Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, February 11, 1981

Name: Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, February 11, 1981
Start: 1981-02-11T01:45
End: 1981-02-11T03:36
Location: North Carolina

February 11, 1981 · 11 events in 9 counties and zones

6 tornado, 5 thunderstorm wind, 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 2
Property damage: $6.0 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 11

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

6 tornado, 5 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Moore

When: February 11, 1:45 AM CST
Where: Moore County
Rating: F2
Path length: 5.2 mi
Path width: 700 yd
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 35.080, -79.500

Tornado, Moore

When: February 11, 1:55 AM CST
Where: Moore County
Rating: F2
Path length: 7.6 mi
Path width: 800 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 35.200, -79.380

Thunderstorm Wind, Scotland

When: February 11, 2:00 AM CST
Where: Scotland County
Coordinates: 34.770, -79.950

Tornado, Hoke

When: February 11, 2:30 AM CST
Where: Hoke County
Rating: F2
Path length: 1.9 mi
Path width: 847 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 34.980, -79.080

Thunderstorm Wind, Robeson

When: February 11, 2:30 AM CST
Where: Robeson County
Coordinates: 34.620, -79.000

Thunderstorm Wind, Wake

When: February 11, 2:30 AM CST
Where: Wake County
Coordinates: 35.830, -78.780

Tornado, Cumberland

When: February 11, 2:32 AM CST
Where: Cumberland County
Rating: F2
Path length: 10.5 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 35.000, -79.070

Tornado, Wake

When: February 11, 3:05 AM CST
Where: Wake County
Rating: F2
Path length: 1.9 mi
Path width: 800 yd
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 35.780, -78.500

Thunderstorm Wind, Vance

When: February 11, 3:20 AM CST
Where: Vance County
Coordinates: 36.380, -78.380

Thunderstorm Wind, Warren

When: February 11, 3:20 AM CST
Where: Warren County
Coordinates: 36.450, -78.200

Tornado, Nash

When: February 11, 3:36 AM CST
Where: Nash County
Rating: F2
Path length: 3.3 mi
Path width: 800 yd
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 35.930, -78.150

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Tornado, Hoke	1981-02-11				Direct

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.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in North Carolina in 1981 Every state in 1981 This day in weather history The tornado archive for North Carolina, 1981

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: 10091073, 10091074, 10091075, 10091076, 10091077, 10091078, 10091079, 10091080, 10091081, 10091082, 10091083.