Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, March 3, 1991

Name: Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, March 3, 1991
Start: 1991-03-03T09:24
End: 1991-03-03T12:10
Location: North Carolina

March 3, 1991 · 9 events in 7 counties and zones

7 thunderstorm wind, 2 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: 5
Property damage: $250,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 9

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

7 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Columbus

When: March 3, 9:24 AM CST
Where: Columbus County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.5 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Coordinates: 34.180, -78.850

Tornado, Columbus

When: March 3, 9:47 AM CST
Where: Columbus County
Rating: F1
Path length: 1.5 mi
Path width: 73 yd
Injuries: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 34.320, -78.920

Thunderstorm Wind, Brunswick

When: March 3, 10:25 AM CST
Where: Brunswick County
Coordinates: 33.920, -78.270

Thunderstorm Wind, Bladen

When: March 3, 10:39 AM CST
Where: Bladen County
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates: 34.630, -78.580

Thunderstorm Wind, New Hanover

When: March 3, 10:58 AM CST
Where: New Hanover County
Coordinates: 34.280, -77.880

Thunderstorm Wind, Duplin

When: March 3, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Duplin County
Coordinates: 35.120, -78.100

Thunderstorm Wind, Lenoir

When: March 3, 11:45 AM CST
Where: Lenoir County
Coordinates: 35.270, -77.620

Thunderstorm Wind, Pitt

When: March 3, 12:10 PM CST
Where: Pitt County
Coordinates: 35.620, -77.380

Thunderstorm Wind, Pitt

When: March 3, 12:10 PM CST
Where: Pitt County
Coordinates: 35.600, -77.600

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.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in North Carolina in 1991 Every state in 1991 This day in weather history The tornado archive for North Carolina, 1991 Warnings in North Carolina, March 1991

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: 10088495, 10088496, 10088497, 10088498, 10088499, 10088500, 10088501, 10088502, 10088503.