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Chowan County, North Carolina severe weather history spans 146 recorded events between 1973 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 43.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,722 nationally and #89 in North Carolina.
146
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$2.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Chowan County, North Carolina severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Chowan County, North Carolina severe weather history averages 2.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 40 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 20 events fall before 1990 and 126 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Chowan County, North Carolina record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $1.1M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Chowan County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 64 | 1 | $528K | 87 | 1980–2025 |
| Hail | 33 | 0 | $45K | 3 | 1985–2022 |
| Heavy Rain | 23 | 0 | $75K | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Tornado | 14 | 1 | $1.1M | F3 | 1973–2021 |
| Flash Flood | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2024 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $500K | 0 | 2011–2021 |
| Waterspout | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–1997 |
Decade by decade
Chowan County, North Carolina severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
15 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 11 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992-11-23 | EF3 | 0 | 44 | 160.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2014-04-25 | EF2 | 1 | 1 | 35.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-03-28 | EF2 | 1 | 1 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-04-25 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 35.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2008-05-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 11.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2004-06-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-11-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-02-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1986-06-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Chowan County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 25, 2014 | Tornado | EDENTON ARPT | 1 | 1 | $500K |
| Apr 14, 1984 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The tornado started just south of Edenton and tracked northeast to near Burnt Mill Road near the Chowan/Perquimans county line. Numerous trees were downed or snapped off. Houses were damaged or destroyed on Yeopim Road. An 11-month-old boy died two days after being injured during the tornado. One injury was also reported. The tornado then tracked northeast into Perquimans county from Chowan county.
The tornado tracked from Bertie county into Chowan county. In Chowan county, the tornado uprooted trees and caused minor damage to homes from Tynch Town Road and Whites Landing Road northeast to Evans Bass Road and Rocky Hock Landing Road. A barn was severely damaged on Evans Bass Road. The tornado then crossed Rocky Hock Road destroying a barn along with several outbuildings. Another barn was severely damaged and windows were blown in on a nearby house. Numerous large pines were snapped and winds were estimated at 80 mph along Rocky Hock Road.||The tornado continued moving northeast knocking a single wide mobile home off its foundation near Parish Road. More outbuildings were destroyed and a house sustained minor damage with shingle and siding loss near the intersection of Nixon Road and Parish Road. The tornado weakened as it crossed Rocky Hock Road a second time just west of Highway 32 where several trees were snapped. The end of the tornado was observed along Highway 32 just north of Center Hill Road where a few trees were uprooted.
A tornado touched down near Somerset in Chowan county. The main damage was to trees that snapped off and large limbs that came down to block roadways. Tree damage was discovered beginning near the intersection of Indian Trail Road and Sycamore Road. The tornado continued to move eastward with more tree damage occurring along portions of Drummond Point Road before lifting after damaging more trees along Lloyd Overton Lane. No structures were damaged from the tornado, except for a metal building that had a tree fall on it.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
13,836
Population (ACS)
$236K
Median home value
26
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Sep 26, 2024 | Tropical Storm | HURRICANE HELENE | EM |
| Aug 6, 2024 | Tropical Storm | TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | EM |
| Oct 1, 2022 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IAN | EM |
| Oct 14, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE ISAIAS | DR |
| Aug 2, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE ISAIAS | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Chowan County, North Carolina?
146 events are on record between 1973 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $2.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Chowan County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 64 recorded events — 43.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Chowan County?
15 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 11 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Chowan County?
26 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Chowan County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Chowan County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Chowan County as very low risk, placing it in the 34 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Chowan County, North Carolina severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Cherokee County 256
- Clay County 123
- Chatham County 450
- Cleveland County 521
- Catawba County 549
- Columbus County 568
Cite this page
“Chowan County, North Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-carolina/chowan-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.