States › North Carolina › Cabarrus County

Cabarrus County, North Carolina

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 37025 · 231,278 residents (2021) · 361 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 124Tornado · 15Flood · 85Wind · 242Winter · 70

Cabarrus County within North Carolina. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Cabarrus County, North Carolina, has 603 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 166.9 events per 100 square miles, above the North Carolina figure of 112.5, and 26.1 per 10,000 residents against 51.8 statewide.

8 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 2 deaths and 8 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $31M and crop damage at $3.0M.

FEMA has designated the county in 19 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Winter Storm (emergency, 24 Jan 2026).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 241 claims since 1978, of which 192 were paid, totalling $5.4M (about $28K per paid claim). FEMA counts 434 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Moderate" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively Moderate" ($86M a year across 18 hazards).

46 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 1 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

8events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

603events since 19502 deaths, 8 injuries recorded

19disaster declarationslast 24 Jan 2026

241NFIP flood claims$5.4M paid

Compared with North Carolina and the United States

Measure	Cabarrus County	North Carolina	US
Recorded events since 1950	603	54,696	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	166.9	112.5	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	26.1	51.8	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	8	1,437	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	2	622	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$31M	$15B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	1.0	10.4	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$28K	$28K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	15.2	24.1	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Hail: 1Tornado: 2Wind: 2

Tornado: 1Wind: 1

Hail: 2Tornado: 3Wind: 3

Hail: 10Tornado: 1Wind: 30

Hail: 13Tornado: 1Flood: 5Wind: 38Winter: 12Cold: 1Drought: 7Lightning: 4Fog: 1Other: 2

Hail: 52Tornado: 3Flood: 41Wind: 63Winter: 25Cold: 3Drought: 26Lightning: 2Fog: 1Other: 3

Hail: 34Tornado: 2Flood: 26Wind: 69Winter: 26Tropical: 1Heat: 3Cold: 3Lightning: 3Other: 1

Hail: 12Tornado: 2Flood: 13Wind: 36Winter: 7Tropical: 2Cold: 2Drought: 2

51950s21960s81970s411980s841990s2192000s1682010s762020s

Recorded events in Cabarrus County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterTropicalHeatColdDroughtLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 348 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 205 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Wind242

Hail124

Flood85

Winter70

Drought35

Tornado15

Cold9

Lightning9

Other6

Tropical3

Heat3

Fog2

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	242	1	1.1%	detail
■ Hail	124	—	1.3%	detail
■ Flood	85	1	1.6%	detail
■ Winter	70	—	0.8%	detail
■ Drought	35	—	2.1%
■ Tornado	15	—	0.9%	detail
■ Cold	9	—	1.2%
■ Lightning	9	—	1.1%
■ Other	6	—	0.6%
■ Tropical	3	—	0.3%
■ Heat	3	—	0.8%
■ Fog	2	—	2.9%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
26 Apr 2019	Strong Wind	Wind	52 mph	$10K	—	1	—	Forecast zone
30 Apr 2020	Flood	Flood	—	$10K	—	1	—	County
23 Jul 1997	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$3.0M	$2.0M	—	4	County
10 Mar 1992	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$25K	—	—	3	County
4 Dec 2002	Ice Storm	Winter	—	$12M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
26 Jul 2016	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	1	County
27 Aug 2008	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$5.5M	—	—	—	County
23 Aug 1983	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$2.5M	—	—	—	County
3 Mar 2012	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$1.5M	—	—	—	County
20 Mar 2003	Flood	Flood	—	$1.0M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
8 Apr 2007	Frost/Freeze	Cold	—	—	$1.0M	—	—	Forecast zone
27 Aug 2008	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$1.0M	—	—	—	County
28 Sep 2004	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$700K	—	—	—	County
16 Apr 2007	High Wind	Wind	69 mph	$500K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
6 Feb 2020	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$500K	—	—	—	County
20 Jul 1998	Lightning	Lightning	—	$250K	—	—	—	County
10 Apr 2003	Flood	Flood	—	$200K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
20 Jun 2023	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$200K	—	—	—	County
3 Mar 1999	High Wind	Wind	69 mph	$100K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
5 Aug 2009	Lightning	Lightning	—	$100K	—	—	—	County

