Wilson County

Every recorded tornado

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

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$32.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Torrential rainfall of 9 to 12 inches caused widespread flash flooding across the county. Additional heavy rainfall upstream caused major flooding along the Tar River Basin, and along Contentnea Creek. Flooding damaged approximately 1,174 structures throughout the county, resulting in $32.3 million in property damage, and $20 million in crop damage. Numerous streets and roads were reported flooded, with several washouts reported on secondary roads. The flooding resulted in 2 direct fatalities. A 51 year old female died when the car she was driving was swept off the road in rushing floodwaters along N.C. Highway 581 between Renfro Road and Rock Ridge. A 65year old male died when…

2. Apr 16, 2011Tornado$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down just just north of the town of Lucama, where several homes were heavily damaged and numerous large pine trees were snapped in half or uprooted. Several vehicles were blown over and rolled as much as 100 feet. Winds in this location were estimated at 120 mph. The tornado continued moving northeast and crossed NC Highway 42 on the western side of Wilson where 25 homes and a dozen businesses were heavily damaged, in addition to numerous downed trees and power-lines. Several air conditioning units were blown off the top of businesses and onto the street...and dozens of vehicles at an automotive dealership were heavily damaged by wind blown debris. At this point…

3. Aug 8, 2024Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down near Hwy 301 about 2 WNW Black Creek then proceeded NW for approximately 6.5 miles before lifting 4 WNW Lucama. Numerous trees were snapped and several homes were severely damaged along Scott Church Rd. One home has considerable roof damage with roofing covering removed. The tornado continued |NW and did severe damage to Springfield Middle School where several sections of the roof were completely removed and several exterior and load bearing walls were blown out. At this location, wind was estimated to be 140 mph, which puts this tornado at the |EF-3 level on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. The tornado continued moving to the northwest, and along Lloyd Road a two…

4. May 5, 2009Tornado$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   At the intersection of North Carolina highway 581 and North Carolina Highway 42 at Buckhorn Crossroads and EF-0 tornado touched down at 3:44 EST and tracked off to the northeast. At Buckhorn Crossroads several trees were snapped off and shingles blown off a house.||As the tornado moved to the northeast it tracked into a wooded area and began to intensive. It emerged from the wooded area just to the southwest of the intersection of Sadie Road and Rock Ridge School Road, into the Rock Ridge area, at 4:50 PM and had strengthen to an EF-2. At that time, peak winds were estimated at 120 to 135 mph with a path width of 100 yards. The first home that was damage to the southwest of the…

5. Sep 18, 2003Hurricane (Typhoon), Wilson$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Isabel made landfall along the Outer Banks just north of Cape Lookout around 1 pm on September 18, 2003. The eye of the storm tracked northeast passing over eastern Halifax County. Winds gusts to near Hurricane force were recorded over Halifax county. Many locations across the Coastal Plain and even back into the Triangle received wind gusts between 50 to 70 mph late in the afternoon until early evening. Many trees were uprooted falling on vehicles and homes all across the area. One person was killed in Franklin county when their vehicle struck a downed tree. Up to 6 inches of rain fell across Edgecombe, Halifax and Wilson counties resulting in flooding of several roads.

6. Nov 15, 2008Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado occurred along a discontinuous, approximately eight-mile path that began with minor roof damage to a dwelling and a snapped tree along Harrison drive just south of Ward Boulevard. The most significant damage was then noted to the northeast, along London Church Road, south of Route 1330. On London Church Road, one home was completely destroyed and swept off of its foundation. Based on eyewitness accounts and the damage, fire and rescue estimate the home rolled as many as four times. In this home, there was unfortunately one fatality and two injuries.|Across the road from this home to the northeast, the upper portion of a home was destroyed, and another home had a roof…

7. Aug 4, 2020Tropical Storm, Wilson$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 Wilson County, including some on homes. Numerous customers lost power in Wilson County as a result of the tropical storm force winds.

8. Sep 13, 2018Tropical Storm, Wilson$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

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

9. Oct 29, 2020Strong Wind, Wilson$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 Wilson County, including some on homes. Numerous customers lost power in Wilson County as a result of the strong winds.

10. Sep 30, 2022Tropical Storm, Wilson$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 Wilson County, including some on homes. Numerous customers lost power in Wilson 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, 2.4 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.