Tornado in North Carolina, May 7, 1998

Name: Tornado in North Carolina, May 7, 1998
Start: 1998-05-07T17:30
End: 1998-05-07T17:35
Location: North Carolina

May 7, 1998 · NWS RAH · 1 event in 1 county or zone

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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 5
Property damage: $50 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

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Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Forsyth

When: May 7, 5:30 PM EST to 5:35 PM EST
Where: Forsyth County, Clemmons
Measured: 3
Rating: F3
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 0.5 yd
Injuries: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $50 million
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 36.020, -80.380

A large tornado tore through the Waterford Subdivision of Clemmons in southwest Forsyth county. The initial touchdown was at 630 pm local time. Several homes were completely destroyed, several hundred sustained major roof, wall, and window damage. Tree damage was extensive with debris scattered for miles.

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.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in North Carolina in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history The tornado archive for North Carolina, 1998 Warnings in North Carolina, May 1998

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: 5648863.