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Northampton County, North Carolina severe weather history spans 239 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 51.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,185 nationally and #68 in North Carolina.
239
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
18
Direct injuries
$9.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Northampton County, North Carolina severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Northampton County, North Carolina severe weather history averages 3.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 80 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 17 events fall before 1990 and 222 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $6.6M 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 Northampton County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 123 | 0 | $633K | 74 | 1956–2025 |
| Hail | 46 | 0 | $46K | 4.25 | 1990–2022 |
| Heavy Rain | 26 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2023 |
| Tornado | 17 | 0 | $6.6M | F4 | 1980–2019 |
| Flash Flood | 17 | 0 | $1.2M | 0 | 1999–2025 |
| Flood | 6 | 0 | $500K | 0 | 2006–2020 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $4K | 0 | 2009–2010 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2019 |
Decade by decade
Northampton 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
20 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 15 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 |
| 2011-04-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1995-11-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-03-30 | EF2 | 0 | 11 | 22.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-11-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-09-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-04-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 16.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1980-03-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 24.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2020-08-04 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Northampton County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 30, 1989 | Tornado | 0 | 11 | $2.5M | |
| Aug 18, 1985 | Tornado | 0 | 7 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Tornado cut a one-quarter mile by 100-yard path through the town of Woodland. Roofs off several buildings, including rescue squad, restaurant, fire department and supermarket. Damage to local casket company, and to several homes in the town. Numerous trees down or snapped off. Debris scattered up to 300 feet from original location. Power and phone lines downed by trees and limbs.
A severe thunderstorm produced a large swath of straight line wind damage across portions of Northampton county. The damage began just east of Interstate 95 on Blythe Road, where 2 homes were severely damaged by winds estimated to be 85 mph. The swath of damage continued to the east-northeast for more than 10 miles. The path roughly followed Macon Price Road and Big Johns Store Road. In this area, several trees were uprooted, shingles were blown off of homes, and winds were estimated to be in the 65 to 85 mph range. The path ended near the intersection of Mount Zion Church Road and Big Johns Store Road about 1 mile west of Margarettsville.
The tornado crossed the Roanoke River from Halifax county North Carolina into Northampton County North Carolina near Garysburg and moved north northeast across Highway 46 where it snapped and uprooted several trees. The tornado continued tracking across rural portions of Northampton County before crossing into Greensville County Virginia near Skippers Road.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
16,931
Population (ACS)
$115K
Median home value
25
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 Northampton County, North Carolina?
239 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $9.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Northampton County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 123 recorded events — 51.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Northampton County?
20 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 15 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Northampton County?
25 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Northampton County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Northampton County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Northampton County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 44 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Northampton 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
- New Hanover County 605
- Onslow County 542
- Nash County 429
- Orange County 464
- Moore County 532
- Pamlico County 130
Cite this page
“Northampton County, North Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-carolina/northampton-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.