Tornado Risk in North Carolina

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

Tornado risk — violently rotating columns of air capable of catastrophic local damage — is rated for 100 of 100 North Carolina counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. Mecklenburg County carries the state's highest tornado score at 97.4, with $24M in expected annual tornado losses.

11 North Carolina counties are rated High or Very High for tornado, and expected annual losses from tornado total roughly $342M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Tornado

#CountyTornado ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 Mecklenburg County
97.4
High 0.28 / yr $24M
2 Robeson County
97.0
High 0.54 / yr $10M
3 Wake County
95.3
High 0.41 / yr $20M
4 Union County
94.7
High 0.34 / yr $16M
5 Pitt County
94.3
High 0.46 / yr $11M
6 Johnston County
93.6
High 0.47 / yr $11M
7 Durham County
93.5
High 0.12 / yr $11M
8 Cumberland County
93.0
High 0.38 / yr $10M
9 Gaston County
91.1
High 0.19 / yr $8M
10 Forsyth County
90.9
High 0.14 / yr $8M
11 New Hanover County
90.4
High 0.16 / yr $9M
12 Wayne County
89.9
Medium 0.39 / yr $5M
13 Cabarrus County
89.1
Medium 0.17 / yr $9M
14 Guilford County
88.7
Medium 0.23 / yr $6M
15 Randolph County
87.4
Medium 0.32 / yr $5M
16 Harnett County
87.1
Medium 0.32 / yr $6M
17 Brunswick County
87.0
Medium 0.46 / yr $5M
18 Davidson County
86.9
Medium 0.22 / yr $6M
19 Lenoir County
86.5
Medium 0.31 / yr $4M
20 Craven County
86.4
Medium 0.53 / yr $5M
21 Catawba County
86.3
Medium 0.18 / yr $6M
22 Iredell County
85.9
Medium 0.24 / yr $7M
23 Onslow County
85.8
Medium 0.59 / yr $7M
24 Rowan County
85.7
Medium 0.23 / yr $5M
25 Moore County
85.7
Medium 0.32 / yr $5M
26 Nash County
84.9
Medium 0.31 / yr $4M
27 Duplin County
83.1
Medium 0.62 / yr $3M
28 Columbus County
82.3
Medium 0.53 / yr $3M
29 Alamance County
82.3
Medium 0.16 / yr $5M
30 Orange County
81.5
Medium 0.15 / yr $5M
31 Lee County
81.5
Medium 0.12 / yr $3M
32 Buncombe County
81.3
Medium 0.21 / yr $4M
33 Richmond County
81.2
Medium 0.23 / yr $3M
34 Scotland County
80.8
Medium 0.16 / yr $2M
35 Henderson County
80.6
Medium 0.16 / yr $3M
36 Sampson County
80.2
Medium 0.68 / yr $3M
37 Edgecombe County
79.9
Medium 0.33 / yr $3M
38 Cleveland County
79.8
Medium 0.25 / yr $4M
39 Halifax County
79.7
Medium 0.41 / yr $2M
40 Lincoln County
78.4
Medium 0.13 / yr $4M
41 Bladen County
78.1
Medium 0.57 / yr $3M
42 Chatham County
75.8
Medium 0.30 / yr $3M
43 Hoke County
75.8
Medium 0.19 / yr $3M
44 Burke County
75.2
Medium 0.20 / yr $2M
45 Beaufort County
74.6
Medium 0.65 / yr $2M
46 Wilkes County
72.5
Medium 0.24 / yr $2M
47 Anson County
71.9
Medium 0.26 / yr $2M
48 Pender County
70.9
Medium 0.61 / yr $3M
49 Franklin County
70.8
Medium 0.26 / yr $3M
50 Wilson County
70.2
Medium 0.23 / yr $2M
51 Rutherford County
69.8
Medium 0.27 / yr $2M
52 Cherokee County
68.1
Medium 0.22 / yr $2M
53 Granville County
67.9
Medium 0.22 / yr $2M
54 Montgomery County
65.6
Medium 0.22 / yr $2M
55 Stanly County
65.1
Medium 0.19 / yr $2M
56 Vance County
63.9
Low 0.11 / yr $1M
57 Jackson County
62.2
Low 0.19 / yr $1M
58 Caldwell County
62.1
Low 0.17 / yr $2M
59 Bertie County
62.1
Low 0.46 / yr $1M
60 Macon County
60.9
Low 0.22 / yr $1M
61 Martin County
60.2
Low 0.29 / yr $1M
62 Watauga County
60.1
Low 0.09 / yr $2M
63 Surry County
59.4
Low 0.14 / yr $1M
64 Greene County
59.0
Low 0.19 / yr $1M
65 Haywood County
57.8
Low 0.18 / yr $1M
66 Warren County
57.7
Low 0.21 / yr $1000K
67 Rockingham County
56.4
Low 0.18 / yr $1M
68 McDowell County
56.1
Low 0.16 / yr $1M
69 Person County
54.9
Low 0.14 / yr $1M
70 Northampton County
54.7
Low 0.32 / yr $871K
71 Polk County
53.7
Low 0.12 / yr $968K
72 Alexander County
53.3
Low 0.10 / yr $1M
73 Transylvania County
52.6
Low 0.16 / yr $1M
74 Hertford County
47.6
Low 0.21 / yr $723K
75 Yadkin County
47.5
Low 0.11 / yr $912K
76 Dare County
47.0
Low 0.40 / yr $1M
77 Carteret County
45.4
Low 0.60 / yr $989K
78 Pasquotank County
44.5
Low 0.14 / yr $909K
79 Clay County
44.5
Low 0.11 / yr $594K
80 Washington County
41.6
Low 0.23 / yr $590K
81 Ashe County
39.8
Low 0.10 / yr $589K
82 Caswell County
39.5
Low 0.14 / yr $673K
83 Avery County
38.6
Low 0.07 / yr $601K
84 Davie County
37.2
Low 0.10 / yr $763K
85 Pamlico County
36.4
Low 0.33 / yr $535K
86 Stokes County
35.9
Low 0.13 / yr $627K
87 Swain County
35.4
Low 0.19 / yr $426K
88 Perquimans County
35.2
Low 0.16 / yr $543K
89 Yancey County
35.1
Low 0.09 / yr $449K
90 Alleghany County
27.5
Low 0.06 / yr $257K
91 Chowan County
27.1
Low 0.13 / yr $353K
92 Graham County
26.8
Low 0.11 / yr $311K
93 Mitchell County
26.6
Low 0.06 / yr $343K
94 Madison County
25.3
Very Low 0.12 / yr $375K
95 Gates County
22.3
Very Low 0.20 / yr $277K
96 Currituck County
21.9
Very Low 0.19 / yr $439K
97 Jones County
21.8
Very Low 0.34 / yr $163K
98 Hyde County
21.7
Very Low 0.65 / yr $167K
99 Tyrrell County
21.4
Very Low 0.27 / yr $168K
100 Camden County
13.6
Very Low 0.13 / yr $175K

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Which North Carolina county has the highest tornado risk?

Mecklenburg County has the highest FEMA tornado risk score in North Carolina at 97.4 (High), with $24M in expected annual losses and about 0.28 events per year.

How many North Carolina counties face significant tornado risk?

100 North Carolina counties record measurable tornado risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 11 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 Strong Wind Wildfire Winter Weather