Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings
Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 2019
158 tornado warnings in 2019. An alert counts here when it covered any part of the state, so the counties below add up to more than the state. The archive of tornado warnings reaches back to 1986.
Tornado Warnings by county
Each county as a circle sized by its count in 2019. Tap one for its archive.
- Tornado Warnings
- 158
- Busiest month
- April66 tornado warnings
- Busiest day
- September 5, 201946 tornado warnings
Over time
By month
Warning verification
How often warnings here had a storm report inside them, and how much warning the reports had.
41 of 158 tornado warnings covering North Carolina in 2019 had a tornado report inside them; 55 of 71 tornado reports fell inside a warning, on average 15 minutes after it went out.
North Carolina, 2019
| Warnings | With a report | False alarm ratio | Reports | Inside a warning | Mean lead time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tornado warnings | 158 | 41 | 74% | 71 | 77% | 15 min |
Each office's whole area, 2019
| Warnings | With a report | False alarm ratio | Reports | Inside a warning | Mean lead time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NWS Blacksburg, VA: tornado warnings | 45 | 1 | 98% | 4 | 50% | 32 min |
| NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC: tornado warnings | 23 | 0 | 100% | 4 | 0% | |
| NWS Morristown, TN: tornado warnings | 5 | 0 | 100% | 3 | 0% | |
| NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC: tornado warnings | 28 | 10 | 64% | 12 | 100% | 21 min |
| NWS Wilmington, NC: tornado warnings | 49 | 21 | 57% | 32 | 91% | 15 min |
| NWS Raleigh, NC: tornado warnings | 51 | 12 | 76% | 24 | 71% | 11 min |
| NWS Wakefield, VA: tornado warnings | 59 | 15 | 75% | 28 | 82% | 13 min |
An office's figures cover every county it serves, including across state lines.
Verified by the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow, which matches each storm-based warning with the local storm reports inside its polygon while it was in force, within 15 km of its edge: a tornado warning counts as verified on a tornado report, a severe thunderstorm warning on hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more, or wind damage, a flash flood warning on a flash flood report. The false alarm ratio is the share of warnings with no such report; "inside a warning" is the probability of detection, the share of reports that fell inside one; lead time runs from the warning's issue to each report inside it, counting zero for a report that came first. A warning with no report is not proof nothing happened: reports come from spotters, the public and damage surveys, and are thin where few people live.
The alerts
Every alert, in the order issued. Times are local, Eastern Time. Each opens its own page with the text, the map, the radar and the sounding.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 25, 8:21 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Camden, Currituck, Pasquotank | 39 min |
| Apr 12, 6:40 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Chatham, Harnett, Wake | 20 min |
| Apr 13, 3:09 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GSP | Burke, Caldwell | 36 min |
| Apr 13, 3:37 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GSP | Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba | 19 min |
| Apr 14, 11:09 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | GSP | Davie, Iredell | 22 min |
| Apr 14, 11:17 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Yadkin | 28 min |
| Apr 14, 11:40 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Stokes, Surry, Yadkin | 35 min |
| Apr 14, 12:10 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Stokes | 35 min |
| Apr 14, 1:51 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Surry | 24 min |
| Apr 14, 2:46 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Surry, Yadkin | 29 min |
| Apr 14, 3:12 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GSP | Polk, Rutherford | 33 min |
| Apr 14, 3:13 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Stokes, Surry | 32 min |
| Apr 14, 3:33 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GSP | Burke, McDowell, Rutherford | 27 min |
| Apr 14, 4:20 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GSP | Alexander, Caldwell | 13 min |
| Apr 14, 4:23 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Wilkes | 37 min |
| Apr 14, 4:52 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Surry, Wilkes | 43 min |
| Apr 14, 8:41 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GSP | Henderson, Transylvania | 34 min |
| Apr 14, 11:44 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GSP | Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg | 31 min |
| Apr 15, 12:15 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | GSP | Davie, Iredell, Rowan | 30 min |
| Apr 15, 12:42 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Davidson, Forsyth | 33 min |
| Apr 19, 9:41 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Stokes | 34 min |
| Apr 19, 9:45 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Alamance, Orange, Person | 45 min |
