Davidson County, NC Environment & Hazard Risk
Relatively Moderate natural hazard risk, led by ice storm. 564 storm events since 1996.
- Expected yearly loss
- $64.25M
- Relatively Moderate nationally
- Storm events since 1996
- 564
- Most often thunderstorm wind
- Flood insurance policies
- 216
- 0.3% of homes
- Hurricanes nearby
- 1
- 8 tropical storms or stronger since 1859
Natural hazard risk
FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025
Overall risk
Relatively Moderate
Score 87.2 of 100
Social vulnerability
Relatively Moderate
Score 42.4 of 100
Community resilience
Relatively Low
Score 37.1 of 100
Community resilience runs the other way: a higher rating means a community can recover faster.
Building value exposed: $44.32B · Agriculture value exposed: $60.6M · Risk-adjusted yearly loss: $69.34M
Risk by hazard
- Ice stormVery High$1.68M/yr expected annual loss, about 2.1 events a year
- TornadoRelatively Moderate$5.6M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 5 years
- Cold waveRelatively Moderate$4.87M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 1 year
- HurricaneRelatively Moderate$3.27M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 11 years
- Strong windRelatively Moderate$1.45M/yr expected annual loss, about 2.3 events a year
- Winter weatherRelatively Moderate$208K/yr expected annual loss, about 7.5 events a year
- EarthquakeRelatively Low$1.22M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 683 years
- HailRelatively Moderate$716K/yr expected annual loss, about 4.8 events a year
- LightningRelatively Moderate$467K/yr expected annual loss, about 49 events a year
- Heat waveRelatively Low$688K/yr expected annual loss, about 1.8 events a year
- LandslideRelatively Low$3,350/yr expected annual loss, about once every 2 years
- DroughtRelatively Low$242K/yr expected annual loss, about 22 events a year
- WildfireVery Low$44.57K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 8,467 years
Bars show the national percentile score (0 to 100) for each hazard. Dollar figures are expected annual losses to buildings, people and crops. Not rated here: avalanche, coastal flooding, riverine flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.
Flood risk and insurance
National Flood Insurance Program and FEMA flood maps
Check the flood zone for an address
- Homes with flood insurance
- 216 of 74,242 (0.3%)
- Homes in high-risk flood zones
- 377
- Insured in high-risk zones
- 123 (33%)
- Flood claims since 1978
- 103
- Claims paid since 1978
- $1.71M
Flood claims paid per year
- 2025 July TS Chantal$391K · 6 claims
- Hurricane Michael$221K · 5 claims
- Hurricane Emily$200K · 1 claim
- Hurricane Isabel$189K · 8 claims
- Hurricane Florence$124K · 6 claims
- Hurricane Eta$84.67K · 9 claims
Storm history
Since 1996: 564 events, 6 deaths, $43.53M in damage
- Thunderstorm Wind263 · 1 death
- Hail95
- Flash Flood66 · 1 death
- Winter Storm37
- Winter Weather35 · 1 death
- Strong Wind18 · 1 death
- Lightning10
- Flood8
- Tornado8 · 2 deaths
- Ice Storm5
Events per year
16 tornadoes on record (EF0 3, EF1 2, EF2 2, F0 3, F1 6).
Most damaging storms
Since 1996, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage
- TornadoEF2, 10.07 mi path, 200 yd wide11/17/2011
Silver Hill, Davidson County
2 deaths, 15 injured, $20M damage
What happened
A tornado with a nearly continuous damage path of approximately 12.5 miles was found about 5 miles east of Linwood in Davidson County to about 10 miles northwest of Asheboro in Randolph County. Damage along the path was found to be EF-1 to EF-2 on the Enhanced Fujita tornado rating scale, with wind speeds between 90 and 135 mph. ||At approximately 6:05 pm EST, the initial tornado touchdown was in the form of snapped and uprooted trees along NC Highway 47, near the Parks Road Intersection. The first occurrence of structural damage was to single family homes in the nearby Silver Ridge Subdivision, off of Allred Road. Roofs were lifted off multiple homes and mostly exterior walls were blown out. This damage was consistent with EF-2 tornado intensity. The roof of one of the homes had been carried about 150 yards into the yard of another home. An outbuilding, whose contents were swept about 50 feet into the side yard adjacent to the home was also completely destroyed. Trees were toppled mostly in toward the center of the track of the tornado. Only minor injuries were noted to residents.| |The tornado continued east northeastward to Old Burkhart Road where it blew a trailer a couple...
