Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hertford, NC

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Edenton, NC, 12 miles southwest of Hertford at 10 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 52°F and 34°F. August is the wettest at 6.2 inches of precipitation on average and February and November the driest at 3.2 inches; the year adds up to 50.9 inches over 79 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 58% of the year's precipitation (29.7 of 50.9 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 108 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (40); a normal September there has highs of 82°F and 5.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 36 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 47 nights a year. Snowfall averages 2.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 50.9 inches is more than at 78 of the 140 North Carolina stations used on this site (56%). Elizabeth City, 14 miles northeast, has its own station (Elizabeth City, NC): 51.3 inches a year, 0.4 more than here, and the same July average high, 89°F.

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 94 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hertford: 53 thunderstorm wind reports, 28 heavy rain events, 6 flash floods, 4 floods and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $372,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 69 mph, on April 3, 2006. September has had the most flash floods, 2 of 6. Of the 472 North Carolina cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 38 have had fewer than Hertford.

Flood insurance policyholders in Hertford's ZIP code 27944 have filed 156 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1993, and were paid $941,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Isabel in 2003: 79 claims (51% of all) and $672,000, then Hurricane Matthew in 2016 with 14 and Hurricane Floyd in 1999 with 13. 83% 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, 195 have fewer than Hertford.