Hazards › Wind

Wind across the United States

701,953 damaging wind events in the NCEI Storm Events record, 1950 to 2026. Event types counted: Thunderstorm Wind, High Wind, Strong Wind. 3,011 counties have a wind page.

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. Storm records through 30 Jun 2026.

701,953events since 1950

2,166deaths recorded by NCEI

3,011county pages (10+ events)

19.9events per 100 sq mi, national

By year

195019882026

Wind events recorded nationally per year, 1950 to 2026.

Seasonality

Jan
25,606Feb
29,675Mar
44,432Apr
64,440May
89,464Jun
138,247Jul
125,687Aug
79,129Sep
29,632Oct
23,903Nov
25,632Dec
26,106

Wind events by month of occurrence, all years, national.

Magnitude distribution

under 58 mph283,826

58–73 mph277,334

74–95 mph36,956

96 mph and over2,636

NWS wind thresholds

under 58 mph: below severe threshold
58–73 mph: severe
74–95 mph: hurricane-force
96 mph and over: extreme

States

State	Events	Per 100 sq mi	Deaths
Texas	43,222	16.5	129
Kansas	29,502	36.1	26
Pennsylvania	26,598	59.4	91
Georgia	25,855	44.8	79
Illinois	24,881	44.8	54
New York	24,828	52.7	110
Ohio	24,469	59.9	77
Oklahoma	24,413	35.6	23
North Carolina	22,958	47.2	87
Virginia	22,882	58.0	56
Kentucky	22,160	56.1	39
Missouri	21,755	31.6	49
Tennessee	21,361	51.8	57
Alabama	21,197	41.9	79
Iowa	20,854	37.3	25
Mississippi	18,831	40.1	54
Indiana	18,195	50.8	66
South Dakota	18,009	23.8	16
South Carolina	17,517	58.3	51
Nebraska	17,319	22.5	12
Arkansas	17,054	32.8	47
Florida	15,461	28.8	58
Minnesota	15,237	19.1	30
Wisconsin	14,734	27.2	42
Michigan	14,692	26.0	72
Montana	14,438	9.9	18
Louisiana	12,865	29.8	56
Wyoming	11,573	11.9	5
California	10,880	7.0	133
West Virginia	10,267	42.7	22
Maryland	9,756	100.5	25
New Jersey	9,644	131.1	81
North Dakota	9,530	13.8	7
Colorado	8,940	8.6	27
Massachusetts	8,300	106.4	28
New Mexico	6,514	5.4	18
Arizona	5,191	4.6	28
Maine	4,781	15.5	14
Nevada	4,172	3.8	21
Alaska	3,852	0.7	—
Oregon	3,741	3.9	42
Utah	3,674	4.5	20
Idaho	3,559	4.3	25
Vermont	3,428	37.2	13
Connecticut	3,085	63.7	28
New Hampshire	3,037	33.9	18
Washington	2,732	4.1	91
Delaware	1,830	93.9	6
Rhode Island	1,076	104.1	2
Hawaii	717	11.2	6
District of Columbia	387	634.4	3

Counties with the most recorded events

County	Events
Cook County, IL	1,582
Maricopa County, AZ	1,520
Lauderdale County, AL	1,390
Allegheny County, PA	1,314
Sedgwick County, KS	1,186
Madison County, AL	1,094
Westmoreland County, PA	1,092
Colbert County, AL	1,051
Davidson County, TN	1,024
Berks County, PA	1,011
Tarrant County, TX	987
Colleton County, SC	954
Montgomery County, MD	927
Tulsa County, OK	894
Chester County, PA	891
Oklahoma County, OK	889
Greene County, MO	888
Richland County, SC	855
Leon County, FL	847
Caddo Parish, LA	846
Jefferson County, AL	839
Lexington County, SC	834
Pima County, AZ	803
Hinds County, MS	795
Duval County, FL	772
Oakland County, MI	772
Tooele County, UT	771
Polk County, IA	769
Saratoga County, NY	767
Wake County, NC	761

Most per 100 square miles (25+ events)

County	Per 100 sq mi	Events
Falls Church city, VA	1,270.8	26
Arlington County, VA	800.1	208
District of Columbia, DC	633.1	387
Alexandria city, VA	555.7	83
Winchester city, VA	500.4	46
Charlottesville city, VA	478.3	49
Martinsville city, VA	474.6	52
Suffolk County, MA	460.1	268
Fredericksburg city, VA	459.3	48
Fairfax city, VA	432.7	27
Bristol County, RI	418.5	101
Nantucket County, MA	415.7	192
Williamsburg city, VA	414.0	37
Colonial Heights city, VA	372.4	28
Manassas city, VA	365.7	36
Philadelphia County, PA	364.0	489
Franklin city, VA	326.2	27
Bristol city, VA	303.0	39
Hudson County, NJ	287.9	133
Hopewell city, VA	270.4	28
Delaware County, PA	260.0	478
Radford city, VA	258.4	25
Norfolk city, VA	251.5	134
Camden County, NJ	223.6	495
Hancock County, WV	209.4	173
St. Louis city, MO	209.0	129
San Francisco County, CA	208.9	98
Lauderdale County, AL	208.1	1,390
New York County, NY	207.4	47
Danville city, VA	205.6	88

Counts reflect reporting density as well as weather. County figures include zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county; state figures include all zone-recorded events.