Durham County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Durham County: 0.
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.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by NC GS (5).

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. Sep 17, 2018Flood$11.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Torrential rainfall of 10 to 15 inches caused widespread flooding across the county. Additional rainfall upstream caused moderate flooding along the Eno River near Enon. Additionally, water held in Jordan Lake from rainfall in its headwaters resulted in flooding along the lake into portions of the county, which lingered for several days. Flooding damaged approximately 638 structures throughout the county, destroying 4 and resulting in $11.05 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 are possible.

2. Sep 30, 2022Tropical Storm, Durham$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Frequent wind gusts of 40 to 60 mph resulted in scattered to numerous trees and power lines down across Durham County, including some on homes. Numerous customers lost power in Durham County as a result of the tropical storm force wind gusts.

3. Feb 25, 2015Winter Storm, Durham$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Snowfall/sleet amounts of 6 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 40,000 customers were without power in the county.

4. Oct 29, 2020Strong Wind, Durham$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Frequent wind gusts of 40 to 56 mph resulted in scattered to numerous trees and power lines down across Durham County, including some on homes. Numerous customers lost power in Durham County as a result of the strong winds.

5. Mar 20, 1998Tornado$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado first touched down in rural northeast Durham county off Bahama Road. The tornado moved northeast and took the roof off a manufactured home on a brick foundation. One minor injury occurred in the home. Down the road a half mile on Range Road, the tornado damaged farm sheds and sent sheets of tin flying in all directions. The tornado then hit a frame house with only minor roof damage. A large oak tree, without leaves, was snapped off at the base. Just 100 yards away, the tornado hit a manufactured home and reduced it to just splinters and rubble. The tornado picked up the home, turned it 90 degrees, and slammed it into the ground. The entire structure was then sheared off…

6. Mar 6, 2014Ice Storm, Durham$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   One quarter of an inch of ice from freezing rain resulted in widespread downed trees and power-lines.

7. May 15, 2014Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A storm survey confirmed an EF-1 tornado near Durham. Damage consisted of dozens of snapped and uprooted trees and approximately 40 homes that experienced roof or other structural damage. Most of the damage to the homes was caused by falling trees and other debris. However, there were at least a half a dozen homes that experienced minor roof damage solely from the wind. In one case, a large oak tree was uprooted and fell onto a home, slicing through the roof and an exterior wall.

8. Jun 13, 2013Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and power-lines were blown down throughout the county.

9. Feb 24, 2016Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   In addition to the tornado damage in Durham county, numerous trees were blown down by rear-flank downdraft winds. Downed trees fell onto and damage homes and vehicles, with the damage most extensive along Rose of Sharon Road.

10. Oct 8, 2016Strong Wind, Durham$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Frequent wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph resulted in numerous trees down across Durham County, including on homes, cars, and power lines. Numerous customers lost power in Durham County as a result of the strong winds.

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 5, 2024

All-time low

−9°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

80°F2 times, most recently Jul 18, 2025

Coldest day

17°F2 times, most recently Jan 21, 1985

Wettest day

6.45 inOct 8, 2016

Snowiest day

17.9 inJan 25, 2000

Hottest year

2024mean 64.4°F

Coldest year

1969mean 57.0°F

Wettest year

201860.29 in

Driest year

197633.71 in

Snowiest season

25.8 in1999-00

Station Raleigh Airport (USW00013722), 395 ft elevation, 9.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1944 to October 25, 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 USW00013722.
• 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.