States › North Carolina › Forsyth County

Forsyth 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 37067 · 385,523 residents (2021) · 408 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 109Tornado · 16Flood · 62Wind · 422Winter · 88

Forsyth 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.

Between 1950 and 2026, NCEI recorded 715 storm events in Forsyth County, North Carolina, led by damaging wind.

That is 175.3 events per 100 square miles, above the North Carolina figure of 112.5, and 18.5 per 10,000 residents against 51.8 statewide.

31 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 5 deaths and 63 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $93M and crop damage at $109K.

FEMA has designated the county in 25 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 440 claims since 1978, of which 323 were paid, totalling $4.7M (about $15K per paid claim). FEMA counts 541 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" ($104M a year across 18 hazards).

31 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 0 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

31events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

715events since 19505 deaths, 63 injuries recorded

25disaster declarationslast 24 Jan 2026

440NFIP flood claims$4.7M paid

Compared with North Carolina and the United States

Measure	Forsyth County	North Carolina	US
Recorded events since 1950	715	54,696	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	175.3	112.5	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	18.5	51.8	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	31	1,437	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	5	622	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$93M	$15B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	1.1	10.4	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$15K	$28K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	19.0	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

Wind: 3

Wind: 13

Hail: 2Tornado: 1Wind: 9

Hail: 12Tornado: 9Wind: 19

Hail: 15Tornado: 2Flood: 4Wind: 18Winter: 9Tropical: 4Heat: 1Cold: 1Other: 1

Hail: 45Tornado: 4Flood: 16Wind: 74Winter: 30Lightning: 3

Hail: 26Flood: 24Wind: 149Winter: 35Tropical: 2Other: 2

Hail: 9Flood: 18Wind: 137Winter: 14Tropical: 2Cold: 1Lightning: 1

31950s131960s121970s401980s551990s1722000s2382010s1822020s

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

Trend: 509 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 142 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

Wind422

Hail109

Winter88

Flood62

Tornado16

Tropical8

Lightning4

Other3

Cold2

Heat1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	422	2	1.8%	detail
■ Hail	109	—	1.1%	detail
■ Winter	88	3	1.0%	detail
■ Flood	62	—	1.2%	detail
■ Tornado	16	—	0.9%	detail
■ Tropical	8	—	0.7%
■ Lightning	4	—	0.5%
■ Other	3	—	0.3%
■ Cold	2	—	0.3%
■ Heat	1	—	0.3%

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
5 Mar 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	58 mph	$20K	—	1	1	County
12 Mar 2014	Strong Wind	Wind	49 mph	$10K	—	1	1	Forecast zone
20 Jan 2016	Winter Weather	Winter	—	—	—	1	1	Forecast zone
6 Jan 2011	Winter Weather	Winter	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
10 Jan 2011	Winter Storm	Winter	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
5 May 1989	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$25M	—	—	30	County
5 May 1989	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$2.5M	—	—	10	County
7 May 1998	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$50M	—	—	5	County
5 May 1989	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$2.5M	—	—	8	County
8 May 2008	Tornado	Tornado	EF3	$2.5M	—	—	2	County
28 May 1973	Tornado	Tornado	F0	$25K	—	—	2	County
6 Jun 1981	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	1	County
3 May 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	58 mph	$10K	—	—	1	County
4 Jul 1984	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	1	County
22 May 1985	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$2.5M	—	—	—	County
29 Oct 2020	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	$1.5M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
25 Feb 2011	Strong Wind	Wind	44 mph	$1.0M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
30 Sep 2022	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	$1.0M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
13 Jun 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	58 mph	$500K	—	—	—	County
11 Oct 2018	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	$500K	—	—	—	Forecast zone