| Apr 19, 9:57 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Caswell | 33 min |
| Apr 19, 11:05 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Franklin, Granville, Vance, Warren | 13 min |
| Apr 19, 1:27 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Brunswick, Columbus | 33 min |
| Apr 19, 1:56 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Surry | 34 min |
| Apr 19, 2:18 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Bladen, Columbus | 27 min |
| Apr 19, 2:21 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Montgomery, Moore, Randolph | 24 min |
| Apr 19, 2:42 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Bladen | 18 min |
| Apr 19, 2:45 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Sampson | 30 min |
| Apr 19, 2:46 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Alamance, Chatham, Guilford, Randolph | 29 min |
| Apr 19, 2:47 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Chatham, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, Randolph | 28 min |
| Apr 19, 3:06 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Sampson | 24 min |
| Apr 19, 3:13 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Alamance, Chatham, Moore, Randolph | 32 min |
| Apr 19, 3:14 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Alamance, Guilford | 31 min |
| Apr 19, 3:20 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Duplin | 25 min |
| Apr 19, 3:24 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Wayne | 21 min |
| Apr 19, 3:29 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Sampson, Wayne | 16 min |
| Apr 19, 3:34 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Caswell | 39 min |
| Apr 19, 3:38 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GSP | Catawba, Lincoln | 26 min |
| Apr 19, 3:43 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Wayne, Wilson | 32 min |
| Apr 19, 3:51 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Alamance, Chatham, Orange | 24 min |
| Apr 19, 3:52 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Moore | 23 min |
| Apr 19, 4:00 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Durham, Orange | 30 min |
| Apr 19, 4:08 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Edgecombe, Halifax, Nash | 37 min |
| Apr 19, 4:10 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Cumberland, Harnett | 35 min |
| Apr 19, 4:11 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Cumberland, Harnett | 34 min |
| Apr 19, 4:12 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GSP | Alexander, Iredell | 18 min |
| Apr 19, 4:12 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Edgecombe, Nash, Wilson | 51 min |
| Apr 19, 4:13 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Chatham, Durham, Orange | 32 min |
| Apr 19, 4:18 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Person | 8 min |
| Apr 19, 4:26 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Durham, Orange, Person | 34 min |
| Apr 19, 4:37 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Granville, Person | 23 min |
| Apr 19, 4:39 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Harnett | 36 min |
| Apr 19, 4:50 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Orange | 25 min |
| Apr 19, 4:52 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Durham, Granville, Orange, Person | 53 min |
| Apr 19, 5:02 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Edgecombe, Halifax | 28 min |
| Apr 19, 5:20 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Johnston | 25 min |
| Apr 19, 5:44 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Granville, Vance, Warren | 31 min |
| Apr 19, 6:05 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Franklin, Halifax, Nash, Warren | 40 min |
| Apr 19, 6:10 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Edgecombe, Halifax, Nash | 35 min |
| Apr 19, 6:31 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Northampton | 29 min |
| Apr 19, 6:41 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Northampton | 34 min |
| Apr 19, 6:47 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Hertford, Northampton | 43 min |
| Apr 19, 8:10 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Camden, Chowan, Gates, Pasquotank | 35 min |
| Apr 20, 1:57 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Hyde, Tyrrell | 24 min |
| Apr 20, 2:48 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Camden, Currituck | 42 min |
| May 11, 1:32 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GSP | Cleveland | 28 min |
| May 11, 2:16 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GSP | Gaston | 29 min |
| May 11, 2:34 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GSP | Gaston, Mecklenburg | 41 min |
| May 11, 4:51 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Anson, Montgomery, Richmond, Stanly | 24 min |
| May 12, 5:25 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Surry | 35 min |
| May 12, 6:00 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Stokes, Surry | 30 min |
| May 12, 6:15 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Surry | 30 min |
| May 12, 6:49 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Stokes | 26 min |
