Wayne County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Wayne County: 4.
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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Oct 9, 2016Flood$121 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Torrential rainfall of 12 to 15 inches caused widespread flash flooding across the county. Additional rainfall upstream caused all-time record major flooding along the Neuse River near Goldsboro. Flooding damaged approximately 5,092 structures throughout the county, resulting in $120.8 million in property damage and and at least $20 million in crop damage. Numerous roads were closed due to flooding. Numerous homes and businesses were flooded as well, with more than 125 people rescued from trapped homes and vehicles. There were 2 direct fatalities when a 54 year old male and a 47 year old female when their vehicles were swept away by flood waters along Wayne Memorial Drive near…

2. Sep 17, 2018Flood$20.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Torrential rainfall of 15 to 20 inches upstream caused major flooding along the Neuse River Basin. Flooding damaged approximately 1,482 structures throughout the county, resulting in over $20.93 million in property damage, and over $30 million in crop damage. Numerous streets and roads were reported flooded.

3. Jul 5, 1997Hail$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL FELL ON OAKLAND CHURCH ROAD. CONSIDERABLE CROP DAMAGE OCCURRED OVER WESTERN AND NORTHERN WAYNE COUNTIES DURING THE HAIL STORMS.

4. Aug 10, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees were blown down all throughout the city. Numerous roads were blocked by downed trees and power lines from Wayne Memorial Drive east to Highway 13. A Days Inn Motel on HWY 70 sustained major roof damage. Four people were transported to Wayne Memorial Hospital with injuries ranging from a broken leg to scratches.

5. Sep 5, 2019Tropical Storm, Wayne$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Frequent wind gusts of 35 to 55 mph resulted in scattered to numerous trees and power lines down across Wayne County, including some on homes. Numerous customers lost power in Wayne County as a result of the tropical storm force winds.

6. Oct 29, 2020Strong Wind, Wayne$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Frequent wind gusts of 40 to 55 mph resulted in scattered to numerous trees and power lines down across Wayne County, including some on homes. Numerous customers lost power in Wayne County as a result of the strong winds.

7. Sep 13, 2018Tropical Storm, Wayne$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Frequent wind gusts of 50 to 70 mph resulted in numerous trees down across Wayne County, including on homes, cars, power lines and damage to structures. Numerous customers lost power in Wayne County as a result of the tropical storm force winds.|A 81 year old male died(indirect)when he fell and struck his head while packing to evacuate.

8. Aug 27, 2011High Wind, Wayne$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees and power-lines were blown down all throughout the county. Several homes were damaged from fallen trees and a portion of the Berkeley Mall collapsed. A fatality occurred when two cars collided with another at an intersection where the traffic signals were out.

9. Aug 3, 2020Tropical Storm, Wayne$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Frequent wind gusts of 35 to 50 mph resulted in scattered to numerous trees and power lines down across Wayne County, including some on homes. Numerous customers lost power in Wayne County as a result of the tropical storm force winds.

10. Sep 30, 2022Tropical Storm, Wayne$750,000
    National Weather Service narrative

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

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

107°FJul 22, 1952

All-time low

−5°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

89°FAug 8, 1918

Coldest day

17°FJan 22, 1985

Wettest day

9.53 inSep 16, 1999

Snowiest day

15.0 inDec 11, 1958

Hottest year

2024mean 63.9°F

Coldest year

1988mean 57.0°F

Wettest year

198973.46 in

Driest year

198130.58 in

Snowiest season

30.3 in1947-48

Station Wilson 3 Sw (USC00319476), 110 ft elevation, 22.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1916 to October 25, 2026; 97.6% 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 USC00319476.
• 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.