Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Raleigh, NC

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Raleigh State Univ, NC, 4 miles southwest of Raleigh at 400 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 52°F and 32°F. September is the wettest at 5.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 49.5 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 55% of the year's precipitation (27.4 of 49.5 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 57 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (26); a normal September there has highs of 82°F and 5.7 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 47 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 57 nights a year. Snowfall averages 4.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 49.5 inches is more than at 61 of the 140 North Carolina stations used on this site (44%). Cary, 9 miles west, has its own station (Apex, NC): 48.4 inches a year, 1.1 less than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 91°F.

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 563 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Raleigh: 365 thunderstorm wind reports, 163 flash floods, 16 heavy rain events, 15 lightning strikes and 4 floods. They killed 3 people and injured 13, and the NWS estimated $6.3 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, 44 of 163. Of the 472 North Carolina cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 471 have had fewer than Raleigh.

Flood insurance policyholders in Raleigh's 15 ZIP codes have filed 1,259 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $26.1 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Fran in 1996: 331 claims (26% of all) and $7.7 million, then Hurricane Floyd in 1999 with 96 and Hurricane Matthew in 2016 with 67. 42% 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, 242 have fewer than Raleigh.