14 FEMA areas

Tornado Risk by City in North Carolina

Compare 16 cities using FEMA's relative tornado scores and annualized frequency for the county-equivalent areas shown.

Highest relative score

97.9/100

Mecklenburg County

Covered cities: Charlotte

Lowest relative score in this set

82.4/100

Buncombe County

Covered cities: Asheville

These are relative FEMA scores for county-equivalent areas. They are not annual probabilities or property-level findings.

North Carolina tornado rankings

Cities sharing a FEMA area are grouped together and receive the same score.

Rank	FEMA area and cities	Rating	Score	Annualized frequency
#1	Mecklenburg County Charlotte	Relatively High	97.9/100	0.28 events per year
#2	Wake County Cary Raleigh	Relatively High	96.8/100	0.41 events per year
#3	Cumberland County Fayetteville	Relatively High	95.4/100	0.39 events per year
#4	Pitt County Greenville	Relatively High	94.8/100	0.48 events per year
#5	Durham County Durham	Relatively High	94.2/100	0.12 events per year
#6	Gaston County Gastonia	Relatively Moderate	92.4/100	0.20 events per year
#7	New Hanover County Wilmington	Relatively Moderate	92.1/100	0.10 events per year
#8	Cabarrus County Concord	Relatively Moderate	91.7/100	0.17 events per year
#9	Forsyth County Winston-Salem	Relatively Moderate	91.1/100	0.14 events per year
#10	Guilford County Greensboro High Point	Relatively Moderate	89.7/100	0.22 events per year
#11	Catawba County Hickory	Relatively Moderate	89.2/100	0.17 events per year
#12	Onslow County Jacksonville	Relatively Moderate	89.0/100	0.49 events per year
#13	Alamance County Burlington	Relatively Moderate	86.2/100	0.15 events per year
#14	Buncombe County Asheville	Relatively Moderate	82.4/100	0.20 events per year

FEMA annualizes recorded qualifying tornado occurrences across the FEMA geography and source period.

Preparing for tornado

Ready.gov Tornadoes ↗

For a home or move

✓Identify the lowest-floor interior room or nearby rated shelter you can reach quickly.
✓Review how garage doors, roof connections, and exterior objects could perform in severe wind with a qualified local professional.
✓Confirm that insurance documents cover wind damage and understand the deductible before storm season.

For a household plan

✓Enable Wireless Emergency Alerts and keep a battery-powered NOAA Weather Radio available.
✓Keep shoes, flashlights, and head protection in or beside the shelter location.
✓Practice reaching the shelter with children, pets, and anyone who needs mobility assistance.

Questions about tornado risk in North Carolina

Which covered North Carolina cities have the highest relative tornado risk?

Charlotte use FEMA data for Mecklenburg County, which has the highest relative tornado score in this covered set at 97.9/100. Cities sharing the same FEMA area share the same score.

Which covered North Carolina area has the lowest relative tornado score?

Buncombe County has the lowest score in this covered set at 82.4/100. This is a relative FEMA comparison, not a declaration that every property there is safe.

Are these tornado figures city-level?

No. The city links provide geographic navigation, while the scores and frequencies cover the FEMA county-equivalent areas shown in the table. Address-level conditions require local maps and property details.

Is the FEMA relative score an annual probability?

No. The relative score compares FEMA areas on a 0–100 scale. Annualized frequency appears separately with hazard-specific units.

Related state and hazard pages

North Carolina Hurricane

Source: FEMA National Risk Index v1.19.0, released March 2023. Hazard data covers FEMA county-equivalent areas.

FEMA source ↗Our methodology →