States › North Carolina › Jones County

Jones 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 37103 · 9,255 residents (2021) · 471 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 66Tornado · 22Flood · 23Wind · 97Winter · 28

Jones 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.

The NCEI record lists 276 events for Jones County, North Carolina, between 1950 and 2026; damaging wind account for the largest share.

That is 58.6 events per 100 square miles, below the North Carolina figure of 112.5, and 298.2 per 10,000 residents against 51.8 statewide.

13 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 2 deaths and 16 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $56M and crop damage at $66M.

FEMA has designated the county in 27 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 205 claims since 1978, of which 183 were paid, totalling $17M (about $93K per paid claim). FEMA counts 205 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Low" and its expected annual loss as "Very Low" ($14M a year across 18 hazards).

142 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 19 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

13events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

276events since 19502 deaths, 16 injuries recorded

27disaster declarationslast 24 Jan 2026

205NFIP flood claims$17M paid

Compared with North Carolina and the United States

Measure	Jones County	North Carolina	US
Recorded events since 1950	276	54,696	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	58.6	112.5	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	298.2	51.8	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	13	1,437	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	2	622	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$56M	$15B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	22.2	10.4	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$93K	$28K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	49.8	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: 2Wind: 2

Tornado: 1

Hail: 1Tornado: 2Wind: 1

Hail: 4Wind: 4

Hail: 11Tornado: 7Flood: 5Wind: 18Winter: 6Tropical: 9Cold: 1Other: 1

Hail: 30Tornado: 5Flood: 5Wind: 18Winter: 9Tropical: 5Cold: 1

Hail: 16Tornado: 3Flood: 7Wind: 28Winter: 9Tropical: 4Drought: 3Lightning: 1Other: 1

Hail: 2Tornado: 4Flood: 6Wind: 26Winter: 4Tropical: 1Heat: 5Drought: 8

41950s11960s41970s81980s581990s732000s722010s562020s

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

Trend: 151 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 105 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

Wind97

Hail66

Winter28

Flood23

Tornado22

Tropical19

Drought11

Heat5

Cold2

Other2

Lightning1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	97	—	0.4%	detail
■ Hail	66	—	0.7%	detail
■ Winter	28	—	0.3%	detail
■ Flood	23	—	0.4%	detail
■ Tornado	22	1	1.3%	detail
■ Tropical	19	1	1.7%
■ Drought	11	—	0.7%
■ Heat	5	—	1.4%
■ Cold	2	—	0.3%
■ Other	2	—	0.2%
■ Lightning	1	—	0.1%

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
17 Mar 1965	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$2.5M	—	1	5	County
14 Sep 1999	Hurricane (Typhoon)	Tropical	—	—	$9.8M	1	—	Forecast zone
15 Apr 1999	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$2.0M	—	—	8	County
13 Sep 2018	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	$33M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
26 Aug 2011	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	$8.0M	$20M	—	—	Forecast zone
12 Jul 1996	Hurricane (Typhoon)	Tropical	—	$1.3M	$19M	—	—	Forecast zone
11 Nov 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	$5K	—	—	2	County
10 May 1990	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	1	County
30 Sep 2010	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$500K	$6.0M	—	—	County
31 Aug 2006	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	$125K	$5.0M	—	—	Forecast zone
4 Sep 1996	Hurricane (Typhoon)	Tropical	—	$5.0M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
1 Sep 1999	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	—	$3.9M	—	—	Forecast zone
29 Mar 1991	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$2.5M	—	—	—	County
15 Jun 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	70 mph	—	$1.3M	—	—	County
16 Jul 2000	Hail	Hail	1.00 in	—	$605K	—	—	County
14 Aug 2004	Hurricane (Typhoon)	Tropical	—	$50K	$300K	—	—	Forecast zone
17 Sep 2003	Hurricane (Typhoon)	Tropical	—	$300K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
13 Apr 1974	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	—	County
19 Apr 1978	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	—	County
16 Apr 2011	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$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
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
14 Oct 2020	DR-4568	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Isaias	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
4 Oct 2019	DR-4465	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Dorian	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
10 Oct 2016	DR-4285	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Matthew	Individual assistance, Public assistance
7 Oct 2016	EM-3380	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Matthew	Public assistance
31 Aug 2011	DR-4019	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Irene	Individual assistance, Public assistance
25 Aug 2011	EM-3327	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Irene	Public assistance
14 Oct 2010	DR-1942	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Straight-Line Winds	Individual assistance
1 Sep 2010	EM-3314	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Earl	Public assistance
7 Oct 2005	DR-1608	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Ophelia	Public assistance
14 Sep 2005	EM-3254	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Ophelia	Public assistance
5 Sep 2005	EM-3222	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
18 Sep 2003	DR-1490	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Isabel	Individual assistance, 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
27 Aug 1998	DR-1240	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Bonnie	Individual assistance, Public assistance
6 Sep 1996	DR-1134	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Fran	Individual assistance, Public assistance
18 Jul 1996	DR-1127	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Bertha	Individual assistance, 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 Jones County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978205

