Tornadoes in North Carolina, March 15, 1953

Name: Tornadoes in North Carolina, March 15, 1953
Start: 1953-03-15T20:00
End: 1953-03-15T20:50
Location: North Carolina

March 15, 1953 · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

3 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 1
Property damage: $250,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

3 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Nash

When: March 15, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Nash County
Rating: F3
Path length: 1.3 mi
Path width: 27 yd
Property damage: $30
Coordinates: 35.770, -78.100

Tornado, Wilson

When: March 15, 8:25 PM CST
Where: Wilson County
Rating: F3
Path length: 19.6 mi
Path width: 27 yd
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 35.750, -78.080

Tornado, Edgecombe

When: March 15, 8:50 PM CST
Where: Edgecombe County
Rating: F3
Path length: 9.2 mi
Path width: 27 yd
Property damage: $30
Coordinates: 35.750, -77.730

What these are

Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

Every storm in North Carolina in 1953 Every state in 1953 This day in weather history The tornado archive for North Carolina, 1953

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10075731, 10075732, 10075733.