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
24 Jan 2026	EM-3637	Emergency	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
28 Sep 2024	DR-4827	Major disaster	Tropical Storm	Tropical Storm Helene	Individual assistance, Public assistance
26 Sep 2024	EM-3617	Emergency	Tropical Storm	Hurricane Helene	Public assistance
6 Aug 2024	EM-3608	Emergency	Tropical Storm	Tropical Storm Debby	Public assistance
1 Oct 2022	EM-3586	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Ian	Public assistance
2 Aug 2020	EM-3534	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Isaias	Public assistance
25 Mar 2020	DR-4487	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3471	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
3 Sep 2019	EM-3423	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Dorian	Public assistance
14 Sep 2018	DR-4393	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Florence	Public assistance
10 Sep 2018	EM-3401	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Florence	Public assistance
5 Sep 2005	EM-3222	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
10 Sep 2004	DR-1546	Major disaster	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Frances	Individual assistance
12 Dec 2002	DR-1448	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Ice Storm	Public assistance
31 Jan 2000	DR-1312	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
13 Jan 1996	DR-1087	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Blizzard Of 96	Public assistance
25 Sep 1989	DR-844	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Hugo	Individual assistance, Public assistance
11 Aug 1977	EM-3049	Emergency	Drought	Drought	Public assistance
2 Mar 1977	EM-3033	Emergency	Snowstorm	Drought & Freezing	Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Cabarrus County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978241

Paid claims192

Total paid$5.4M

Average paid claim$28K

Repetitive-loss properties2610 severe

Residential policies in force4340.5% of 88,465 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	1	0	$0	—
2024	17	15	$220,055	$14,670
2023	3	3	$57,284	$19,095
2020	38	33	$880,907	$26,694
2019	1	1	$11,964	$11,964
2018	6	4	$40,084	$10,021
2015	4	3	$32,767	$10,922
2013	20	16	$652,229	$40,764
2011	1	0	$0	—
2010	19	13	$372,497	$28,654
2009	6	6	$56,027	$9,338
2008	59	52	$2,200,264	$42,313
2007	2	1	$6,697	$6,697
2005	2	2	$305,261	$152,631
2004	10	10	$97,564	$9,756
2003	8	5	$148,816	$29,763
2001	2	2	$17,318	$8,659
1999	1	0	$0	—
1998	1	0	$0	—
1997	11	9	$180,995	$20,111
1995	11	7	$84,185	$12,026
1993	1	1	$3,070	$3,070
1990	1	1	$747	$747
1989	2	1	$4,858	$4,858
1987	4	1	$4,126	$4,126

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Moderatescore 87.1 of 100

Expected annual loss$86MRelatively Moderate

Social vulnerabilityVery Low

Community resilienceRelatively High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Moderate	$64,599,217
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$8,769,703
Ice storm	Very High	$2,573,190
Cold wave	Relatively Moderate	$2,364,162
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$1,758,975
Strong wind	Relatively Moderate	$1,453,345
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$1,118,342
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$1,106,256
Lightning	Relatively High	$1,093,388
Hail	Relatively Low	$449,934
Winter weather	Relatively Moderate	$198,215
Drought	Relatively Low	$168,765
Wildfire	Very Low	$64,798
Landslide	Very Low	$2,046

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles46

Tracks within 50 miles12

Hurricane strength within 50 miles1

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Debby	2024	56 mi	46 mph
Ian	2022	99 mi	58 mph
Claudette	2021	86 mi	46 mph
Elsa	2021	82 mi	52 mph
Nestor	2019	84 mi	46 mph
Michael	2018	34 mi	52 mph
Alberto	2006	76 mi	40 mph
Hugo	1989	73 mi	63 mph
Bob	1985	41 mi	52 mph
David	1979	34 mi	52 mph
Alma	1970	66 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1965	86 mi	40 mph
Gracie	1959	59 mi	52 mph
Able	1952	3 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1952	91 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	70 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1945	72 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1944	87 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1935	63 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1929	61 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1927	30 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1920	97 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1916	84 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	25 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1913	78 mi	40 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

ZIP codes with flood claims

28075 161
28027 34
28025 19
28081 16
28083 14

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Cabarrus County, NC?

NCEI records 124 hail events in Cabarrus County since 1950, in 37 different years; that is about 1.6 recorded events a year. 20 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Cabarrus County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 15 tornadoes in Cabarrus County since 1950, 2 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Cabarrus County?

24 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 19 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Cabarrus County, and how much was paid?

241 NFIP claims since 1978, 192 of them paid, for $5.4M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Cabarrus County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively Moderate" for overall risk, "Relatively Moderate" for expected annual loss, "Very Low" for social vulnerability and "Relatively High" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Cabarrus County compare with the rest of North Carolina?

166.9 recorded events per 100 square miles against 112.5 statewide, and 1.0 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 10.4. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.