- Winter Weather12/04/2010
Davidson
1 death, 2 injured
What happened
Around a half inch of snow fell across the county.
- Thunderstorm Wind50 kt wind04/13/2020
Southmont, Davidson County
1 death, 1 injured, $50K damage
What happened
A tree fell on a mobile home on Linwood-Southmont Road, resulting in one injury and one fatality.
- Strong Wind40 kt wind12/09/2009
Davidson
1 death, $35K damage
What happened
Strong wind gusts between 45 and 55 mph resulted in numerous trees being blown down along resutling in power outages. One man was killed near Denton on Highway 109 when a tree fell onto his vehicle. Another tree fell on a house causing minor damage.
- Flash Flood07/14/2010
Lexington, Davidson County
1 death, $1,000 damage
What happened
Numerous roads were flooded in the Lexington area. Water from a swollen creek flooded a home near the intersection of Union Street and Westside Drive. Also, an infant drowned when his mother's car went off the road, struck a concrete culvert and went down a steep embankment. The car landed upside down in a swollen creek. The infant's safety seat was pushed out of the car by rushing water. The infant's body was found about 200 feet downstream from the car.
- Flood09/17/2018
Newsom, Davidson County
$6.51M damage
What happened
Heavy rainfall of 4 to 6 inches caused widespread flooding across the county. Combined with additional rainfall upstream, the rainfall caused flooding along Abbotts Creek from High Point to Lexington and along the Yadkin River. Numerous other creeks and streams came out of their banks and flooded roads, causing damage. Flooding damaged approximately 579 structures throughout the county, destroying 1 and resulting in over $1.5 million in property damage and likely $5 million or more in crop damage. Numerous roads were flooded all throughout the county and The Thomasville Fire Department had to make a swift water rescue on Randolph Street near Carolina Avenue after the driver of a vehicle drove around barricades and got stuck.
Latest storm reports
Newest first
- Excessive Heat07/04/2026
Davidson
- Excessive Heat07/03/2026
Davidson
- Thunderstorm Wind50 kt wind06/23/2026
Wallburg, Davidson County
$2,000 damage
- Flash Flood06/09/2026
Linwood, Davidson County
- Thunderstorm Wind50 kt wind03/16/2026
Gum Tree, Davidson County
$15K damage
- Winter Storm01/31/2026
Davidson
- Winter Storm01/24/2026
Davidson
- Frost/Freeze11/11/2025
Davidson
Hurricanes and tropical storms
Storms whose track crossed Davidson County, with the wind when it passed
- Hurricane Michael (2018)10/07/2018 · Landfall: FL · 919 mbTropical storm52 mph nearby
- Hurricane Bob (1985)07/21/1985 · Landfall: SC · 1,002 mbTropical storm52 mph nearby
- Hurricane David (1979)08/25/1979 · 924 mbTropical storm52 mph nearby
- Hurricane Able (1952)08/18/1952 · Landfall: SC · 983 mbTropical storm46 mph nearby
- Unnamed storm (1893)08/15/1893 · Landfall: GA · 954 mbCategory 175 mph nearby
- Unnamed storm (1886)06/17/1886 · Landfall: FLTropical storm40 mph nearby
- Unnamed storm (1882)09/02/1882 · Landfall: FL · 949 mbTropical storm46 mph nearby
- Unnamed storm (1859)09/15/1859 · Landfall: ALTropical storm46 mph nearby
Drinking water
6 community water systems serve about 212,603 people. Violations since 2021.
None of the systems serving this county had a health-based violation in this period.
