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Harnett County, North Carolina severe weather history spans 457 recorded events between 1960 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 54.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,032 nationally and #36 in North Carolina.
457
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
41
Direct injuries
$37.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Harnett County, North Carolina severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Harnett County, North Carolina severe weather history averages 6.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 132 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 73 events fall before 1990 and 384 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Harnett County, North Carolina record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $17.5M 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 Harnett County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 248 | 1 | $1.2M | 87 | 1968–2026 |
| Hail | 131 | 0 | $2.1M | 2.75 | 1975–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 33 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 1997–2024 |
| Tornado | 25 | 1 | $17.5M | F3 | 1960–2022 |
| Heavy Rain | 10 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2020 |
| Lightning | 6 | 1 | $126K | 0 | 1997–2018 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2007 |
| Flood | 2 | 1 | $16.7M | 0 | 2016–2018 |
Decade by decade
Harnett 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
27 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 24 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-04-16 | EF3 | 2 | 176 | 52.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1992-11-23 | EF3 | 0 | 44 | 160.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-06-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-01-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-11-02 | EF2 | 0 | 9 | 64.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-04-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 14.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 2004-05-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-08-12 | EF1 | 0 | 4 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-06-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-08-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Harnett County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 16, 2011 | Tornado | ERWIN ARPT | 1 | 24 | $16.0M |
| Feb 21, 1989 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 5 | $0 | |
| Oct 9, 2016 | Flood | DUNCAN | 1 | 0 | $9.1M |
| Apr 9, 2015 | Lightning | ROCKEFELLER ESTATES | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 16, 1975 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $25K | |
| Aug 12, 2004 | Tornado | PINEVIEW | 0 | 4 | $0 |
| Jun 5, 2006 | Lightning | OLIVIA | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Feb 16, 1990 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The tornado exited Cumberland County and entered Harnett County just south of Dunn. EF1 damage was common in the Dunn area, with areas of EF2 damage with wind speeds up to 130 mph. Mobile homes were completely wiped off of their foundations and trees were debarked. A second fatality occurred here when a 42 year-old Hispanic male died from injuries suffered from the tornado. The victim���s body was found lying on a concrete slab, thrown from a mobile home that was destroyed. Several other residents in the mobile home park were injured, including one that was ejected from a trailer and impaled with an object, with another person trapped underneath debris. In total, 200 homes and businesses were damaged, with 40 home destroyed and another 40 homes having major damage.
Torrential rainfall of 8 to 12 inches caused widespread flash flooding across the county. Additional heavy rainfall upstream caused moderate flooding along the Cape River Basin. Flooding damaged approximately 744 structures throughout the county, resulting in $9.1 million in property damage. Numerous streets and roads were reported flooded, including Interstate 95 near Dunn, with several washouts reported on secondary roads. The flooding resulted in 1 direct fatality. A 74 year old man died when he drove past a barricade near Carolina Drive and was swept away into a flooded creek.
Torrential rainfall of 10 to 15 inches caused widespread flooding across the county. Additional heavy rainfall upstream caused moderate flooding along the Cape River Basin. The river reached the patio of the Mermaid Point restaurant at its initial crest. Flooding damaged approximately 285 structures throughout the county, destroying 10 and resulting in over $7.58 million in property damage. Crop damages were at least $20 million. Numerous streets and roads were flooded, some sustaining structural damage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
139,150
Population (ACS)
$246K
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 Harnett County, North Carolina?
457 events are on record between 1960 and 2026, causing 4 direct deaths and $37.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Harnett County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 248 recorded events — 54.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Harnett County?
27 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 24 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Harnett County?
23 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Harnett County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Harnett County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Harnett County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 75 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Harnett 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
- Halifax County 363
- Haywood County 178
- Guilford County 795
- Henderson County 433
- Greene County 213
- Hertford County 190
Cite this page
“Harnett County, North Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-carolina/harnett-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.