Elizabeth City

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.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

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 Pasquotank County, the county that contains Elizabeth City.

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 Pasquotank County, the county that contains Elizabeth City.

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 Pasquotank County, the county that contains Elizabeth City.

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 18, 2003Hurricane (Typhoon), Pasquotank$4.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Isabel was a Category 1 hurricane as it crossed the Wakefield WFO county warning area. Sustained tropical storm force winds with frequent gusts to hurricane force occurred over coastal northeast North Carolina. Isabel made landfall near Ocracoke Inlet in North Carolina, tracked northwest into central Virginia just west of Richmond, then continued northward into western Pennsylvania. The highest sustained wind speed recorded was 73 mph at Duck (DUCN7). Other sustained wind speed was 59 mph at Elizabeth City (ECG). The highest gusts recorded were 97 mph at Elizabeth City (from Clemson University observation site in Elizabeth City), 92 mph at Duck (DUCN7), and 74 mph at…

2. Aug 26, 1998Hurricane (Typhoon), Pasquotank$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Bonnie moved along the coast of northeast North Carolina on August 27th. Very strong winds and heavy rains associated with Bonnie's spiral bands hammered northeast North Carolina Thursday afternoon into early Friday morning. The highest sustained wind speed recorded at the Elizabeth City Coast Guard Station (ECG) was 59 mph with gusts to 73 mph. The Currituck county EOC reported a gust to 93 mph. Numerous trees and power lines blown down resulted in scattered property damage and widespread power outages. A 12 year old girl was killed when a large tree fell on her home. Coastal Pasquotank and Camden counties in North Carolina experienced approximately a 6 foot surge in…

3. Sep 15, 1999Hurricane (Typhoon), Pasquotank$1.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Floyd was a Category 1 hurricane as it crossed the Wakefield WFO county warning area. Sustained tropical storm force winds with gusts to near hurricane force occurred over the northwest quadrant of the storm over interior portions of northeast North Carolina and along the coastal waters of the Wakefield marine area. The center of the storm crossed the county warning area along an Elizabeth City to Currituck county to Sandbridge Virginia Beach axis. The highest sustained wind speed recorded at the Elizabeth City Coast Guard Station (ECG) was 39 mph with gusts to 64 mph. Two confirmed tornadoes occurred in association with Floyd, both in northeast North Carolina. There…

4. Apr 25, 2014Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado tracked from just southeast of Chapanoke at the Perquimans/Pasquotank line northeast to just northeast of Elizabeth City where it dissipated. Several homes or mobile homes were damaged or destroyed on Foreman Bundy Road and Lobell Lane.

5. Aug 4, 2020Tropical Storm, Pasquotank$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical storm winds downed and uprooted several trees and power lines, produced significant structural damage, and caused power outages across the county. Wind gust of 56 knots (64 mph) was measured at ECG. Wind gust of 52 knots (60 mph) was measured at Elizabeth City.

6. Apr 25, 2014Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado continued from Woodville near the Perquimans/Pasquotank line northeast across Pasquotank county into the Pasquotank River just east of the Elizabeth City Airport. Numerous trees were downed or snapped off and power lines were downed. Some homes were damaged. The tornado started to weaken a bit as it moved into Camden county from Pasquotank county.

7. Aug 27, 2011Hurricane (Typhoon), Pasquotank$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical storm force winds and Hurricane force wind gusts knocked down numerous trees and power lines, as well as caused some structural damage. In addition, heavy rains contributed to minor crop damage. The highest sustained wind of 43 knots (50 mph) with a peak gust of 64 knots (74 mph) was recorded at ECG (Elizabeth City). Storm total rainfall generally ranged from four to ten inches.

8. Jun 14, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   BB&T building (under construction) collapsed due to thunderstorm winds.

9. Oct 8, 2016Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain caused an extended period of significant flooding across much of the county. Numerous roads were impassable or closed for several days, and many homes and businesses were impacted.

10. Oct 17, 1999Tornado$150,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A tornado associated with Hurricane Irene touched down one mile north of Weeksville. This tornado touched down near the intersection of Toxey Road and N.C. Route 34. The tornado moved due north for about two tenths (0.2) mile with a path width of 50 yards. Two trailers were totally destroyed. One trailer was flipped over and another sustained some damage. A modular home sustained significant damage with several vehicles in the front yard turned 90 degrees. An automobile was thrown up into a tree and wrapped partially around a tree. A cinderblock building sustained a wall failure and a partial collapse of the roof. Clay roofing tiles from this building were thrown 100 yards from…

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

104°F2 times, most recently Jul 23, 1952

All-time low

2°FJan 7, 2018

Warmest night

83°FJul 8, 2012

Coldest day

21°FJan 11, 1982

Wettest day

8.52 inSep 5, 1979

Snowiest day

15.0 inMar 2, 1980

Hottest year

2012mean 64.6°F

Coldest year

1958mean 58.7°F

Wettest year

201863.95 in

Driest year

200725.58 in

Snowiest season

39.0 in1979-80

Station Elizabeth City Cgas (USW00013786), 6 ft elevation, 4.5 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 27, 2026; 95.1% 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 Pasquotank 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 USW00013786.
• 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.
• 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.