Lenoir County

Every recorded tornado

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

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 14, 1999Hurricane (Typhoon), Lenoir$150 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Floyd caused the largest peace time evacuation in the nations history. He also caused massive record flooding across inland sections of eastern North Carolina. At one time Floyd was classified as a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir/Simpson scale and will likely be categorized as one of the nation's most costly hurricanes in the 20th century.Tropical Depression number eight was detected by the National Hurricane Center at 1600 EST on September 7th. The broad center was nearly 1000 miles west of the Lesser Antilles. At that time the depression was moving toward the west at 14 mph with maximum sustained winds of 30 mph. Within 12 hours the depression gained strength,…

2. Sep 13, 2018Tropical Storm, Lenoir$43.2 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 11��� to 20��� over the county with a storm total of 18.92��� in Kinston. Extremely heavy rainfall across the county initially lead to flash flooding with numerous roads that were impassable. The Neuse River at Kinston crested at 25.78 feet on the 21st, ranking third highest all time behind hurricanes Matthew and Floyd. US 70 was closed in Kinston for several days as flood waters inundated numerous homes and businesses on the south side of Kinston. Gusty northeast winds developed ahead of Florence as the…

3. Aug 26, 2011Tropical Storm, Lenoir$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Across Lenoir County...winds gusted to 50 to 60 mph resulting in trees and power-lines down with power outages. Storm total rainfall of 10 inches resulted in flooding of roads and low lying areas. Significant damage occurred to structures and crops.

4. Sep 13, 1996Flood, Lenoir$9.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain from Hurricane Fran moving downstream and a major release of water from a dam near Raleigh combined with a large amount of debris led to serious flooding in Kinston along the Neuse River. The river crested at 23.2 feet, over 9 feet above flood stage. Many roads along the river were flooded including Highway 11 between Highway 70 and Jackson Forks. Water was 2-3 feet deep in Rivermont just south of Kinston. Many residents were evacuated. Several large warehouses containing $24 million of tobacco were inundated resulting in a total loss.

5. Sep 4, 1996Hurricane (Typhoon), Lenoir$5.0 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…

6. Sep 16, 1996Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Kinston Public Service complex on Highway 258 south of Kinston hit by tornado. Steel I-beams were twisted and bent upwards. Wind equipment measured 145 mph winds before it stopped working. Two other sets of wind equipment blown away. Warehouse across the street lost its roof. Damage at Lenoir Community College and Diamond Warehouse on Highway 58. Roof sheared off house on Highway 55 in Sand Hill.

7. Sep 16, 1996Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Kinston Public Service complex on Highway 258 south of Kinston hit by tornado. Steel I-beams were twisted and bent upwards. Wind equipment measured 145 mph winds before it stopped working. Two other sets of wind equipment blown away. Warehouse across the street lost its roof. Damage at Lenoir Community College and Diamond Warehouse on Highway 58. Roof sheared off house on Highway 55 in Sand Hill.

8. Jul 12, 1996Hurricane (Typhoon), Lenoir$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Bertha slammed into the North Carolina coastline between Surf City and North Topsail Beach causing severe damage to property, utilities and roads. Hardest hit were agricultural crops which suffered losses in excess of $126 million. Heaviest damage was in Topsail Beach and all of Onslow County up the coast to Emerald Isle in Carteret County. In Onslow alone, 199 structures were destroyed (117 were mobile homes). An 8-10 foot storm surge struck Swansboro and Emerald Isle. Several businesses were flooded. Water flowed through the streets of Belhaven in Beaufort County where the surge was around 7 feet. In New Bern, numerous boats were sunk or damaged at 3 private marinas.…

9. Jun 3, 1998Hail$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A line of thunderstorms moved across eastern areas of the state producing widespread large hail. Martin county was especially hard hit where much of the tobacco crop was damaged. In Kinston, car dealers reported over a half million dollars worth of damage to vehicles. On Ocracoke Island, the hail was the largest seen in many generations.

10. Apr 1, 1998Tornado$350,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A series of tornadoes across Lenoir, Craven and Jones counties produced nearly a half million dollars in damage and 3 injuries, none serious. The first occurrence in extreme southwest Lenoir County on Dailey's Chapel Road ripped a roof off a trailer and damaged a turkey farm. Shortly thereafter a tornado on Davis Road just east of Hardy Bridge Road in Moss Hill destroyed an airplane hangar and several planes inside. Airplanes were lifted out of the hangar and thrown. One boat was pushed out of the structure a distance of 100 yards. In addition, an outbuilding was destroyed and a Ford Explorer was rolled several times. About 3 miles southwest of Kinston another tornado destroyed a…

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

103°F4 times, most recently Aug 22, 1983

All-time low

−2°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

82°FJul 9, 2012

Coldest day

23°FJan 11, 1982

Wettest day

13.25 inAug 27, 2011

Snowiest day

10.0 inFeb 1, 2026

Hottest year

2017mean 65.5°F

Coldest year

1968mean 59.2°F

Wettest year

201870.63 in

Driest year

202234.50 in

Snowiest season

12.9 in1972-73

Station Kinston Ag Rsch (USC00314689), 60 ft elevation, 4.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1966 to October 27, 2026; 93.6% 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 USC00314689.
• 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.