Beaufort County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Beaufort County: 1.
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.

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

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.

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 county boundary (or inside the county).
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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Aug 26, 2011Storm Surge/Tide, Beaufort$40.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Winds gusting to 90 mph resulted in major structural damage, primarily due to a 7 to 11 foot surge along the Pamlico Sound and Pamlico River. Numerous homes sustained major damage and were swept away in the Jarvis landing residential and Aurora Ferry landing areas.

2. Apr 25, 2014Tornado$15.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down approximately 1.5 miles west of Chocowinity along Taylor Road causing EF0 damage to trees and mobile homes. The tornado then strengthened to a strong EF2 as it impacted many homes and businesses from the intersection of U.S. Highway 17 and North Carolina Highway 33 eastward for about 1 mile. Several homes had significant damage in this area with numerous trees snapped.||The tornado reached EF3 intensity with winds estimated at 150 mph as it impacted homes along Whichards Beach Road from near Warrens Way to Harbor Drive. Many homes in this area were severely damaged or destroyed. Numerous vehicles and boats were damaged or destroyed.||The tornado then moved…

3. Sep 4, 1996Hurricane (Typhoon), Beaufort$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Fran moved onshore near Cape Fear Thursday evening (9/6) and raced north toward Raleigh cutting a swath of destruction. The Category 3 hurricane destroyed or damaged 90% of the homes in North Topsail Beach. The town hall and police station were destroyed. A 15 foot storm surge cut a 100-foot-wide inlet through thye middle of the island. A Camp Lejeune-based Marine lost his life when he and two others mistakenly drove onto the island at the height of the storm. State Route 1568 was washed out and NC210 was covered with sand. Damage in North Topsail and Onslow County alone exceeds $500 million as 6,688 structures were destroyed or damaged. In Carteret County, Emerald Isle…

4. Aug 26, 2011Hurricane (Typhoon), Beaufort$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Across Beaufort County...winds gusted to 90 mph resulting in numerous trees and power-lines down with major power outages...and structural damage due to a 7 to 11 foot surge along the Pamlico sound and Pamlico river. Numerous homes sustained major damage and were swept away in the Jarvis landing residential and Aurora Ferry landing areas. Storm total rainfall of 11 to 16 inches resulted in extensive freshwater flooding of roads and low lying areas. Mandatory and voluntary evacuations were ordered on the 25th. An EF1 tornado touched down near Belhaven around 10 pm on the 26th. The tornado heavily damaged the Edgewater Motors dealership. One woman with a pre-existing medical…

5. Sep 13, 2018Tropical Storm, Beaufort$4.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread heavy rain and strong winds developed over the region from the morning of September 13th through the morning of September 16th. Rainfall was generally 4��� to 8��� over the county with a storm total of 6.95��� in Belhaven. The heaviest totals fell across the extreme southern part of the county. Heavy rainfall across the county initially lead to flash flooding, especially across the southern part of the county. Gusty northeast winds developed ahead of Florence as the storm approached the coast, with a peak wind gust of 39 mph at New River Air Station at 725 LST on September 13th. The gusty winds combined with saturated ground led to many downed trees…

6. Sep 17, 2003Hurricane (Typhoon), Beaufort$3.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Isabel made landfall early in the afternoon on September 18th as a category two hurricane across Core Banks in extreme eastern Carteret county. Isabel moved north northwest near 20 mph across eastern North Carolina during the afternoon. Areas mainly near and east of the storm center experienced significant wind and storm surge effects. Major ocean overwash and beach erosion occurred along the North Carolina Outer Banks where waves up to 20 feet accompanied a 6 to 8 foot storm surge. Almost 350 million dollars in damage occurred in Dare county alone where several thousand homes and businesses, several piers, and sections of Highway 12 were damaged or washed away. Eastern…

7. Oct 11, 2002Tornado$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An F2 tornado touched down near Pantego in the Swamp Road area. The tornado destroyed one house, a mobile home as well as a hog farm. Most of the dollar damage occurred to the farm with the destruction of hog houses and heavy equipment.

8. Sep 1, 1999Tropical Storm, Beaufort$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   On the evening of Tuesday, August 31st old Hurricane Dennis was downgraded to a Tropical Storm. By 0500 EDT Wednesday, September 1st Tropical Storm Dennis was located about 120 miles east of Cape Hatteras. The movement was nearly stationary with maximum sustained winds near 60 mph. By 1700 EDT Thursday, September 2nd the storm began moving slowly south with a position near 95 miles east southeast of Cape Hatteras. This trend continued until 1700 EDT Friday, September 3rd. Tropical Storm Dennis finally begin drifting, slowly west northwest. Landfall occurred on Saturday, September 4th around 1700 along the Core Banks just north of Cape Lookout. The storm then continued very slowly…

9. Apr 7, 2014Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado initially touched down near Highway 264 north of Belhaven. It began as an EF1 and tracked east-northeast toward Beech Ridge Road. Along Highway 264 there was damage to a few structures with numerous trees downed or snapped. One vehicle was lifted and tossed about 50 yards with 2 injuries. ||The tornado strengthened to a high end EF2 with winds estimated at 130 mph as it moved through the Beech Ridge Road area near Pantego. Several homes, out buildings and sheds were damaged or destroyed. A double wide mobile home was wiped off its foundation and destroyed despite being strapped down. Large numbers of trees were snapped, many at their base. ||The tornado then continued…

10. Sep 30, 2010Flash Flood$500,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Torrential rain moved across most of Beaufort County during the evening of September 30th as the remnants of Tropical Storm Nicole moved north across the region. This rain fell on saturated ground from very heavy rain the previous few days. Significant flash flooding developed especially for areas around Washington. Many roads were flooded and impassable. Several homes and businesses were also flooded. Many acres of crops were destroyed by the flood waters.

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°FJul 22, 1952

All-time low

−4°FDec 25, 1989

Warmest night

81°F3 times, most recently Jul 22, 2026

Coldest day

19°FDec 25, 1983

Wettest day

9.90 inSep 19, 1955

Snowiest day

13.0 inJan 31, 2026

Hottest year

1990mean 65.4°F

Coldest year

1963mean 59.1°F

Wettest year

201879.17 in

Driest year

196536.07 in

Snowiest season

19.1 in1972-73

Station New Bern - Asos (USW00093719), 11 ft elevation, 31.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USW00093719.
• 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.