Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Durham, NC

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Durham, NC, 5 miles northwest of Durham at 400 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 49°F and 28°F. June and August are the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 48.6 inches over 77 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (26.4 of 48.6 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 50 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (19); a normal September there has highs of 79°F and 4.7 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 40 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 84 nights a year. That 48.6 inches is more than at 53 of the 140 North Carolina stations used on this site (38%). Morrisville, 10 miles south, has its own station (Raleigh Durham International Airport, NC): 46.1 inches a year, 2.5 less than here, and a July average high of 91°F against 87°F.

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 346 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Durham: 238 thunderstorm wind reports, 91 flash floods, 10 lightning strikes, 4 heavy rain events and 3 floods. They killed 4 people and injured 7, and the NWS estimated $36.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on January 11, 2014. July has had the most flash floods, 32 of 91. Of the 472 North Carolina cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 464 have had fewer than Durham.

Flood insurance policyholders in Durham's 7 ZIP codes have filed 432 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $10.9 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Fran in 1996: 69 claims (16% of all) and $732,000, then Hurricane Florence in 2018 with 45 and 2025 July TS Chantal in 2025 with 42. 49% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 263 North Carolina cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 219 have fewer than Durham.