Davidson County, North Carolina severe weather history spans 518 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 58.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #813 nationally and #25 in North Carolina.
518
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
30
Direct injuries
$28.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Davidson County, North Carolina severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Davidson County, North Carolina severe weather history averages 7.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 146 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 51 events fall before 1990 and 467 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Davidson County, North Carolina record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $22.7M 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 Davidson County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 304 | 2 | $2.1M | 65 | 1964–2026 |
| Hail | 116 | 0 | $1.3M | 2.75 | 1956–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 65 | 1 | $709K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 16 | 2 | $22.7M | F1 | 1958–2016 |
| Lightning | 10 | 0 | $530K | 0 | 1997–2018 |
| Flood | 6 | 0 | $1.5M | 0 | 1998–2020 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
Davidson 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-11-16 | EF2 | 2 | 15 | 12.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-03-28 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 5.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2016-02-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-03-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-05-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-10-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-03-24 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 7.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-06-17 | EF1 | 0 | 2 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-02-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Davidson County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 16, 2011 | Tornado | SILVER HILL | 2 | 15 | $20.0M |
| Apr 13, 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | SOUTHMONT | 1 | 1 | $50K |
| May 16, 1985 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 1 | $0 | |
| Jul 14, 2010 | Flash Flood | LEXINGTON | 1 | 0 | $1K |
| Mar 28, 2010 | Tornado | LAKEVIEW | 0 | 5 | $1.3M |
| Aug 20, 1997 | Lightning | SOUTHMONT | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jun 23, 1987 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 | |
| Jun 18, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $3K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Numerous roads were flooded in the Lexington area. Water from a swollen creek flooded a home near the intersection of Union Street and Westside Drive. Also, an infant drowned when his mother's car went off the road, struck a concrete culvert and went down a steep embankment. The car landed upside down in a swollen creek. The infant's safety seat was pushed out of the car by rushing water. The infant's body was found about 200 feet downstream from the car.
Heavy rainfall of 4 to 6 inches caused widespread flooding across the county. Combined with additional rainfall upstream, the rainfall caused flooding along Abbotts Creek from High Point to Lexington and along the Yadkin River. Numerous other creeks and streams came out of their banks and flooded roads, causing damage. Flooding damaged approximately 579 structures throughout the county, destroying 1 and resulting in over $1.5 million in property damage and likely $5 million or more in crop damage. Numerous roads were flooded all throughout the county and The Thomasville Fire Department had to make a swift water rescue on Randolph Street near Carolina Avenue after the driver of a vehicle drove around barricades and got stuck.
An EF1 tornado exited Rowan County, crossing the Yadkin River and entered into Davidson County. Numerous hardwood trees were either sheared off or uprooted in a wooded area south of Seven Oaks Drive. A carport was ripped from a brick home on Seven Oaks Drive. Two out buildings were also destroyed. The tornado tracked northeast across an open field before it damaged a vacant steel framed flea market building. The tornado glanced the southeastern corner of the main flea market building, tearing it away from the remainder of the building. Debris from the metal building was found approximately one mile downstream from the site. Sections of sheet metal from the building were found twisted around several tree and high tension power lines. In the adjacent Chestnut Grove Mobile Home Park, located at the intersection of Clark Road and Wind Hill Drive, three mobile homes were completely destroyed with three other mobile homes sustaining significant damage. The tornado reached EF2 intensity here with wind of 110 to 120 mph. The tornado dissipated in a wooded area northeast of Clark Road.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
172,954
Population (ACS)
$219K
Median home value
29
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 |
| Mar 3, 2021 | Severe Storm | TROPICAL STORM ETA | DR |
| Aug 2, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE ISAIAS | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Davidson County, North Carolina?
518 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 5 direct deaths and $28.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Davidson County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 304 recorded events — 58.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Davidson 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 Davidson County?
29 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Davidson County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Davidson County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Davidson County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 87 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Davidson 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
- Dare County 326
- Davie County 242
- Currituck County 201
- Duplin County 507
- Cumberland County 589
- Durham County 512
Cite this page
“Davidson County, North Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-carolina/davidson-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.