States › North Carolina › Rockingham County

Rockingham 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 37157 · 91,266 residents (2021) · 566 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 164Tornado · 12Flood · 101Wind · 480Winter · 47

Rockingham 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.

Rockingham County, North Carolina, has 867 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 153.3 events per 100 square miles, above the North Carolina figure of 112.5, and 95.0 per 10,000 residents against 51.8 statewide.

19 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 4 deaths and 42 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $53M and crop damage at $12M.

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 108 claims since 1978, of which 76 were paid, totalling $725K (about $10K per paid claim). FEMA counts 54 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 "Relatively Low" ($25M a year across 18 hazards).

30 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.

19events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

867events since 19504 deaths, 42 injuries recorded

25disaster declarationslast 24 Jan 2026

108NFIP flood claims$725K paid

Compared with North Carolina and the United States

Measure	Rockingham County	North Carolina	US
Recorded events since 1950	867	54,696	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	153.3	112.5	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	95.0	51.8	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	19	1,437	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	4	622	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$53M	$15B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	1.2	10.4	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$10K	$28K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	31.5	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: 1

Hail: 1Tornado: 1Wind: 2

Hail: 3Tornado: 1Wind: 6

Hail: 9Tornado: 1Wind: 24

Hail: 39Tornado: 2Flood: 8Wind: 43Winter: 8Cold: 2Drought: 6Lightning: 8

Hail: 53Tornado: 3Flood: 22Wind: 102Winter: 15Tropical: 1Cold: 4Drought: 12Lightning: 1

Hail: 42Tornado: 2Flood: 50Wind: 225Winter: 18Tropical: 1Wildfire: 1Lightning: 1Other: 8

Hail: 15Tornado: 2Flood: 21Wind: 77Winter: 6Tropical: 1Drought: 6Lightning: 4Other: 7

31950s41960s101970s341980s1161990s2132000s3482010s1392020s

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

Trend: 589 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 236 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

Wind480

Hail164

Flood101

Winter47

Drought24

Other15

Lightning14

Tornado12

Cold6

Tropical3

Wildfire1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	480	2	2.1%	detail
■ Hail	164	—	1.7%	detail
■ Flood	101	—	1.9%	detail
■ Winter	47	—	0.5%	detail
■ Drought	24	—	1.5%
■ Other	15	—	1.5%
■ Lightning	14	—	1.7%
■ Tornado	12	2	0.7%	detail
■ Cold	6	—	0.8%
■ Tropical	3	—	0.3%
■ Wildfire	1	—	3.0%

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
20 Mar 1998	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$34M	—	2	27	County
8 Aug 2024	Strong Wind	Wind	45 mph	$30K	—	1	—	Forecast zone
12 Nov 2009	Strong Wind	Wind	30 mph	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
15 Apr 2018	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$2.2M	—	—	7	County
2 Jun 2006	Lightning	Lightning	—	$500K	—	—	5	County
18 Feb 1976	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	2	County
23 Apr 2015	Strong Wind	Wind	30 mph	$75K	—	—	1	Forecast zone
1 Sep 2007	Drought	Drought	—	—	$10M	—	—	Forecast zone
5 May 2017	Tornado	Tornado	EF0	$4.0M	—	—	—	County
11 Oct 2018	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$2.0M	—	—	—	County
4 Jul 1997	Lightning	Lightning	—	$1.5M	—	—	—	County
13 Jul 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	75 mph	$900K	—	—	—	County
6 May 2022	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$700K	$12K	—	—	County
6 Sep 1996	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$250K	$300K	—	—	County
5 Sep 1996	High Wind	Wind	—	$300K	$200K	—	—	Forecast zone
17 Jun 1997	Lightning	Lightning	—	$500K	—	—	—	County
1 Oct 2007	Drought	Drought	—	—	$500K	—	—	Forecast zone
13 Jun 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	69 mph	$500K	—	—	—	County
25 Jul 2018	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$500K	—	—	—	County
16 Jun 2017	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$450K	—	—	—	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
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
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
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
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
22 Mar 1998	DR-1211	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance, 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
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 Rockingham County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978108

Paid claims76

Total paid$725K

Average paid claim$10K

Repetitive-loss properties143 severe

Residential policies in force540.1% of 50,181 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2025	1	1	$8,494	$8,494
2024	1	1	$39,640	$39,640
2020	7	6	$76,692	$12,782
2018	6	4	$102,094	$25,523
2017	2	2	$4,303	$2,151
2016	1	0	$0	—
2015	1	0	$0	—
2013	1	0	$0	—
2010	2	1	$4,987	$4,987
2009	2	2	$19,325	$9,663
2004	3	2	$49,057	$24,528
2003	6	6	$54,312	$9,052
2000	2	1	$1,115	$1,115
1999	1	0	$0	—
1996	8	6	$66,364	$11,061
1995	5	4	$36,091	$9,023
1994	1	0	$0	—
1990	1	1	$16,315	$16,315
1989	2	1	$1,280	$1,280
1987	18	16	$115,497	$7,219
1985	6	2	$5,196	$2,598
1983	1	1	$4,444	$4,444
1980	1	1	$4,164	$4,164
1979	29	18	$115,981	$6,443

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 71.9 of 100

Expected annual loss$25MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively High

Community resilienceRelatively Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Moderate	$18,400,588
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$1,307,651
Tornado	Relatively Low	$1,260,512
Strong wind	Relatively Moderate	$879,639
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$577,876
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$560,807
Lightning	Relatively Moderate	$480,932
Ice storm	Relatively Moderate	$400,517
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$392,561
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$341,421
Hail	Relatively Low	$334,217
Winter weather	Relatively Moderate	$115,548
Wildfire	Very Low	$8,020
Landslide	Relatively Low	$2,905

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 miles30

Tracks within 50 miles11

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Elsa	2021	75 mi	52 mph
Nestor	2019	96 mi	46 mph
Michael	2018	55 mi	52 mph
Fran	1996	49 mi	46 mph
David	1979	22 mi	46 mph
Alma	1970	77 mi	40 mph
Diane	1955	61 mi	58 mph
Hazel	1954	87 mi	92 mph
Able	1952	16 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	45 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1945	60 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1944	81 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1929	83 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	45 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1907	97 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1902	83 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1902	40 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1899	84 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1896	57 mi	81 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	31 mi	75 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1889	50 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	64 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1886	27 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1885	45 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1883	97 mi	46 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

27288 67
27025 26
27320 10
27027 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 Rockingham County, NC?

NCEI records 164 hail events in Rockingham County since 1950, in 43 different years; that is about 2.1 recorded events a year. 21 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Rockingham County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 12 tornadoes in Rockingham County since 1950, 1 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 2.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Rockingham 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 Rockingham County, and how much was paid?

108 NFIP claims since 1978, 76 of them paid, for $725K in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

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

153.3 recorded events per 100 square miles against 112.5 statewide, and 1.2 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.