- Davidson Water INCServes 154,307 · Surface water · PrivateNo health violations+2 monitoring or reporting
- Thomasville, City ofServes 27,287 · Surface water · Local governmentNo health violations+1 monitoring or reporting
- Lexington, City ofServes 19,632 · Surface water · Local governmentNo health violations
- Handy Sanitary DistrictServes 9,548 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations+5 monitoring or reporting
- Denton, Town ofServes 1,632 · Surface water · Local governmentNo health violations+11 monitoring or reporting
- Rocklyn Subdivision Phase 2Serves 197 · Purchased surface water · PrivateNo health violations+3 monitoring or reporting
Largest systems by population served. Monitoring and reporting violations mean required tests or notices were late or missing, not that the water was unsafe.
Climate
1991-2020 normals at Lexington, 5.6 mi from the county center
Summer highs peak around 89°F in Jul and winter lows bottom out near 28°F in Jan. About 45.5 inches of rain falls in a typical year, with 3.3 inches of snow.
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 52°F | 28°F | 3.75 in | 2.0 in |
| Feb | 56°F | 31°F | 3.18 in | 0.4 in |
| Mar | 64°F | 37°F | 3.86 in | 0.3 in |
| Apr | 73°F | 45°F | 3.96 in | - |
| May | 80°F | 55°F | 3.33 in | - |
| Jun | 86°F | 63°F | 4.18 in | - |
| Jul | 89°F | 67°F | 4.68 in | - |
| Aug | 88°F | 66°F | 4.44 in | - |
| Sep | 82°F | 60°F | 4.27 in | - |
| Oct | 73°F | 47°F | 3.05 in | - |
| Nov | 62°F | 36°F | 3.37 in | - |
| Dec | 54°F | 31°F | 3.40 in | 0.6 in |
| Year | 59°F average | 45.5 in | 3.3 in | |
Pollution sites
0 Superfund sites and 16 toxic release facilities in Davidson County
Superfund sites
None in this county.
Toxic release facilities
- Unilin Flooring26,183 lbs released, Thomasville
- Egger - Lexington Particleboard Plant12,557 lbs released, Linwood
- Kurz Transfer Products LP3,753 lbs released, Lexington
- Electric Glass Fiber America LLC1,599 lbs released, Lexington
- Aurora Plastics - Welcome Plant1,598 lbs released, Lexington
- Brasscraft - Thomasville1,529 lbs released, Thomasville
- Owens-Brockway Glass Container Inc - Plant #06599 lbs released, Lexington
- Southern Resin321 lbs released, Thomasville
- MW Manufacturers Inc.130 lbs released, Lexington
- Asco Power Technologies60 lbs released, Welcome
Total: 48,331 lbs in 2024, 41,979 lbs to air.
Superfund sitesToxic release facilitiesEPA inspections and enforcementAir toxics cancer risk34 historic places
Frequently asked questions
- How risky is Davidson County for natural disasters?
- FEMA rates Davidson County relatively moderate for overall natural hazard risk, with expected losses of $64.25M a year. The highest-rated hazards are ice storm (very high), tornado (relatively moderate), cold wave (relatively moderate).
- What storms are most common in Davidson County?
- Since 1996, NOAA recorded 564 storm events affecting Davidson County, most often thunderstorm wind (263), hail (95), flash flood (66).
- How many tornadoes have hit Davidson County?
- 16 tornadoes have been recorded in Davidson County since 1950.
- How many homes in Davidson County have flood insurance?
- 216 residential flood insurance policies are in force in Davidson County, covering about 0.3% of homes. The program has paid $1.71M on 103 claims here since 1978.
- What is the weather like in Davidson County?
- At Lexington, average highs reach 89°F in Jul and lows fall to 28°F in Jan, with 45.5 inches of rain a year (1991-2020 normals).
Source: FEMA (National Risk Index, NFIP), NOAA (Storm Events, HURDAT2, Climate Normals), EPA · Last updated 08/01/2026 · Storm counts include events in forecast zones that touch the county. This product uses the FEMA OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA.