEastern Dare · forecast zone Eastern Dare | 0 | 0 | $40M | |
| 2014-03-06 | Ice StormGuilford County · forecast zone Guilford One storm episode: 10 records in 10 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $28M | |
| 2004-01-26 | Ice StormColumbus County · forecast zone Columbus One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $20M | |
| 1996-02-02 | Ice StormPolk County · forecast zone Polk | 0 | 0 | $19M | |
| 2015-02-25 | Winter StormDurham County · forecast zone Durham One storm episode: 16 records in 16 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $9.3M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are winter storm records 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 1,277 | 32,893 | 3.9% |
| 2000s | 3,327 | 88,805 | 3.7% |
| 2010s | 3,149 | 103,626 | 3.0% |
| 2020-26 | 1,212 | 62,015 | 2.0% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent winter storm records in North Carolina
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-16 | Winter WeatherYancey County · forecast zone Yancey | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Winter WeatherSwain County · forecast zone Swain | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Winter WeatherMitchell County · forecast zone Mitchell | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Winter WeatherMadison County · forecast zone Madison | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Winter WeatherHaywood County · forecast zone Haywood | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Winter WeatherAvery County · forecast zone Avery | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Winter WeatherYancey County · forecast zone Yancey | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Winter WeatherSwain County · forecast zone Swain | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Winter WeatherMitchell County · forecast zone Mitchell | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Winter WeatherMadison County · forecast zone Madison | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Winter WeatherHaywood County · forecast zone Haywood | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Winter WeatherBurke County · forecast zone Burke Mountains | 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 winter storm records in North Carolina
FEMA has declared 11 disasters in North Carolina for winter storm, counting its incident type and declarations that name snow or winter storm or ice storm or blizzard in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 8 were major disasters, the latest on January 24, 2026.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-24 | EM-3637 | Severe Winter Storm | 102 |
| 2014-03-31 | DR-4167 | Severe Winter Storm | 9 |
| 2010-02-02 | DR-1871 | Severe Winter Storms and Flooding | 14 |
| 2003-03-27 | DR-1457 | Ice Storm | 10 |
| 2002-12-12 | DR-1448 | Severe Ice Storm | 44 |
| 2000-01-31 | DR-1312 | Severe Winter Storm | 33 |
| 1996-02-23 | DR-1103 | Winter Storm | 34 |
| 1996-01-13 | DR-1087 | Blizzard of 96 | 70 |
| 1993-03-17 | EM-3110 | Severe Snowfall & Winter Storm | 59 |
| 1977-03-02 | EM-3033 | Drought & Freezing | 30 |
| 1968-02-10 | DR-234 | Severe Ice Storm | 21 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Mitchell County: the county's whole recordThe North Carolina county with the most winter storm records per square mile
- Winter storms across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in North CarolinaTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
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- Floods in North Carolina5,375 records