Guilford County, North Carolina severe weather history spans 795 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 53.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #295 nationally and #3 in North Carolina.
795
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
7
Direct injuries
$103.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Guilford County, North Carolina severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Guilford County, North Carolina severe weather history averages 11.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 248 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 92 events fall before 1990 and 703 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Guilford County, North Carolina record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $80.7M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Guilford County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 425 | 2 | $2.0M | 84 | 1956–2026 |
| Hail | 206 | 0 | $2K | 2.75 | 1967–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 134 | 1 | $3.4M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 16 | 1 | $80.7M | F2 | 1954–2021 |
| Lightning | 9 | 0 | $2.1M | 0 | 1997–2010 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $15.1M | 0 | 1998–2018 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2007 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
Guilford 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
17 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 16 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-03-28 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-05-08 | EF2 | 1 | 3 | 3.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-04-15 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 32.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-06-16 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 6.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-03-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-03-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-09-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 15.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-05-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-05-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-05-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Guilford County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 9, 2008 | Tornado | DEEP RIVER | 1 | 3 | $4.0M |
| Jun 3, 2009 | Flash Flood | GREENSBORO | 1 | 0 | $2.0M |
| Jun 16, 1989 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 | |
| Jun 26, 1988 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 | |
| Jun 13, 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | GUILQUARRY | 0 | 1 | $200K |
| Jun 30, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | GREENSBORO | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Apr 6, 1957 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K | |
| Jun 16, 1954 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $3K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Numerous streets were closed in downtown Greensboro with as many as 50 to 100 water rescues performed, mainly from stalled out vehicles. Multiple buildings were flooded, with at least 10 to 15 on the UNC-Greenbsoro Campus alone. In addition, as many as two dozen businesses and government buildings were also flooded. One fatality occurred when a woman lost control of a moped and went into a creek. A police officer rescued the woman, only to have her jump back into the creek in an attempt to recover her moped.
Torrential rainfall of 6 to 8 inches caused widespread flooding across the county, which caused moderate flooding along North Buffalo and South Buffalo Creeks, as well as other creeks and streams throughout the county. Flooding damaged approximately 119 structures throughout the county, destroying 7 and resulting in over $14.63 million in property damage. Numerous roads were closed due to flooding. Numerous homes and businesses were flooded as well. While final losses on crops are not yet tallied, estimates around $5 million or more are possible.
Lightning struck a large fuel tank at the Colonial Pipeline gasoline tank farm resulting in a large fire destroying the tank and resulting in the closure of Interstate 40 for four hours. The tank contained 840,000 gallons of gasoline at the time of the fire.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
547,940
Population (ACS)
$260K
Median home value
28
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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Greensboro 181
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Guilford County, North Carolina?
795 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 4 direct deaths and $103.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Guilford County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 425 recorded events — 53.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Guilford County?
17 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 16 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Guilford County?
28 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Guilford County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Guilford County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Guilford County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 93 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Guilford 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
- Greene County 213
- Halifax County 363
- Granville County 297
- Harnett County 457
- Graham County 136
- Haywood County 178
Cite this page
“Guilford County, North Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-carolina/guilford-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.