Lightning Risk in North Carolina

All North Carolina counties ranked by FEMA National Risk Index lightning score

Lightning risk — electrical discharges from storms that ignite fires and cause casualties — is rated for 100 of 100 North Carolina counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. New Hanover County carries the state's highest lightning score at 97.7, with $3M in expected annual lightning losses.

30 North Carolina counties are rated High or Very High for lightning, and expected annual losses from lightning total roughly $59M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Lightning

#CountyLightning ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 New Hanover County
97.7
Very High 56.52 / yr $3M
2 Buncombe County
96.6
Very High 55.06 / yr $2M
3 Mecklenburg County
94.9
High 52.13 / yr $2M
4 Columbus County
94.8
High 57.97 / yr $1M
5 Dare County
94.7
High 45.92 / yr $2M
6 Guilford County
94.2
High 47.07 / yr $2M
7 Jackson County
94.2
High 58.44 / yr $1M
8 Cumberland County
93.1
High 52.52 / yr $2M
9 Craven County
92.5
High 53.82 / yr $1M
10 Brunswick County
92.4
High 56.78 / yr $1M
11 Onslow County
92.4
High 55.86 / yr $2M
12 Wake County
91.7
High 50.26 / yr $2M
13 Henderson County
90.9
High 58.22 / yr $1M
14 Gaston County
90.8
High 52.17 / yr $1M
15 Durham County
90.4
High 47.27 / yr $1M
16 Robeson County
89.3
High 55.37 / yr $652K
17 Moore County
88.1
High 50.88 / yr $1M
18 Burke County
86.9
High 54.66 / yr $805K
19 Forsyth County
86.8
High 48.26 / yr $1M
20 Pender County
85.7
High 57.15 / yr $1M
21 Catawba County
85.3
High 52.01 / yr $993K
22 Orange County
85.3
High 47.15 / yr $1M
23 Johnston County
85.1
High 50.92 / yr $1M
24 Union County
84.7
High 52.54 / yr $1M
25 Mitchell County
83.8
High 53.58 / yr $741K
26 Wayne County
83.6
High 51.01 / yr $659K
27 Cabarrus County
82.8
High 50.70 / yr $1M
28 Yancey County
82.6
High 53.57 / yr $548K
29 Alamance County
82.3
High 46.88 / yr $911K
30 Cleveland County
82.0
High 53.63 / yr $766K
31 Pitt County
81.2
Medium 50.98 / yr $747K
32 Carteret County
79.6
Medium 51.75 / yr $655K
33 Rutherford County
78.9
Medium 54.96 / yr $523K
34 Haywood County
78.7
Medium 55.35 / yr $576K
35 Lee County
78.5
Medium 51.75 / yr $513K
36 Harnett County
78.3
Medium 51.63 / yr $725K
37 Lincoln County
77.2
Medium 51.68 / yr $637K
38 Iredell County
76.4
Medium 50.37 / yr $769K
39 Sampson County
75.8
Medium 52.36 / yr $394K
40 Macon County
75.2
Medium 58.66 / yr $453K
41 Pamlico County
74.5
Medium 53.07 / yr $425K
42 Rockingham County
74.5
Medium 46.26 / yr $481K
43 Avery County
72.6
Medium 52.72 / yr $408K
44 Beaufort County
72.4
Medium 52.36 / yr $403K
45 Rowan County
72.4
Medium 50.27 / yr $523K
46 Lenoir County
72.2
Medium 52.63 / yr $360K
47 Duplin County
70.7
Medium 53.24 / yr $339K
48 Caldwell County
70.7
Medium 53.37 / yr $482K
49 Franklin County
70.3
Medium 47.66 / yr $501K
50 Nash County
70.1
Medium 47.67 / yr $424K
51 Madison County
69.9
Medium 52.63 / yr $504K
52 Wilkes County
69.3
Medium 50.48 / yr $328K
53 Randolph County
69.2
Medium 48.68 / yr $439K
54 Davidson County
69.1
Medium 49.22 / yr $467K
55 McDowell County
68.4
Medium 55.22 / yr $373K
56 Transylvania County
67.8
Medium 60.13 / yr $344K
57 Polk County
67.3
Medium 56.01 / yr $308K
58 Pasquotank County
64.2
Medium 44.64 / yr $349K
59 Watauga County
63.3
Medium 48.73 / yr $324K
60 Cherokee County
62.4
Medium 59.94 / yr $286K
61 Wilson County
62.1
Medium 49.16 / yr $305K
62 Bladen County
61.2
Medium 55.43 / yr $253K
63 Chatham County
58.6
Medium 49.94 / yr $298K
64 Currituck County
58.4
Medium 40.56 / yr $494K
65 Scotland County
57.7
Medium 55.08 / yr $184K
66 Richmond County
57.0
Medium 53.95 / yr $219K
67 Alexander County
56.6
Low 52.64 / yr $216K
68 Hoke County
55.9
Low 54.89 / yr $232K
69 Halifax County
55.5
Low 46.34 / yr $177K
70 Vance County
54.2
Low 45.92 / yr $189K
71 Surry County
54.1
Low 50.10 / yr $226K
72 Ashe County
53.5
Low 48.72 / yr $183K
73 Edgecombe County
53.4
Low 47.53 / yr $180K
74 Granville County
52.5
Low 46.52 / yr $245K
75 Stanly County
49.6
Low 50.54 / yr $246K
76 Clay County
46.9
Low 59.49 / yr $119K
77 Person County
44.7
Low 45.31 / yr $145K
78 Swain County
43.6
Low 56.35 / yr $116K
79 Greene County
42.4
Low 49.99 / yr $111K
80 Washington County
42.1
Low 50.23 / yr $112K
81 Bertie County
41.5
Low 47.68 / yr $114K
82 Anson County
41.0
Low 52.91 / yr $105K
83 Hertford County
40.4
Low 46.77 / yr $103K
84 Alleghany County
39.1
Low 47.55 / yr $93K
85 Montgomery County
38.3
Low 49.76 / yr $112K
86 Jones County
35.6
Low 54.23 / yr $81K
87 Perquimans County
35.1
Low 45.93 / yr $106K
88 Martin County
34.7
Low 49.05 / yr $111K
89 Hyde County
33.5
Low 49.97 / yr $76K
90 Stokes County
33.5
Low 48.68 / yr $110K
91 Davie County
33.3
Low 49.71 / yr $125K
92 Caswell County
32.5
Low 46.22 / yr $96K
93 Warren County
32.4
Low 45.72 / yr $74K
94 Yadkin County
32.2
Low 49.78 / yr $95K
95 Chowan County
32.1
Low 46.47 / yr $99K
96 Northampton County
29.0
Low 46.53 / yr $63K
97 Gates County
28.9
Low 46.12 / yr $99K
98 Graham County
27.1
Low 57.71 / yr $74K
99 Tyrrell County
26.1
Low 49.46 / yr $59K
100 Camden County
16.9
Very Low 42.81 / yr $86K

100 North Carolina counties with measurable lightning risk. See the national lightning ranking or all North Carolina counties by overall risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which North Carolina county has the highest lightning risk?

New Hanover County has the highest FEMA lightning risk score in North Carolina at 97.7 (Very High), with $3M in expected annual losses and about 56.52 events per year.

How many North Carolina counties face significant lightning risk?

100 North Carolina counties record measurable lightning risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 30 of them are rated High or Very High.

Other Hazards in North Carolina

Coastal Flood Cold Wave Drought Earthquake Hail Heat Wave Hurricane Ice Storm Riverine Flood Landslide Strong Wind Tornado Wildfire Winter Weather