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Franklin County, North Carolina severe weather history spans 379 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 64.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,340 nationally and #47 in North Carolina.
379
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
28
Direct injuries
$44.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Franklin County, North Carolina severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Franklin County, North Carolina severe weather history averages 5.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 116 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 33 events fall before 1990 and 346 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Franklin County, North Carolina record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $26.9M 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 Franklin County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 245 | 1 | $7.0M | 65 | 1966–2026 |
| Hail | 68 | 0 | $10.0M | 2 | 1984–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 41 | 1 | $53K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 13 | 0 | $26.9M | F4 | 1951–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2020 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2020–2024 |
| Lightning | 2 | 1 | $20K | 0 | 1996–2007 |
Decade by decade
Franklin 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: 10 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988-11-27 | EF4 | 4 | 154 | 83.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2019-05-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 17.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1996-04-15 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-11-02 | EF2 | 0 | 9 | 64.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-08-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-08-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-03-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-05-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-28 | EF1 | 0 | 2 | 6.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1956-03-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Franklin County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 17, 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | YOUNGSVILLE | 1 | 0 | $1K |
| Jun 14, 2006 | Flash Flood | LOUISBURG | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 7, 1996 | Lightning | NEW HOPE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Nov 28, 1988 | Tornado | 0 | 17 | $25.0M | |
| Apr 15, 1996 | Tornado | PILOT | 0 | 5 | $1.0M |
| Apr 3, 1990 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 3 | $0 | |
| May 28, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| Aug 16, 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $5K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
13 year old boy fell into a swollen creek when he chased a ball into a culvert. The current pulled him through the drainpipe and under the street. The boy is believed to have been under water for approximately 25 minutes.
A tornado briefly touched down 1.1 SE of Epsom along NC 39 Hwy S and then continued about 2 miles toward the NNE before lifting. The damage path consisted of numerous trees that were snapped and uprooted. The worst damage along this patch occurred near the intersection of NC 39 Hwy S and Henry Ayscue Rd, where a single-wide mobile home was completely destroyed, along with several soft and hardwood trees that were snapped and uprooted.
The same thunderstorm complex that produced tornadoes in Wake county produced yet another small tornado just east of Louisburg on Hwy 158. Six houses sustained minor damage and one mobile home received major damage. Numerous trees were uprooted and snapped in the area.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
74,386
Population (ACS)
$284K
Median home value
23
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 |
| Aug 2, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE ISAIAS | EM |
| Mar 25, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Franklin County, North Carolina?
379 events are on record between 1951 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths and $44.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Franklin County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 245 recorded events — 64.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Franklin County?
15 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 10 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Franklin County?
23 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Franklin County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Franklin County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Franklin County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 52 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Franklin 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
- Forsyth County 590
- Gaston County 498
- Edgecombe County 290
- Gates County 176
- Durham County 512
- Graham County 136
Cite this page
“Franklin County, North Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-carolina/franklin-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.