Carrboro

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Orange County, the county that contains Carrboro.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Orange County, the county that contains Carrboro.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Orange County, the county that contains Carrboro.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Landslides mapped in Orange County.

Mapped by NC GS (4).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jul 6, 2025Flash Flood$30.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   There were numerous reports of stranded/submerged vehicles, washed out roadways, apartments and residential homes flooded, and law enforcement performed multiple water rescues, including one at Camelot Village. Total estimated damages may have exceeded 30 million across Orange County.

2. Sep 17, 2018Flood$26.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Torrential rainfall of 6 to 10 inches caused widespread flooding across the county, which caused flooding along the Eno River and other creeks and streams throughout the county. Additionally, water held in Jordan Lake from rainfall in its headwaters resulted in flooding along the lake into far southeast portions of the county. Flooding damaged approximately 276 structures throughout the county, destroying 1 and resulting in $26.4 million in property damage. Numerous roads were closed due to flooding. Numerous homes and businesses were flooded as well. While final losses on crops are not yet tallied, estimates around $5 million or more are possible.

3. Jul 23, 2000Flash Flood$6.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding of streets and buldings was reported countywide, especially in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. The Eastgate Shopping center was damaged, as well as several apartments and homes. A bridge was washed out on Piney Mountain Rd.

4. Jun 30, 2013Flash Flood$3.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain (4-5 inches) resulted in extensive flooding in the city of Chapel Hill. The first floor of the Town Hall flooded and may be closed for up to a year for repairs. Franklin Street saw widespread flooding, with water above the windows of cars in several locations and some businesses also being impacted. Several buildings on the University of North Carolina had water in them, including the bottom floor of Granville Tower. Another area of the city that experienced flooding was the East Gate Shopping Center, where water entered several businesses and stranded many cars in the parking lot. One hard hit residential areas was along Estes Drive near Highway 15-501, where the…

5. Mar 6, 2014Ice Storm, Orange$2.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   One quarter to one half of an inch of ice from freezing rain resulted in widespread downed trees and power-lines. Additionally, snowfall of 1 to 1.5 inches fell across the county.

6. Apr 19, 2019Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado initially touched down in the White Cross area and Leslie Drive area of southwest Orange County. Considerable tree damage occurred in this area, including the snapping and splitting of healthy large-trunk trees. Subsequent damage to vehicles and homes occurred as the trees fell. Given the magnitude and nature of the damage, wind speeds were estimated at 110 mph. The tornado then tracked north-northeast eventually crossing Dodsons Cross Road, Dairlyland Road, Arthur Minnis Road, and Borland Roads, all while producing similar tree damage. The tornado finally began to lift and/or dissipate near Hillsborough just north of I-40 near exit 261, but not before producing…

7. Dec 11, 2008Lightning$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck a home in Chapel Hill and caught fire. The house burned to the ground when the lightning got into the gas lines of the home.

8. Oct 29, 2020Strong Wind, Orange$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Frequent wind gusts of 40 to 55 mph resulted in scattered to numerous trees and power lines down across Orange County, including some on homes. Numerous customers lost power in Orange County as a result of the strong winds.

9. Feb 25, 2015Winter Storm, Orange$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Snowfall/sleet amounts of 5 to 8 inches fell across the county. The heavy wet snow caused widespread power outages from falling trees and power lines. At the peak of the storm, over 7,000 customers were without power in the county.

10. Jul 2, 2002Lightning$880,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Lightning started at least three house fires around Chapel Hill. The worst damage was sustained at a condominium complex on Copperline Drive.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

107°F2 times, most recently Jul 19, 1902

All-time low

−8°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

80°F2 times, most recently Jul 20, 1946

Coldest day

8°FFeb 13, 1899

Wettest day

8.00 inJul 7, 2025

Snowiest day

12.0 in2 times, most recently Dec 17, 1930

Hottest year

1921mean 63.9°F

Coldest year

1978mean 55.4°F

Wettest year

192967.92 in

Driest year

194130.19 in

Snowiest season

21.3 in1979-80

Station Chapel Hill 2 W (USC00311677), 500 ft elevation, 1.3 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1891 to October 28, 2026; 96.8% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Orange County.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00311677.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.