| May 13, 10:13 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Franklin, Nash, Wake | 32 min |
| May 13, 10:22 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Johnston, Nash, Wilson | 21 min |
| May 13, 1:55 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Johnston, Wayne, Wilson | 35 min |
| May 13, 2:30 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Greene, Lenoir, Pitt | 45 min |
| May 13, 2:36 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Wayne, Wilson | 9 min |
| May 31, 4:06 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GSP | Catawba, Iredell | 24 min |
| May 31, 5:09 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Alamance, Guilford | 24 min |
| May 31, 5:22 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GSP | Cabarrus, Rowan | 23 min |
| May 31, 7:45 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Craven, Greene, Lenoir, Pitt | 45 min |
| May 31, 8:40 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Beaufort, Craven, Pitt | 35 min |
| Jun 20, 2:28 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Caswell | 32 min |
| Jul 23, 2:59 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Johnston, Wayne, Wilson | 31 min |
| Jul 23, 3:24 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Currituck | 36 min |
| Jul 23, 4:47 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Pasquotank, Perquimans | 28 min |
| Jul 23, 4:55 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Beaufort, Martin, Pitt | 35 min |
| Jul 23, 5:04 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Camden, Currituck | 26 min |
| Jul 23, 5:43 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Bladen | 32 min |
| Aug 7, 3:37 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Pender | 23 min |
| Aug 10, 7:46 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GSP | Catawba, Iredell, Lincoln | 18 min |
| Sep 5, 4:38 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Brunswick | 37 min |
| Sep 5, 4:51 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Brunswick | 24 min |
| Sep 5, 5:09 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Brunswick | 36 min |
| Sep 5, 5:11 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Brunswick, New Hanover | 34 min |
| Sep 5, 5:36 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Brunswick | 24 min |
| Sep 5, 5:38 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Brunswick, Columbus | 52 min |
| Sep 5, 5:45 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Brunswick, New Hanover | 45 min |
| Sep 5, 6:04 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Brunswick, Columbus | 41 min |
| Sep 5, 6:07 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | New Hanover, Pender | 38 min |
| Sep 5, 6:23 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Brunswick, Columbus | 37 min |
| Sep 5, 6:47 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | New Hanover, Pender | 43 min |
| Sep 5, 6:51 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Brunswick, Columbus | 39 min |
| Sep 5, 6:53 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Columbus | 32 min |
| Sep 5, 6:59 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Bladen, Brunswick, Pender | 46 min |
| Sep 5, 7:13 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | New Hanover, Pender | 47 min |
| Sep 5, 7:13 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Onslow | 32 min |
| Sep 5, 7:25 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Brunswick, Columbus | 50 min |
| Sep 5, 7:27 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Bladen, Pender | 32 min |
| Sep 5, 7:40 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Onslow | 50 min |
| Sep 5, 7:47 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Pender | 28 min |
| Sep 5, 8:29 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Duplin, Onslow | 46 min |
| Sep 5, 8:42 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Jones, Onslow | 48 min |
| Sep 5, 8:54 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Carteret, Craven, Jones, Onslow | 51 min |
| Sep 5, 9:11 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Onslow | 49 min |
| Sep 5, 9:27 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Duplin, Jones, Onslow | 33 min |
| Sep 5, 9:35 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Jones, Onslow | 40 min |
| Sep 5, 9:55 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Duplin, Onslow | 50 min |
| Sep 5, 10:21 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Duplin, Jones, Lenoir, Onslow | 39 min |
| Sep 5, 10:42 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Brunswick, New Hanover | 33 min |
| Sep 5, 10:49 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Duplin, Onslow | 41 min |
| Sep 5, 11:44 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | New Hanover, Pender | 46 min |
| Sep 5, 12:13 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Bladen, Pender | 29 min |
| Sep 5, 12:27 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Duplin, Lenoir | 48 min |
| Sep 5, 1:05 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Pender | 25 min |
| Sep 5, 1:10 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | New Hanover, Pender | 35 min |
