Brunswick County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Brunswick County: 3.
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.

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 15, 1999Hurricane (Typhoon), Brunswick$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Floyd, with wind gusts around 90 mph caused widespread downed trees and power outages. In Brunswick County, power was out to 95% of the county. The wind did major damage to the roof of Brunswick Community Hospital. Storm surge was 7 to 9 feet on the east side of the county and 3 to 6 feet further west. Ocean Crest Pier, Long Beach Pier and Sunset Beach Pier were hard hit. Ocean overwash was worst at Oak Island, where 4 miles with 100 oceanfront homes sustained $23 million damage. Holden Beach sustained $8.8 million damage, where 46 homes were condemned, many due to exposed septic tanks. Ocean Isle Beach suffered $6 million damage, where 2 homes were knocked off…

2. Aug 26, 1998Hurricane (Typhoon), Brunswick$35.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The eye of slow-moving Hurricane Bonnie made landfall at Bald Head Island during mid-afternoon and took 2 hours to exit the county. Wind reports ranged as high as 93 mph at Southport, where damage was most extensive...the 50-foot steeple was blown down from the Mt Carmel Methodist Church and many trees and homes were damaged. Rainfall ranged from around 7 inches in the east side of the county, where there was extensive ponding of water, to 2 inches in the west. Storm surge was 5-8 feet on the eastern barrier islands, with 2 feet overwash reported on Bald Head Island. Extensive beach erosion occurred on the eastern end of Holden Beach, where up to 20 feet of dune was lost and some…

3. Aug 14, 2004Hurricane (Typhoon), Brunswick$6.3 million
4. Sep 5, 1996Hurricane (Typhoon), Brunswick$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The eye of Hurricane Fran passed over eastern Brunswick County with winds measured as high as 109 mph at Long Beach. Storm surge was around 6 feet, with beach erosion around 15 feet on the eastern islands. Seven beach houses on the east end of Holden Beach were damaged or destroyed. Emergency shelters housed 1750 people.

5. Sep 14, 2005Hurricane (Typhoon), Brunswick$2.3 million
6. Sep 5, 2019Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Video shared on social media showed the tornado moving onshore near|Tubbs Inlet. The tornado moved northwest causing moderate tree|damage and minor roof damage as it crossed Sunset Blvd N near |Sunset Beach Town Hall. Spotty tree and roof damage continued as |the tornado crossed Sea Trail Golf Resort and moved into a large |wooded area north of Old Georgetown Road SW (Hwy 179). To this |point along the path, damage was consistent with wind speeds in |the 80-90 mph range (EF-0/EF-1). ||The tornado emerged near Bennett Trail SW at the intersection of |Thomasboro Road, and caused major roof damage to a few homes and a|horse barn. Large sections of roofs were blown off, and numerous…

7. Jul 12, 1996Hurricane (Typhoon), Brunswick$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The eye of Bertha passed 10 miles east of Bald Head Island on its northward track. Most wind measurements were less than 90 mph, but a gust of 101 mph was measured at the State pilot house at Southport. Barrier islands were evacuated, 1500 people sheltered.The six piers survived, and beach erosion largely confined to east end of Holden Beach, where 5 to 10 feet undermined an already condemned house. Mostly minor structural and property damage. With around 8 inches rain, there was widespread flooding and power outages. Declared Federal Disaster Area.

8. Oct 8, 2016Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Holden Beach Road was flooded and closed between Red Bug Road and the city limits of Shallotte. Adjacent roadways and numerous structures were impacted by the flood waters.

9. Oct 7, 2005Heavy Rain$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The remnants of Tropical Storm Tammy, in conjunction with a weak upper level disturbance in the Caribbean set up an unusually long and sustained fetch of tropical moisture over the area. The heaviest rain occurred near the coast, where seven to nine inches of rain fell on average over a three day period. Even more rain fell over eastern Brunswick and New Hanover county, where over a foot of rain fell. Over 50 roads in Brunswick county alone were either partially or completely impassable. In New Hanover county, the Cape Fear Museum's basement was completely flooded. Over 46,000 rare artifacts were stored in this area. Many residencial areas had roads replaced by small lakes, with…

10. Oct 8, 2016Flash Flood$1.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Ash Little River Road, Etheridge Road, and Number 5 School Road were closed due to flooding. Adjacent roadways and numerous structures were impacted 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

104°FJun 27, 1952

All-time low

0°FDec 25, 1989

Warmest night

83°F2 times, most recently Aug 9, 2007

Coldest day

20°FDec 23, 1989

Wettest day

13.38 inSep 15, 1999

Snowiest day

9.6 inDec 23, 1989

Hottest year

1990mean 66.5°F

Coldest year

1981mean 61.0°F

Wettest year

2018102.40 in

Driest year

200733.35 in

Snowiest season

15.3 in1989-90

Station Wilmington International Airport (USW00013748), 23 ft elevation, 23.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% 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 USW00013748.
• 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.