Tornado, Forsyth
- When
- May 28, 12:01 AM CST
- Where
- Forsyth County
- Rating
- F0
- Path width
- 33 yd
- Injuries
- 2 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 36.170, -80.300
Tornadoes and Hail in North Carolina, May 28, 1973
14 tornado, 7 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 6
- Property damage
- $1.7 million
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 23
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
14 tornado, 7 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm Wind, Iredell
- When
- May 28, 4:30 AM CST
- Where
- Iredell County
- Coordinates
- 36.000, -80.900
Thunderstorm Wind, Iredell
- When
- May 28, 4:40 AM CST
- Where
- Iredell County
- Coordinates
- 35.820, -80.880
Tornado, Cabarrus
- When
- May 28, 5:00 AM CST
- Where
- Cabarrus County
- Rating
- F0
- Path width
- 33 yd
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 35.280, -80.630
Tornado, Mecklenburg
- When
- May 28, 5:00 AM CST
- Where
- Mecklenburg County
- Rating
- F2
- Path length
- 9.6 mi
- Path width
- 100 yd
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 35.200, -80.980
Tornado, Montgomery
- When
- May 28, 2:00 PM CST
- Where
- Montgomery County
- Rating
- F0
- Path width
- 33 yd
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 35.330, -79.820
Hail, Montgomery
- When
- May 28, 2:00 PM CST
- Where
- Montgomery County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 35.330, -79.820
Tornado, Wake
- When
- May 28, 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Wake County
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 3 mi
- Path width
- 33 yd
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 35.980, -78.530
Hail, Wake
- When
- May 28, 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Wake County
- Measured
- 2 in hail
- Coordinates
- 35.970, -78.530
Tornado, Franklin
- When
- May 28, 3:05 PM CST
- Where
- Franklin County
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 3.4 mi
- Path width
- 33 yd
- Injuries
- 2 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 36.000, -78.480
Tornado, Mecklenburg
- When
- May 28, 5:00 PM CST
- Where
- Mecklenburg County
- Rating
- F1
- Path width
- 50 yd
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 35.220, -80.930
Tornado, Davidson
- When
- May 28, 5:00 PM CST
- Where
- Davidson County
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 1.3 mi
- Path width
- 33 yd
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 35.880, -80.070
Thunderstorm Wind, Mecklenburg
- When
- May 28, 5:00 PM CST
- Where
- Mecklenburg County
- Coordinates
- 35.200, -80.830
Tornado, Randolph
- When
- May 28, 5:10 PM CST
- Where
- Randolph County
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 2.7 mi
- Path width
- 33 yd
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 35.880, -80.030
Tornado, Cabarrus
- When
- May 28, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Cabarrus County
- Rating
- F0
- Path width
- 33 yd
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 35.200, -80.530
Tornado, Gaston
- When
- May 28, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Gaston County
- Rating
- F0
- Path width
- 33 yd
- Coordinates
- 35.270, -81.180
Tornado, Halifax
- When
- May 28, 6:30 PM CST
- Where
- Halifax County
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 24.1 mi
- Path width
- 33 yd
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 36.020, -77.400
Thunderstorm Wind, Lee
- When
- May 28, 6:30 PM CST
- Where
- Lee County
- Coordinates
- 35.500, -79.200
Thunderstorm Wind, Johnston
- When
- May 28, 6:30 PM CST
- Where
- Johnston County
- Coordinates
- 35.520, -78.350
Tornado, Hertford
- When
- May 28, 7:45 PM CST
- Where
- Hertford County
- Rating
- F1
- Path width
- 33 yd
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 36.380, -77.000
Tornado, Nash
- When
- May 28, 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Nash County
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 1 mi
- Path width
- 33 yd
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 35.970, -77.800
Thunderstorm Wind, Wake
- When
- May 28, 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Wake County
- Coordinates
- 35.800, -78.300
Thunderstorm Wind, Harnett
- When
- May 28, 9:30 PM CST
- Where
- Harnett County
- Coordinates
- 35.300, -78.600
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.
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Hail in Georgia, May 28, 1973
- Tornadoes in New Jersey, May 28, 1973
- Tornadoes and Hail in South Carolina, May 28, 1973
- Tornadoes in Indiana, May 28, 1973
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in Pennsylvania, May 28, 1973
- Tornado in Virginia, May 28, 1973
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Alabama, May 28, 1973
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Nebraska, May 28, 1973
- Damaging Wind in West Virginia, May 28, 1973
More
Every storm in North Carolina in 1973Every state in 1973This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for North Carolina, 1973
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: 10089213, 10089214, 10089215, 10089216, 10089217, 10089218, 10089219, 10089220, 10089221, 10089222, 10089223, 10089224, 10089225, 10089582, 10089794, 10089795, 10089796, 10089797, 10089798, 10089799, 10089800, 10089801, 10089802.