| Sep 5, 1:52 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Johnston, Wayne | 16 min |
| Sep 5, 2:28 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Beaufort, Craven, Greene, Lenoir, Pitt | 13 min |
| Sep 5, 3:46 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Cumberland, Sampson | 29 min |
| Sep 5, 4:01 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Wilson | 44 min |
| Sep 5, 4:10 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Carteret, Craven, Pamlico | 50 min |
| Sep 5, 4:18 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Duplin, Jones, Lenoir, Onslow | 27 min |
| Sep 5, 4:22 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Johnston | 24 min |
| Sep 5, 4:54 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Craven, Jones, Pamlico | 19 min |
| Sep 5, 4:56 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Craven, Jones, Pitt | 34 min |
| Sep 5, 6:17 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Craven, Lenoir, Pitt | 28 min |
| Sep 5, 7:53 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Beaufort, Hyde, Martin | 22 min |
| Sep 5, 11:32 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Chowan, Perquimans | 17 min |
| Sep 6, 12:35 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Chowan, Gates, Pasquotank, Perquimans | 25 min |
| Sep 6, 12:50 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Bertie, Chowan, Hertford, Perquimans | 25 min |
| Sep 9, 5:51 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Brunswick, New Hanover, Pender | 24 min |
| Oct 20, 3:17 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | ILM | Brunswick, Columbus | 28 min |
| Oct 22, 5:40 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Johnston, Sampson, Wayne | 52 min |
| Oct 22, 7:10 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Beaufort, Craven, Lenoir, Pitt | 35 min |
| Oct 22, 7:39 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Beaufort, Craven | 39 min |
| Oct 31, 6:27 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Guilford | 22 min |
| Oct 31, 6:37 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Caswell, Rockingham | 39 min |
| Oct 31, 6:45 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Anson, Montgomery, Richmond, Stanly | 30 min |
| Oct 31, 6:52 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Caswell | 23 min |
| Oct 31, 7:17 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Person | 43 min |
| Oct 31, 7:47 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Durham, Granville, Orange, Person | 43 min |
| Oct 31, 7:50 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Anson, Richmond, Scotland | 25 min |
| Oct 31, 9:05 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Franklin, Wake | 23 min |
| Nov 1, 12:13 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | AKQ | Chowan, Gates, Hertford | 47 min |
| Nov 1, 1:08 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | MHX | Carteret, Craven, Jones, Onslow, Pamlico | 52 min |
By county
Every county with at least one alert. A county page lists each alert that covered it.
- Brunswick County16
- Onslow County13
- Pender County12
- Craven County11
- Surry County9
- Columbus County9
- New Hanover County9
- Jones County9
- Orange County8
- Duplin County8
- Wayne County8
- Lenoir County8
- Pitt County8
- Person County7
- Wilson County7
- Johnston County7
- Chatham County6
- Iredell County6
- Stokes County6
- Alamance County6
- Bladen County6
- Nash County6
- Beaufort County6
- Harnett County5
- Caswell County5
- Granville County5
- Sampson County5
- Durham County5
- Chowan County5
- Camden County4
- Currituck County4
- Pasquotank County4
- Catawba County4
- Franklin County4
- Montgomery County4
- Moore County4
- Randolph County4
- Guilford County4
- Cumberland County4
- Edgecombe County4
41 more counties
- Halifax County4
- Perquimans County4
- Wake County3
- Burke County3
- Caldwell County3
- Alexander County3
- Yadkin County3
- Gaston County3
- Lincoln County3
- Warren County3
- Northampton County3
- Hertford County3
- Gates County3
- Anson County3
- Richmond County3
- Greene County3
- Carteret County3
- Pamlico County3
- Davie County2
- Rutherford County2
- Wilkes County2
- Mecklenburg County2
- Rowan County2
- Vance County2
- Hyde County2
- Stanly County2
- Martin County2
- Polk County1
- McDowell County1
- Henderson County1
- Transylvania County1
- Davidson County1
- Forsyth County1
- Lee County1
- Hoke County1
- Tyrrell County1
- Cleveland County1
- Cabarrus County1
- Bertie County1
- Rockingham County1
- Scotland County1
The busiest days
Days with the most alerts issued, by UTC date.
Nearby
Alerts in force nowTornadoes on recordThe radar archive20182020
Sources
National Weather Service watches, warnings, advisories and statements from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's VTEC archive, which reconstructs tornado, severe thunderstorm, flash flood and marine warnings back to 1986 from the NWS text archive. Storm Prediction Center watches and mesoscale discussions from SPC's archive through the Mesonet. County centers from the US Census Bureau. Warning verification from the Mesonet's Cow. Rebuilt daily.