Gates County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Gates County: 2.
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.

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), Gates$900,000
   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 gusts to hurricane force occurred over the piedmont of 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 37 mph at Roanoke Rapids (RZZ). The highest gust recorded was 63 mph at Roanoke Rapids (RZZ). Approximately several thousand persons were evacuated and housed in numerous shelters across the piedmont of northeast North Carolina. The unusually large…

2. Oct 8, 2016Flood$500,000
   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.

3. Aug 27, 2011Tropical Storm, Gates$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical storm force winds knocked down several trees and power lines, with heavy rains also causing significant crop damage. Storm total rainfall generally ranged from eight to fourteen inches.

4. Aug 4, 2020Tropical Storm, Gates$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical storm winds downed and uprooted several trees and power lines, produced minor structural damage, and caused power outages across the county. Wind gusts averaged between 40 and 50 knots.

5. Sep 15, 1999Flash Flood$140,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Very heavy rain from Hurricane Floyd, falling on soils saturated by heavy rain of the previous 3 weeks, produced widespread flooding and flash flooding across northeast North Carolina, from the Roanoke River eastward. Rainfall amounts ranged from near 6 inches in southeast Gates county, to as much as 18 inches in southwest Bertie county. Numerous roads were washed out due to flooding, and a number of high water rescues had to be conducted. Fortunately, only one person perished due to the flash flooding. Also, there were enormous structural/housing and agricultural/crop losses due to the flooding.

6. Feb 6, 2020Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Initial straight line wind damage was noted along Highway 13 just north of the Chowan River. Wind damage continued east along Sandbank Road east of Highway 13. The EF-0 tornado touched down just east of Eure near Taylor Mill Road and Askew Road. The tornado intensity increased as it crossed Turner Road snapping numerous trees with one of the trees falling on a home. The tornado then crossed Highway 158 just west of Highway 37 snapping and uprooting numerous trees. A roof was blown off a home along Highway 158 and some chicken houses were damaged. The tornado lifted off the ground at Highway 37 just north of Highway 158. Straight line wind damage did continue with damage to metal…

7. Apr 16, 2011Tornado$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado tracked from southeast Hertford county into Gates county crossing the Chowan River while continuing to weaken. The final very minor damage was noted a couple of miles northwest of Hobbsville to the west of Route 32. Most of the damage in Gates county was to trees. Numerous trees were downed with many others snapped at the top. A mobile home roof was blown off and there was minor damage to some farm equipment and a couple other homes.

8. Feb 6, 2020Thunderstorm Wind$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Large commercial metal building was damaged by straight line winds.

9. Jun 23, 2026Thunderstorm Wind$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong winds caused a peanut trailer to flip and tree tops were splintered off with damage to an outbuilding.

10. Jul 8, 2021Tropical Storm, Gates$15,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Tropical storm winds downed several trees and power lines, produced minor structural damage, and caused scattered power outages across the county. Wind gusts averaged between 35 and 45 knots.

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

105°F2 times, most recently Jun 18, 2004

All-time low

−5°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

84°FJul 29, 2002

Coldest day

15°FJan 19, 1994

Wettest day

10.98 inAug 27, 2011

Snowiest day

17.0 inFeb 6, 1980

Hottest year

1998mean 62.1°F

Coldest year

1958mean 56.9°F

Wettest year

199970.68 in

Driest year

198629.09 in

Snowiest season

43.0 in1979-80

Station Suffolk Lake Kilby (USC00448192), 22 ft elevation, 19.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1945 to October 21, 2026; 99.1% 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.

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 USC00448192.
• 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.