Strong Wind Risk in North Carolina

All North Carolina counties ranked by FEMA National Risk Index strong wind score

Strong Wind risk — damaging straight-line winds outside of tornadoes and hurricanes — is rated for 100 of 100 North Carolina counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. Columbus County carries the state's highest strong wind score at 98.4, with $4M in expected annual strong wind losses.

15 North Carolina counties are rated High or Very High for strong wind, and expected annual losses from strong wind total roughly $89M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Strong Wind

#CountyStrong Wind ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 Columbus County
98.4
Very High 2.56 / yr $4M
2 Robeson County
98.0
Very High 2.86 / yr $3M
3 Sampson County
97.8
High 1.92 / yr $3M
4 Rutherford County
97.3
High 2.35 / yr $3M
5 Bladen County
96.7
High 2.37 / yr $3M
6 Edgecombe County
96.3
High 0.81 / yr $2M
7 Gaston County
95.2
High 2.74 / yr $3M
8 Buncombe County
92.6
High 2.76 / yr $3M
9 Mecklenburg County
91.7
High 2.73 / yr $3M
10 Henderson County
91.3
High 2.25 / yr $2M
11 Duplin County
91.2
High 1.64 / yr $1M
12 Union County
88.8
High 2.90 / yr $3M
13 Durham County
88.1
High 1.31 / yr $2M
14 Forsyth County
85.9
High 2.58 / yr $2M
15 Surry County
84.2
High 2.72 / yr $1M
16 Iredell County
83.9
Medium 2.41 / yr $2M
17 Johnston County
83.8
Medium 1.09 / yr $2M
18 Davidson County
83.5
Medium 2.33 / yr $1M
19 Ashe County
82.2
Medium 2.67 / yr $985K
20 Onslow County
80.6
Medium 1.21 / yr $2M
21 Cleveland County
78.6
Medium 2.69 / yr $1M
22 Wilkes County
78.5
Medium 2.65 / yr $831K
23 Lenoir County
76.1
Medium 1.30 / yr $767K
24 Cumberland County
75.9
Medium 1.97 / yr $1M
25 Wayne County
75.8
Medium 1.30 / yr $872K
26 Catawba County
75.7
Medium 2.46 / yr $1M
27 Cabarrus County
74.8
Medium 2.29 / yr $1M
28 Orange County
74.5
Medium 1.57 / yr $1M
29 Craven County
74.3
Medium 1.04 / yr $919K
30 Caldwell County
74.1
Medium 2.70 / yr $1M
31 Rockingham County
73.4
Medium 2.59 / yr $880K
32 Richmond County
73.2
Medium 2.81 / yr $773K
33 Brunswick County
72.7
Medium 1.74 / yr $814K
34 Rowan County
72.6
Medium 2.28 / yr $1M
35 Scotland County
72.4
Medium 2.62 / yr $619K
36 Anson County
72.3
Medium 2.93 / yr $653K
37 Pitt County
71.6
Medium 0.93 / yr $1000K
38 Haywood County
70.9
Medium 3.24 / yr $846K
39 Lincoln County
70.4
Medium 2.45 / yr $977K
40 Guilford County
69.0
Medium 2.25 / yr $922K
41 Beaufort County
66.4
Medium 0.92 / yr $651K
42 Nash County
62.6
Medium 0.83 / yr $662K
43 Perquimans County
61.0
Medium 0.73 / yr $601K
44 Harnett County
60.1
Medium 1.44 / yr $791K
45 Jackson County
59.1
Medium 3.05 / yr $476K
46 Randolph County
58.5
Medium 1.92 / yr $633K
47 Franklin County
57.3
Medium 0.93 / yr $671K
48 Alexander County
56.6
Medium 2.60 / yr $478K
49 Alamance County
56.1
Medium 1.71 / yr $729K
50 McDowell County
55.4
Medium 2.46 / yr $516K
51 Gates County
55.2
Medium 0.76 / yr $605K
52 Polk County
55.1
Medium 2.13 / yr $435K
53 New Hanover County
54.6
Medium 1.45 / yr $753K
54 Wilson County
54.5
Medium 0.92 / yr $528K
55 Hoke County
54.3
Medium 2.30 / yr $500K
56 Stanly County
54.0
Medium 2.32 / yr $663K
57 Pender County
53.0
Medium 1.64 / yr $625K
58 Transylvania County
51.9
Medium 2.27 / yr $439K
59 Pasquotank County
51.8
Medium 0.72 / yr $511K
60 Yadkin County
51.6
Low 2.56 / yr $464K
61 Macon County
50.9
Low 2.82 / yr $426K
62 Swain County
49.8
Low 3.70 / yr $340K
63 Wake County
49.3
Low 0.94 / yr $861K
64 Cherokee County
48.8
Low 3.48 / yr $418K
65 Burke County
48.7
Low 2.53 / yr $422K
66 Carteret County
48.1
Low 0.81 / yr $483K
67 Hertford County
46.9
Low 0.80 / yr $318K
68 Halifax County
45.5
Low 0.72 / yr $299K
69 Watauga County
45.5
Low 2.73 / yr $410K
70 Vance County
44.7
Low 1.28 / yr $329K
71 Montgomery County
44.6
Low 1.93 / yr $349K
72 Person County
42.7
Low 2.02 / yr $335K
73 Yancey County
41.8
Low 2.84 / yr $287K
74 Greene County
41.0
Low 0.95 / yr $268K
75 Moore County
39.9
Low 1.63 / yr $410K
76 Jones County
39.8
Low 1.24 / yr $245K
77 Lee County
39.7
Low 1.38 / yr $314K
78 Avery County
39.5
Low 2.76 / yr $309K
79 Bertie County
37.1
Low 0.81 / yr $251K
80 Chatham County
36.5
Low 1.16 / yr $349K
81 Granville County
36.5
Low 1.22 / yr $353K
82 Stokes County
35.4
Low 2.74 / yr $311K
83 Dare County
35.2
Low 0.44 / yr $349K
84 Chowan County
34.0
Low 0.77 / yr $283K
85 Martin County
33.8
Low 0.82 / yr $283K
86 Davie County
32.5
Low 2.40 / yr $324K
87 Northampton County
32.1
Low 0.61 / yr $188K
88 Warren County
30.7
Low 0.85 / yr $185K
89 Madison County
29.5
Low 3.10 / yr $291K
90 Caswell County
28.2
Low 2.23 / yr $218K
91 Clay County
27.5
Low 2.88 / yr $152K
92 Graham County
26.9
Low 4.00 / yr $197K
93 Washington County
26.4
Low 0.76 / yr $162K
94 Mitchell County
25.5
Low 2.81 / yr $206K
95 Alleghany County
24.3
Low 2.68 / yr $137K
96 Pamlico County
19.7
Low 0.89 / yr $127K
97 Hyde County
18.0
Low 0.67 / yr $94K
98 Tyrrell County
16.8
Very Low 0.66 / yr $92K
99 Currituck County
16.0
Very Low 0.54 / yr $215K
100 Camden County
10.7
Very Low 0.61 / yr $117K

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Which North Carolina county has the highest strong wind risk?

Columbus County has the highest FEMA strong wind risk score in North Carolina at 98.4 (Very High), with $4M in expected annual losses and about 2.56 events per year.

How many North Carolina counties face significant strong wind risk?

100 North Carolina counties record measurable strong wind risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 15 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 Lightning Tornado Wildfire Winter Weather