Roanoke Rapids

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 Halifax County, the county that contains Roanoke Rapids.

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 Halifax County, the county that contains Roanoke Rapids.

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 Halifax County, the county that contains Roanoke Rapids.

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. Oct 9, 2016Flood$73.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rainfall of 5 to 8 inches caused widespread flash flooding across the county. Additional heavy rainfall upstream caused moderate flooding along Fishing Creek near Enfield. Flooding damaged approximately 311 structures throughout the county, resulting in $73.5 million in property damage. Numerous streets and roads were reported flooded, with several washouts reported.

2. Sep 18, 2003Hurricane (Typhoon), Halifax$1.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Isabel made landfall along the Outer Banks just north of Cape Lookout around 1 pm on September 18, 2003. The eye of the storm tracked northeast passing over eastern Halifax County. Winds gusts to near Hurricane force were recorded over Halifax county. Many locations across the Coastal Plain and even back into the Triangle received wind gusts between 50 to 70 mph late in the afternoon until early evening. Many trees were uprooted falling on vehicles and homes all across the area. One person was killed in Franklin county when their vehicle struck a downed tree. Up to 6 inches of rain fell across Edgecombe, Halifax and Wilson counties resulting in flooding of several roads.

3. Apr 16, 2011Tornado$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down southwest of Roanoke Rapids near Rhea Smith Road. At Sam Powell Dam Road a house was shifted off of its foundation. The tornado then entered Roanoke Rapids as an EF1. Numerous hardwood trees were blown down. Numerous cars and homes were damaged at Rosemary Street. As the tornado continued into downtown, an industrial building and Sonic restaurant were damaged. The tornado reached EF2 intensity at this point. The worst damage occurred at 10th Street. In total, 90 structures were damaged. Of those 90, 15 homes and businesses were destroyed. The tornado continued into Northhampton County of the Wakefield WFO warning area.

4. Oct 29, 2020Strong Wind, Halifax$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 Halifax County, including some on homes. Numerous customers lost power in Halifax County as a result of the strong winds.

5. Aug 4, 2020Tropical Storm, Halifax$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Frequent wind gusts of 35 to 50 mph resulted in scattered to numerous trees and power lines down across Halifax County, including some on homes. Numerous customers lost power in Halifax County as a result of the tropical storm force winds.

6. Aug 25, 2012Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Eight to twelve inches of rain resulted in flash flood waters of nearly 2 feet deep that flooded more than 80 residences and the evacuation of more than 50 residents. Two roads were washed out along with the force closures of dozens of roads in the Roanoke and Weldon areas, including the closure of Interstate 95 for several hours near mile marker 172.5. No injuries were reported.

7. Feb 25, 2015Winter Storm, Halifax$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Snowfall/sleet amounts of 5 to 7 inches fell across the county. The heavy wet snow caused extensive power outages from falling trees and power lines.

8. Sep 6, 2019Tropical Storm, Halifax$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Frequent wind gusts of 30 to 45 mph resulted in scattered trees and power lines down across Halifax County, including some on homes. Numerous customers lost power in Halifax County as a result of the tropical storm force winds.

9. Apr 19, 2019Tornado$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This is a continuation from the tornado that tracked just east of Dortches in Nash County. The tornado remained on the ground producing intermittent tree damage as it exited Nash County and entered into Halifax County as it passed over Fishing Creek. The tornado lifted roughly a mile into the county just north of Low Ground Road. While tornado damage was not observed north of this point, debris continued to be deposited several miles north of the damage path.

10. Jun 7, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Trees were uprooted and 21 homes were damaged. 3 businesses had their roofs ripped off and windows blown out.

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

106°FJun 30, 2012

All-time low

−3°F2 times, most recently Jan 22, 1985

Warmest night

84°FJul 22, 1998

Coldest day

15°FJan 20, 1994

Wettest day

11.50 inAug 25, 2012

Snowiest day

9.0 inFeb 18, 1989

Hottest year

1999mean 64.4°F

Coldest year

1976mean 55.5°F

Wettest year

201263.61 in

Driest year

200731.43 in

Snowiest season

17.0 in1988-89

Station Roanoke Rapids (USC00317319), 210 ft elevation, 2.6 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1972 to October 28, 2026; 96.7% 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 Halifax 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 USC00317319.
• 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.