Pender County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Pender 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 14, 2018Hurricane (Typhoon), Inland Pender$300 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several power lines were down across the road in Surf City. There were dozens of trees uprooted in Hampstead, as well as numerous power lines down. A gas station sustained major damage in Burgaw. Numerous trees down in Burgaw.

2. Sep 5, 1996Hurricane (Typhoon), Pender$180 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Fran's eye moved across Pender County. On Topsail Island, a 12 ft storm surge caused 40 feet of beach erosion and wiped out dunes as overwash destroyed most of the first row of beach houses and heavily damaged the rest. Damage to Surfside Beach and Topsail Beach was $112 million. The rest of the county had over $50 million structural damage, with 161 buildings destroyed and 585 more sustaining major damage, including the roof blown off the county courthouse. Marketable timber loss was $37 million. Two people died - a woman found on a mattress in the marsh and a man floating in the Scotts Hill Marina Boat Basin. Evacuation shelters housed more than 600 people.

3. Sep 15, 1999Hurricane (Typhoon), Pender$22.0 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…

4. Aug 26, 1998Hurricane (Typhoon), Pender$11.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Bonnie moved slowly up the county coastline with the more powerful wind on the east side of the storm remaining offshore. The highest wind gust report was 98 MPH in Topsail Beach. Rainfall was around 10 inches, causing widespread flooding and the closing of many roads through midmorning of the 27th. Storm surge was 5 to 7 feet, with minor barrier island overwash from the sound side, and little if any from the ocean side. Federal Disaster declared.

5. Jul 12, 1996Hurricane (Typhoon), Pender$7.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The eye of Bertha moved inland near Surf City late in the afternoon. Barrier islands evacuated 30,000, 700 were sheltered. 40 houses undermined by beach erosion and 4 houses destroyed. Winds gusted near 105 mph, and 6-8 inches rain caused widespread flooding and crop loss inland. Declared Federal Disaster Area.

6. Sep 15, 2018Flash Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hwy 53 closed near Horse Branch Rd. Point Casell Road closed at Hwy 53. Hwy 210 impassable. Flooding was reported on Hwy 17 a few miles south of Hampstead. Hwy 50 closed on the Pender/Onslow county line. Horse Branch Rd closed near the Penderlea Hwy. Multiple rescues in Western Pender County. Thirty five people were rescued from vehicles and structures. I-40 was impassable from Exit 408 and the Pender/New Hanover county line. Johnson Avenue impassable north of Watha. Hwy 421 impassable near Point Caswell Rd. Highsmith Rd flooded near Burgaw. A man drove into floodwaters and died.

7. Sep 14, 2005Hurricane (Typhoon), Pender$2.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   On September 12th, Hurricane Warnings were issued from South Santee river to Cape Lookout...with Ophelia centered about 140 miles SSE of Myrtle Beach SC. At 11 am on the 14th...Category 1 Ophelia was centered about 25 miles southeast of Cape Fear. The large eyewall (50 miles in diameter) was over New Hanover...Pender and Brunswick counties...with hurricane strength wind gusts reported at Wrightsville Beach. (79 mph). There were unofficial reports of wind gusts to 84 mph at Bald Head Island and Kure Beach. No other stations reported a measured gust to hurricane strength...with most observing stations reporting wind gusts between 35 to 50 mph. Rainfall was heaviest in the eastern…

8. Mar 15, 2008Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service Storm Survey concluded a tornado first touched down about 100 yards southwest of State Route 210. The tornado traveled northeast, across the intersection of Pansy Lane and Peanut Road where several businesses and homes were damaged. The tornado crossed near the intersection of Loblolly Trail and Pinestraw Drive where several homes were damaged and numerous trees were blown down. The tornado then lifted and skipped for another half mile, crossing Old Casteen Road, and then dissipating near Ravinswoods Road. Along its length, the tornado frequently lifted to tree top level and caused tops of trees to snap. There were 15 homes that received minor damage and…

9. Mar 15, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous pine trees were blown down or snapped along a path about 100 yards wide and 300 yards long. Five mobile homes were damaged by downed trees in the Interstate Mobile Home Park and adjacent Cedar Grove Mobile Home Park. Two of these homes were knocked off of their foundations and sustained major damage. A National Weather Service Storm Survey concluded the damage was the result of straight-line winds between 90 and 95 mph. Pender County officials estimated all storm related damage totaled $2 million dollars.

10. Jan 26, 2004Ice Storm, Pender$1.5 million

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, 14.0 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.