States › North Carolina › Guilford County

Guilford 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 37081 · 542,410 residents (2021) · 646 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 206Tornado · 16Flood · 142Wind · 452Winter · 86

Guilford 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.

Guilford County, North Carolina, has 924 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 143.1 events per 100 square miles, above the North Carolina figure of 112.5, and 17.0 per 10,000 residents against 51.8 statewide.

31 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 7 deaths and 9 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $117M and crop damage at $5.1M.

FEMA has designated the county in 28 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 680 claims since 1978, of which 513 were paid, totalling $9.4M (about $18K per paid claim). FEMA counts 707 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" ($135M a year across 18 hazards).

41 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.

31events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

924events since 19507 deaths, 9 injuries recorded

28disaster declarationslast 24 Jan 2026

680NFIP flood claims$9.4M paid

Compared with North Carolina and the United States

Measure	Guilford County	North Carolina	US
Recorded events since 1950	924	54,696	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	143.1	112.5	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	17.0	51.8	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	31	1,437	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	7	622	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$117M	$15B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	1.3	10.4	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$18K	$28K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	25.3	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

Tornado: 3Wind: 2

Hail: 1Tornado: 3Wind: 11

Hail: 2Tornado: 1Wind: 9

Hail: 21Wind: 39

Hail: 24Tornado: 2Flood: 4Wind: 34Winter: 9Tropical: 4Heat: 1Cold: 1Lightning: 1Other: 1

Hail: 94Tornado: 3Flood: 39Wind: 86Winter: 28Heat: 1Lightning: 4Other: 1

Hail: 38Tornado: 2Flood: 57Wind: 164Winter: 33Tropical: 1Lightning: 4

Hail: 26Tornado: 2Flood: 42Wind: 107Winter: 16Tropical: 2Cold: 1

51950s151960s121970s601980s811990s2562000s2992010s1962020s

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

Trend: 646 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 209 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

Wind452

Hail206

Flood142

Winter86

Tornado16

Lightning9

Tropical7

Heat2

Cold2

Other2

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	452	2	2.0%	detail
■ Hail	206	—	2.1%	detail
■ Flood	142	2	2.6%	detail
■ Winter	86	—	1.0%	detail
■ Tornado	16	2	0.9%	detail
■ Lightning	9	—	1.1%
■ Tropical	7	—	0.6%
■ Heat	2	1	0.6%
■ Cold	2	—	0.3%
■ Other	2	—	0.2%

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
15 Apr 2018	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$65M	—	1	2	County
8 May 2008	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$4.0M	—	1	3	County
3 Jun 2009	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$2.0M	—	1	—	County
26 Jun 1988	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	1	—	County
16 Jun 1989	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	1	—	County
27 May 2008	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
17 Sep 2018	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
17 Sep 2018	Flood	Flood	—	$15M	$5.0M	—	—	County
5 Apr 1957	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	1	County
13 Jun 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	58 mph	$200K	—	—	1	County
16 Jun 1954	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$3K	—	—	1	County
30 Jun 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	58 mph	—	—	—	1	County
28 Mar 2010	Tornado	Tornado	EF3	$10M	—	—	—	County
6 Mar 2014	Ice Storm	Winter	—	$8.1M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
12 Jun 2010	Lightning	Lightning	—	$1.5M	—	—	—	County
11 Oct 2018	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	$1.5M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
29 Oct 2020	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	$1.5M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
25 Feb 2011	Strong Wind	Wind	51 mph	$1.0M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
30 Sep 2022	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	$1.0M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
25 Feb 2015	Winter Storm	Winter	—	$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
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	Individual assistance, Public assistance
10 Sep 2018	EM-3401	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Florence	Public assistance
8 May 2018	DR-4364	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Tornado And Severe Storms	Individual assistance
7 Oct 2016	EM-3380	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Matthew	Public assistance
31 Mar 2014	DR-4167	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storm	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	Public assistance
31 Jan 2000	DR-1312	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
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
6 Sep 1996	DR-1134	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Fran	Individual assistance, 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 Guilford County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978680

Paid claims513

Total paid$9.4M

Average paid claim$18K

Repetitive-loss properties5514 severe

Residential policies in force7070.4% of 170,796 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2025	9	7	$288,677	$41,240
2024	26	17	$659,754	$38,809
2023	1	1	$3,284	$3,284
2022	6	2	$96,883	$48,441
2021	2	1	$23,582	$23,582
2020	12	10	$52,737	$5,274
2019	57	44	$1,449,995	$32,954
2018	61	44	$1,654,501	$37,602
2017	5	2	$6,985	$3,492
2016	6	5	$101,577	$20,315
2014	4	1	$3,513	$3,513
2013	8	7	$187,518	$26,788
2012	7	5	$68,475	$13,695
2011	2	2	$40,872	$20,436
2010	4	3	$14,799	$4,933
2009	10	8	$55,750	$6,969
2008	17	12	$135,539	$11,295
2006	3	3	$29,112	$9,704
2005	3	0	$0	—
2004	22	20	$256,975	$12,849
2003	61	48	$763,443	$15,905
2002	1	1	$1,249	$1,249
2001	4	3	$22,079	$7,360
2000	62	41	$1,380,340	$33,667
1999	6	2	$2,527	$1,263

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 93.4 of 100

Expected annual loss$135MRelatively Moderate

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Moderate

Community resilienceRelatively Moderate

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively High	$100,511,314
Hurricane	Relatively Moderate	$7,850,917
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$6,395,378
Cold wave	Relatively Moderate	$6,005,800
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$3,605,115
Heat wave	Relatively Moderate	$2,313,477
Ice storm	Very High	$2,071,942
Hail	Relatively Moderate	$2,018,764
Lightning	Relatively High	$1,650,204
Strong wind	Relatively Moderate	$922,389
Winter weather	Relatively High	$795,305
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$440,820
Wildfire	Very Low	$31,607
Landslide	Relatively Low	$3,193

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 miles41

Tracks within 50 miles11

Hurricane strength within 50 miles1

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Claudette	2021	84 mi	46 mph
Elsa	2021	60 mi	52 mph
Nestor	2019	78 mi	46 mph
Michael	2018	35 mi	52 mph
Andrea	2013	90 mi	46 mph
Hanna	2008	98 mi	52 mph
Fran	1996	61 mi	75 mph
Bob	1985	97 mi	52 mph
David	1979	19 mi	52 mph
Alma	1970	66 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1965	84 mi	40 mph
Diane	1955	67 mi	58 mph
Hazel	1954	83 mi	92 mph
Able	1952	37 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	50 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1945	43 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1944	93 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1944	64 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1935	100 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1929	63 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1927	94 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1920	99 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	66 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1913	99 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1907	89 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

27407 197
27408 133
27262 55
27405 46
27406 45
27410 44
27265 42
27403 37
27401 21
27260 18
27420 15
27249 13
27429 12
27409 6
27455 5

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 Guilford County, NC?

NCEI records 206 hail events in Guilford County since 1950, in 41 different years; that is about 2.7 recorded events a year. 31 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Guilford County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 16 tornadoes in Guilford County since 1950, 4 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 2.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Guilford County?

24 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 28 declarations since 1953.

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

680 NFIP claims since 1978, 513 of them paid, for $9.4M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Guilford 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 Moderate" for social vulnerability and "Relatively Moderate" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

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

143.1 recorded events per 100 square miles against 112.5 statewide, and 1.3 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.