North Carolina tornado and storm history
Tornadoes, hurricanes, hail, and severe storms recorded in North Carolina between 1950 and 2026, from NOAA's Storm Events Database. Search an address to see the storms that came closest to it.
1,691
Tornado reports
54,913
Storm events
424
Hurricane reports
730
Deaths, all storms
Every tornado track in North Carolina
1,657 county track segments since 1950, coloured by rating. Zoom in and each path widens to its surveyed width. Tap one for the storm.
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated
Tornadoes by decade in North Carolina
All tornado reports against only the strong ones (F2 and above). Averages are per year over the years the federal record covers completely — 1952, 1976 and 1993 are each missing whole months in NOAA’s own files and are left out.
| Decade | All reports | Strong (F2+) | All per year | Strong per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 71 | 25 | 8 | 3 |
| 1960s | 90 | 43 | 9 | 4 |
| 1970s | 171 | 34 | 19 | 4 |
| 1980s | 169 | 74 | 17 | 7 |
| 1990s | 299 | 50 | 33 | 6 |
| 2000s | 321 | 27 | 32 | 3 |
| 2010s | 337 | 56 | 34 | 6 |
The 2020s are left out because the decade is not finished. Reports are counted per county, so one tornado crossing a county line can appear more than once.
Significant recent events in North Carolina
Events with deaths, several injuries, $1M+ property damage, or tornadoes rated EF3 and up.
Two people died after their vehicle was swept off North Carolina Highway 581 and into a ravine or ditch that was overflowing with fast moving flood waters.
An EF-1 tornado touched down at the Raleigh Executive Jetport 7.5 miles northeast of Sanford in Lee County, North Carolina. Several hangers had damage to wall panels and doors. Several aircraft were damaged. Minor damage to the taxiway occurred. The tornado briefly lifted before …
Deputies responded to a report of a missing period last seen driving near Jones Drive and Calloway Drive. The body of a man was later recovered in a creek downstream. Another man was found dead also due to flooding. Both fatalities were the result of swift high water across the r…
Two boaters launched a canoe from Marthas Chapel Road in the early evening hours. One body was found the morning of the 8th, and another found the morning of the 9th of July.
Over 80 roads across the county were flooded, with multiple stalled cars, and nearly 33 water rescues across Chatham County, including one at the location near Siler City.
One person died when their car traveling on Farrington Point Road entered floodwaters. The driver was swept away.
The vehicle of a 58 year old female on her way to work was submerged in flood waters. The victim was swept away upon trying to exit the vehicle.
There were numerous reports of stranded/submerged vehicles, washed out roadways, apartments and residential homes flooded, and law enforcement performed multiple water rescues, including one at Camelot Village. Total estimated damages may have exceeded 30 million across Orange Co…
Aberdeen Creek flooded parts of North Carolina Highway 5 and US Highway 1 with several roads closed in the area. Damage estimates may have exceeded 5 million, including to roads, bridges, infrastructure, and residential areas.
A man who was struck by lightning on June 29 while boating on the Intracoastal Waterway succumbed to his injuries and died on July 10.
A 23 year old male drowned in a rip current at Holden Beach, just west of Lockwood Folly Inlet, while swimming with two friends.
Broadcast media reports that a lightning strike killed one person fishing near the Northeast Creek Park in Jacksonville, NC, on April 11th, during the late evening hours.
A National Weather Service Storm Survey Team determined that a tornado touched down just southwest of Longview Estates near Woodville Road in Woodville, North Carolina around 302 AM EDT. The tornado quickly moved northeast, rolling and destroying 3 mobile homes in Longview Estate…
A powerful but brief tornado touched down in Rocky Mount North Carolina around 12:30 PM. While the path was short, the damage was intense, as all but one of the masonry exterior walls was blown over at an auto repair shop, and another nearby brick building was completely leveled …
Counties and zones
Each county’s full storm history, with its event count. Some entries are National Weather Service forecast zones rather than civil counties.
Alamance (532)
Alexander (422)
Alleghany (335)
Anson (364)
Ashe (593)
Avery (681)
Beaufort (507)
Bertie (295)
Bladen (628)
Brunswick (571)
Buncombe (892)
Burke (730)
Burke Mountains (154)
Cabarrus (603)
Caldwell (520)
Caldwell Mountains (144)
Camden (202)
Carteret (571)
Caswell (480)
Catawba (746)
Chatham (548)
Cherokee (319)
Chowan (225)
Clay (161)
Cleveland (681)
Coastal Brunswick (42)
Coastal New Hanover (109)
Coastal Onslow (23)
Coastal Pender (35)
Columbus (630)
Craven (633)
Cumberland (679)
Currituck (206)
Dare (328)
Davidson (633)
Davie (425)
Duplin (589)
Durham (624)
East Carteret (26)
Eastern Currituck (91)
Eastern Dare (147)
Eastern Hyde (80)
Eastern Mcdowell (97)
Eastern Polk (73)
Edgecombe (388)
Forsyth (715)
Franklin (490)
Gaston (651)
Gates (248)
Graham (442)
Granville (400)
Granville, Stovall and Oxford (1)
Greater Burke (95)
Greater Caldwell (93)
Greater Rutherford (72)
Greene (288)
Guilford (924)
Halifax (462)
Harnett (559)
Hatteras Island (34)
Haywood (581)
Henderson (728)
Hertford (257)
Hoke (298)
Hyde (156)
Inland Brunswick (28)
Inland New Hanover (35)
Inland Onslow (32)
Inland Pender (31)
Iredell (768)
Jackson (225)
Johnston (864)
Jones (276)
Lee (339)
Lenoir (460)
Lincoln (537)
Macon (495)
Madison (651)
Martin (322)
Mcdowell (555)
Mcdowell Mountains (153)
Mecklenburg (1,047)
Mitchell (607)
Montgomery (343)
Moore (627)
Nash (540)
New Hanover (669)
Northampton (308)
Northern Craven (24)
Northern Jackson (317)
Northern Outer Banks (28)
Ocracoke Island (25)
Onslow (613)
Orange (584)
Pamlico (209)
Pasquotank (296)
Pender (482)
Perquimans (223)
Person (461)
Pitt (647)
Polk (339)
Polk Mountains (104)
Randolph (728)
Richmond (295)
Robeson (722)
Rockingham (867)
Rowan (694)
Rutherford (569)
Rutherford Mountains (111)
Sampson (622)
Scotland (307)
Southern Craven (26)
Southern Jackson (258)
Stanly (477)
Stokes (602)
Surry (938)
Swain (489)
Transylvania (550)
Tyrrell (158)
Union (630)
Vance (307)
Wake (1,645)
Warren (313)
Washington (219)
Watauga (679)
Wayne (605)
West Carteret (28)
Western Currituck (81)
Western Dare (69)
Western Hyde (72)
Wilkes (794)
Wilson (452)
Yadkin (440)
Yancey (599)
Search your address
See every tornado that passed within 25 miles of a place in North Carolina, measured to its path.
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