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Robeson; Bladen; Columbus; Inland Pender; Inland New Hanover; Inland Brunswick; Marlboro; Darlington; Dillon; Florence; Marion; Central Horry; Northern Horry
Pender County, North Carolina severe weather history spans 444 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 34.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,085 nationally and #40 in North Carolina.
444
Recorded events
6
Direct deaths
49
Direct injuries
$14.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Pender County, North Carolina severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Pender County, North Carolina severe weather history averages 5.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 150 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 44 events fall before 1990 and 400 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Pender County, North Carolina record is tornado, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $6.4M in reported property damage. In total, 12 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Pender County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 151 | 0 | $2.9M | 83 | 1967–2026 |
| Hail | 126 | 0 | $17K | 1.75 | 1966–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 66 | 1 | $6.4M | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Tornado | 47 | 3 | $4.9M | F2 | 1951–2025 |
| Flood | 26 | 0 | $35K | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Lightning | 14 | 2 | $187K | 0 | 1999–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 8 | 0 | $100K | 0 | 2004–2013 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2011 |
| Storm Surge/Tide | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
| Waterspout | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–1997 |
| Rip Current | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–1997 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
Pender 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
47 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 42 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-08-13 | EF2 | 3 | 29 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-08-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-08-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-07-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-10-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 54.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1954-11-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-03-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-04-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 7.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-04-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-04-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.8 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Pender County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 13, 2004 | Tornado | ROCKY PT | 3 | 29 | $1.3M |
| Jul 7, 2008 | Lightning | TOPSAIL | 1 | 4 | $0 |
| Jun 29, 2025 | Lightning | SCOTTS HILL | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 15, 2018 | Flash Flood | SCOTTS HILL | 1 | 0 | $5.0M |
| Mar 15, 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | ASHTON | 0 | 7 | $2.0M |
| Jul 3, 2016 | Lightning | NEW TOPSAIL BEACH | 0 | 4 | $0 |
| Sep 2, 2013 | Lightning | SLOOP PT | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Oct 26, 1997 | Tornado | PENDERLEA | 0 | 1 | $100K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Hwy 53 closed near Horse Branch Rd. Point Casell Road closed at Hwy 53. Hwy 210 impassable. Flooding was reported on Hwy 17 a few miles south of Hampstead. Hwy 50 closed on the Pender/Onslow county line. Horse Branch Rd closed near the Penderlea Hwy. Multiple rescues in Western Pender County. Thirty five people were rescued from vehicles and structures. I-40 was impassable from Exit 408 and the Pender/New Hanover county line. Johnson Avenue impassable north of Watha. Hwy 421 impassable near Point Caswell Rd. Highsmith Rd flooded near Burgaw. A man drove into floodwaters and died.
During a thunderstorm, four people took refuge under a house on Lea Island. A boy was struck by lightning and was killed. Three others were indirectly struck by lightning and were transported to the hospital. They reportedly were not seriously injured.
Numerous pine trees were blown down or snapped along a path about 100 yards wide and 300 yards long. Five mobile homes were damaged by downed trees in the Interstate Mobile Home Park and adjacent Cedar Grove Mobile Home Park. Two of these homes were knocked off of their foundations and sustained major damage. A National Weather Service Storm Survey concluded the damage was the result of straight-line winds between 90 and 95 mph. Pender County officials estimated all storm related damage totaled $2 million dollars.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
65,550
Population (ACS)
$299K
Median home value
31
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 Pender County, North Carolina?
444 events are on record between 1951 and 2026, causing 6 direct deaths and $14.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Pender County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 151 recorded events — 34.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Pender County?
47 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 42 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Pender County?
31 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Pender County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Pender County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Pender County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 87 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Pender 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
- Pasquotank County 209
- Perquimans County 144
- Pamlico County 130
- Person County 338
- Orange County 464
- Pitt County 554
Cite this page
“Pender County, North Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-carolina/pender-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.