States › North Carolina › 2002
North Carolina, 2002
The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.
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.
Events by hazard
Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 2002 was 1,252 against 941 in 2001.
Counties with the most recorded events
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Aug 2002 | Dare | Lightning | — | — | 1 | 4 |
| 25 Dec 2002 | Ashe | High Wind | — | — | 1 | — |
| 4 Jan 2002 | Rowan | Extreme Cold/Wind Chill | — | — | 1 | — |
| 23 May 2002 | Moore | Lightning | — | — | 1 | — |
| 26 Aug 2002 | Vance | Flash Flood | — | — | 1 | — |
| 4 Dec 2002 | Mecklenburg | Ice Storm | — | $40,000,000 | — | — |
| 10 Jul 2002 | Duplin | Thunderstorm Wind | 71 mph | $5,000 | — | 3 |
| 4 Jul 2002 | Alamance | Lightning | — | — | — | 3 |
| 6 Jul 2002 | New Hanover | Lightning | — | — | — | 3 |
| 10 Mar 2002 | Watauga | High Wind | — | $3,000 | — | 2 |
| 2 Jan 2002 | Pitt | Winter Storm | — | — | — | 2 |
| 26 Jun 2002 | Randolph | Thunderstorm Wind | 69 mph | — | — | 2 |
| 2 Jul 2002 | Rutherford | Thunderstorm Wind | 63 mph | — | — | 2 |
| 4 Dec 2002 | Gaston | Ice Storm | — | $18,000,000 | — | — |
| 4 Dec 2002 | Cabarrus | Ice Storm | — | $12,000,000 | — | — |
| 4 Dec 2002 | Union | Ice Storm | — | $11,000,000 | — | — |
| 16 Mar 2002 | Robeson | Thunderstorm Wind | 104 mph | $750,000 | — | 1 |
| 4 Jul 2002 | Gaston | Lightning | — | $30,000 | — | 1 |
| 4 Dec 2002 | Rowan | Ice Storm | — | $10,000,000 | — | — |
| 4 Dec 2002 | Iredell | Ice Storm | — | $10,000,000 | — | — |
| 17 Apr 2002 | Stokes | Lightning | — | — | — | 1 |
| 1 Jun 2002 | Orange | Thunderstorm Wind | 58 mph | — | — | 1 |
| 2 Jul 2002 | Randolph | Lightning | — | — | — | 1 |
| 20 Jul 2002 | New Hanover | Lightning | — | — | — | 1 |
| 4 Jul 2002 | Buncombe | Thunderstorm Wind | 58 mph | — | — | 1 |
| 2 Jul 2002 | Jackson | Lightning | — | — | — | 1 |
| 4 Dec 2002 | Caldwell | Ice Storm | — | $9,000,000 | — | — |
| 4 Dec 2002 | Polk | Ice Storm | — | $9,000,000 | — | — |
| 4 Dec 2002 | Rutherford | Ice Storm | — | $9,000,000 | — | — |
| 4 Dec 2002 | Lincoln | Ice Storm | — | $9,000,000 | — | — |
| 4 Dec 2002 | Cleveland | Ice Storm | — | $9,000,000 | — | — |
| 4 Dec 2002 | Davie | Ice Storm | — | $9,000,000 | — | — |
| 4 Dec 2002 | Burke | Ice Storm | — | $9,000,000 | — | — |
| 4 Dec 2002 | Catawba | Ice Storm | — | $9,000,000 | — | — |
| 4 Dec 2002 | McDowell | Ice Storm | — | $9,000,000 | — | — |
| 4 Dec 2002 | Alexander | Ice Storm | — | $8,000,000 | — | — |
| 4 Dec 2002 | Transylvania | Ice Storm | — | $6,000,000 | — | — |
| 4 Dec 2002 | Forecast zone | Ice Storm | — | $3,000,000 | — | — |
| 17 Aug 2002 | Catawba | Flash Flood | — | $3,000,000 | — | — |
| 11 Oct 2002 | Beaufort | Tornado | F2 | $3,000,000 | — | — |
Up to 40 events with deaths, injuries, damage of $50,000 or more, or a tornado rating, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage.
Federal disaster declarations in 2002
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Dec 2002 | DR-1448 | Major disaster | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Ice Storm | 44 |
Flood insurance claims with a 2002 date of loss
281 NFIP claims, 180 of them paid, for $2,095,709.
Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (29 Sep 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 30 Sep 2026.