Paid claims183

Total paid$17M

Average paid claim$93K

Repetitive-loss properties294 severe

Residential policies in force2054.2% of 4,872 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2024	1	1	$12,160	$12,160
2018	101	97	$13,635,331	$140,570
2016	18	15	$344,812	$22,987
2015	1	1	$2,188	$2,188
2011	2	1	$887	$887
2010	36	31	$936,584	$30,212
2009	2	0	$0	—
2006	6	5	$64,978	$12,996
1999	34	31	$1,928,386	$62,206
1998	1	0	$0	—
1996	3	1	$85,911	$85,911

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 Lowscore 64.5 of 100

Expected annual loss$14MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceRelatively Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Hurricane	Relatively High	$11,146,130
Inland flooding	Very Low	$1,974,869
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$245,013
Cold wave	Very Low	$167,162
Tornado	Very Low	$162,836
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$144,780
Hail	Relatively Low	$129,865
Winter weather	Relatively Moderate	$85,223
Lightning	Relatively Low	$80,673
Drought	Relatively Low	$75,453
Earthquake	Very Low	$54,529
Wildfire	Very Low	$25,877
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$17,254
Coastal flooding	Very Low	$4,209
Landslide	Very Low	$16

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 miles142

Tracks within 50 miles60

Hurricane strength within 50 miles19

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Idalia	2023	94 mi	63 mph
Ophelia	2023	15 mi	69 mph
Claudette	2021	82 mi	46 mph
Elsa	2021	98 mi	52 mph
Arthur	2020	94 mi	52 mph
Isaias	2020	42 mi	69 mph
Dorian	2019	69 mi	104 mph
Nestor	2019	99 mi	46 mph
Florence	2018	58 mi	104 mph
Hermine	2016	13 mi	63 mph
Matthew	2016	78 mi	81 mph
Arthur	2014	49 mi	98 mph
Andrea	2013	71 mi	46 mph
Beryl	2012	40 mi	46 mph
Irene	2011	49 mi	86 mph
Cristobal	2008	74 mi	52 mph
Hanna	2008	62 mi	52 mph
Barry	2007	79 mi	46 mph
Gabrielle	2007	57 mi	58 mph
Alberto	2006	33 mi	40 mph
Ernesto	2006	52 mi	69 mph
Ophelia	2005	63 mi	86 mph
Alex	2004	79 mi	98 mph
Charley	2004	56 mi	69 mph
Isabel	2003	54 mi	104 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

28585 95
28573 90

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 Jones County, NC?

NCEI records 66 hail events in Jones County since 1950, in 25 different years; that is about 0.9 recorded events a year. 12 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Jones County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 22 tornadoes in Jones County since 1950, 5 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 1.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Jones County?

24 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 27 declarations since 1953.

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

205 NFIP claims since 1978, 183 of them paid, for $17M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

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

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

58.6 recorded events per 100 square miles against 112.5 statewide, and 22.2 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.