North Carolina, 1985

Tornado and Hail in North Carolina, May 22, 1985

May 22, 1985 · NWS AT · 23 events in 17 counties and zones

14 hail, 8 thunderstorm wind, 1 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$2.5 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 hail, 8 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Davie

When
May 22, 2:15 PM CST
Where
Davie County
Coordinates
35.900, -80.570

Thunderstorm Wind, Davidson

When
May 22, 2:24 PM CST
Where
Davidson County
Coordinates
35.780, -80.270

Hail, Cumberland

When
May 22, 2:35 PM CST
Where
Cumberland County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
35.170, -79.000

Hail, Sampson

When
May 22, 2:56 PM CST
Where
Sampson County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
34.800, -78.320

Hail, Yadkin

When
May 22, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Yadkin County
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
36.130, -80.670

Hail, Surry

When
May 22, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Surry County
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
36.320, -80.870

Hail, Wilkes

When
May 22, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Wilkes County
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
36.250, -81.170

Hail, Bladen

When
May 22, 3:30 PM CST
Where
Bladen County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
34.720, -78.620

Hail, Duplin

When
May 22, 3:42 PM CST
Where
Duplin County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
34.880, -78.050

Hail, Sampson

When
May 22, 4:20 PM CST
Where
Sampson County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
34.780, -78.400

Tornado, Forsyth

When
May 22, 4:30 PM CST
Where
Forsyth County
Rating
F3
Path length
3.5 mi
Path width
200 yd
Property damage
$2.5 million
Coordinates
36.100, -80.270

Hail, Guilford

When
May 22, 5:00 PM CST
Where
Guilford County
Measured
2.5 in hail
Coordinates
36.070, -79.800

Thunderstorm Wind, Alamance

When
May 22, 5:37 PM CST
Where
Alamance County
Coordinates
36.100, -79.280

Hail, Alamance

When
May 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Alamance County
Measured
2 in hail
Coordinates
35.950, -79.380

Hail, Randolph

When
May 22, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Randolph County
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
35.920, -79.970

Hail, Alamance

When
May 22, 6:17 PM CST
Where
Alamance County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
36.030, -79.330

Hail, Orange

When
May 22, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Orange County
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
36.080, -79.120

Thunderstorm Wind, Orange

When
May 22, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Orange County
Coordinates
36.080, -79.120

Hail, Orange

When
May 22, 7:15 PM CST
Where
Orange County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
35.920, -79.070

Thunderstorm Wind, Orange

When
May 22, 7:15 PM CST
Where
Orange County
Coordinates
35.920, -79.070

Thunderstorm Wind, Durham

When
May 22, 7:25 PM CST
Where
Durham County
Coordinates
36.030, -78.850

Thunderstorm Wind, Franklin

When
May 22, 7:30 PM CST
Where
Franklin County
Coordinates
36.120, -78.250

Thunderstorm Wind, Wake

When
May 22, 8:40 PM CST
Where
Wake County
Coordinates
35.900, -78.780

What these are

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.
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.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in North Carolina in 1985Every state in 1985This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for North Carolina, 1985

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: 10087903, 10087904, 10087905, 10087906, 10087907, 10087908, 10087909, 10087910, 10087911, 10087912, 10087913, 10087914, 10087915, 10087916, 10087917, 10087918, 10087919, 10087920, 10087921, 10087922, 10087923, 10087924, 10087925.