Northampton County

Every recorded tornado

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

The National Weather Service sets flood stages for 2 gauges here but lists no crests for them.

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. Aug 27, 2011Tropical Storm, Northampton$1.7 million
   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 five to thirteen inches.

2. Sep 18, 2003Hurricane (Typhoon), Northampton$1.6 million
   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…

3. Sep 16, 1999Flash Flood$1.2 million
   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.

4. 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.

5. Dec 23, 1998Ice Storm, Northampton$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A major ice storm affected portions of northeast North Carolina from Wednesday, December 23rd into Friday, December 25th. A prolonged period of freezing rain and sleet resulted in ice accumulations of one quarter inch /0.25/ to one half inch / 0.50/ in some locations. Northampton County was affected the most by this storm. The ice accumulations on trees and power lines caused power outages across portions of the region. Some accidents occurred due to slippery road conditions, especially bridges and overpasses.

6. Jul 3, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Estimated straight line winds of 75-90 mph swept through the town of Conway inflicting significant tree and structural damage. Approximately 15-20 tree limbs of 10-15" in diameter were blown down with several dozen more limbs of 4-8" in diameter downed. Several trees were snapped off 15-20' AGL. The most significant damage occurred between 0.5 mile south of Conway to 2 miles east-southeast of Conway. A home about 0.5 mile south of Conway sustained significant awning damage with the back door blown in. A tree was snapped off 15' AGL. Another 30' pine tree was uprooted. Eight tree limbs of 8-12" diameter were scattered about the yard with one limb lodged in telephone lines 30 feet…

7. Aug 4, 2020Tropical Storm, Northampton$150,000
   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 gust of 46 knots (53 mph) was measured at Conway.

8. Mar 18, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm produced a large swath of straight line wind damage across portions of Northampton county. The damage began just east of Interstate 95 on Blythe Road, where 2 homes were severely damaged by winds estimated to be 85 mph. The swath of damage continued to the east-northeast for more than 10 miles. The path roughly followed Macon Price Road and Big Johns Store Road. In this area, several trees were uprooted, shingles were blown off of homes, and winds were estimated to be in the 65 to 85 mph range. The path ended near the intersection of Mount Zion Church Road and Big Johns Store Road about 1 mile west of Margarettsville.

9. Jul 3, 1996Tornado$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado initially touched down in cotton fields 2 miles northwest of Conway. A trampoline was lodged 20 feet above ground level in a pine tree about 1 mile northwest of Conway. Several branches of the pine tree were completely stripped of pine needles/twigs and several other limbs (8-12" in diameter) were ripped off. The storm crossed Route 35 one mile north of Conway uprooting 2 trees and nearly blowing over 3 power poles. Two houses east of Route 35 sustained significant tree damage with several 12-15" diameter and six 8-10" diameter branches ripped off 85 year old trees. The tin roof on the northernmost house was peeled back in several places. A 4'x 8' trellis was pulled out…

10. May 16, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Fifty to seventy five trees fell near Henrico, NC due to the storms.

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°F4 times, most recently Aug 19, 1988

All-time low

−8°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

78°F2 times, most recently Aug 13, 1995

Coldest day

18°F2 times, most recently Jan 20, 1994

Wettest day

12.20 inSep 16, 1999

Snowiest day

12.0 inMar 3, 1980

Hottest year

1953mean 61.9°F

Coldest year

1996mean 57.3°F

Wettest year

200665.71 in

Driest year

195130.69 in

Snowiest season

52.0 in1979-80

Station Jackson (USC00314456), 123 ft elevation, 3.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to September 30, 2026; 97.7% 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 USC00314456.
• 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.