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
31 Jan 2019	DR-4412	Major disaster	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Michael	Public assistance
10 Sep 2018	EM-3401	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Florence	Public assistance
7 Oct 2016	EM-3380	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Matthew	Public assistance
5 Sep 2005	EM-3222	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
18 Sep 2004	DR-1553	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Ivan	Individual assistance
27 Mar 2003	DR-1457	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Ice Storm	Public assistance
12 Dec 2002	DR-1448	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Ice Storm	—
16 Sep 1999	DR-1292	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations	Individual assistance, Public assistance
15 Sep 1999	EM-3146	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Floyd Emergency Declarations	Public assistance
23 Feb 1996	DR-1103	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Winter Storm	Public assistance
13 Jan 1996	DR-1087	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Blizzard Of 96	Public assistance
17 Mar 1993	EM-3110	Emergency	Snowstorm	Severe Snowfall & Winter Storm	Public assistance
25 Sep 1989	DR-844	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Hugo	Individual assistance, Public assistance
17 May 1989	DR-827	Major disaster	Tornado	Tornadoes	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 Forsyth County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978440

Paid claims323

Total paid$4.7M

Average paid claim$15K

Repetitive-loss properties4512 severe

Residential policies in force5410.4% of 135,863 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2025	4	2	$26,326	$13,163
2024	5	4	$119,883	$29,971
2022	4	0	$0	—
2021	6	3	$60,856	$20,285
2020	28	22	$510,593	$23,209
2019	3	3	$10,405	$3,468
2018	39	29	$722,831	$24,925
2017	14	11	$111,246	$10,113
2016	4	2	$36,566	$18,283
2015	3	2	$5,051	$2,526
2014	1	1	$8,768	$8,768
2013	10	7	$207,383	$29,626
2012	36	33	$567,367	$17,193
2011	3	0	$0	—
2010	23	17	$200,356	$11,786
2009	6	4	$28,774	$7,193
2008	19	13	$309,552	$23,812
2007	19	17	$303,780	$17,869
2006	7	6	$64,006	$10,668
2005	3	2	$17,168	$8,584
2004	11	9	$62,913	$6,990
2003	36	29	$348,993	$12,034
2002	5	2	$4,387	$2,193
2000	1	0	$0	—
1999	18	13	$121,583	$9,353

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 91.5 of 100

Expected annual loss$104MRelatively Moderate

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Low

Community resilienceRelatively High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively High	$71,874,980
Tornado	Relatively High	$7,676,875
Cold wave	Relatively High	$7,369,516
Hurricane	Relatively Moderate	$4,535,000
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$3,865,752
Ice storm	Very High	$2,721,960
Strong wind	Relatively High	$1,643,586
Heat wave	Relatively Moderate	$1,531,993
Hail	Relatively Moderate	$1,258,328
Lightning	Relatively High	$1,003,117
Winter weather	Relatively High	$453,605
Drought	Relatively Low	$186,719
Wildfire	Very Low	$19,902
Landslide	Relatively Low	$6,724

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 miles31

Tracks within 50 miles7

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Elsa	2021	83 mi	52 mph
Nestor	2019	96 mi	46 mph
Michael	2018	40 mi	52 mph
Fran	1996	80 mi	46 mph
Hugo	1989	82 mi	63 mph
Bob	1985	93 mi	52 mph
David	1979	10 mi	52 mph
Alma	1970	92 mi	40 mph
Gracie	1959	76 mi	40 mph
Diane	1955	90 mi	58 mph
Able	1952	38 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	27 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1945	65 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1944	87 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1929	77 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1927	84 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	66 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1907	66 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1902	77 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1902	23 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1896	66 mi	81 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	52 mi	75 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1889	52 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	83 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1886	55 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

27106 169
27104 92
27012 40
27101 34
27103 31
27105 24
27107 16
27284 14
27102 10
27040 9
27023 6
27127 6

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 Forsyth County, NC?

NCEI records 109 hail events in Forsyth County since 1950, in 34 different years; that is about 1.4 recorded events a year. 13 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Forsyth County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 16 tornadoes in Forsyth County since 1950, 8 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Forsyth County?

24 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 25 declarations since 1953.

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

440 NFIP claims since 1978, 323 of them paid, for $4.7M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Forsyth 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, "Relatively Low" for social vulnerability and "Relatively High" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

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

175.3 recorded events per 100 square miles against 112.5 statewide, and 1.1 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.