North Carolina, 1999Tornadoes and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, September 15, 1999
September 15, 1999 · NWS MHX · 16 events in 8 counties and zones
Between 1108 and 2110 LST on Wednesday, September 15th the Morehead City/Newport office issued 20 tornado warnings. That is an average of two warnings per hour for ten hours.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $1.0 million
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 16
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.
Between 1108 and 2110 LST on Wednesday, September 15th the Morehead City/Newport office issued 20 tornado warnings. That is an average of two warnings per hour for ten hours. At least ten of the tornadoes were reported by spotters during the event. This tornadic event was the precurser to Hurricane Floyd which made landfall on Thursday, September 16th and caused record flooding across eastern North Carolina.
Event by event
12 tornado, 2 funnel cloud, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 waterspout. Local standard time, as filed.
Funnel Cloud, Onslow
- When
- September 15, 1:35 PM EST to 1:50 PM EST
- Where
- Onslow County, Gum Branch
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 34.763, -77.393 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Funnel cloud spotted in Roads Town area on Gum Branch Road.
Tornado, Pitt
- When
- September 15, 2:40 PM EST
- Where
- Pitt County, Greenville
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 10 yd
- Reported by
- AMATEUR RADIO
- Coordinates
- 35.620, -77.380
Tornado spotted just east of Greenville.
Funnel Cloud, Pamlico
- When
- September 15, 3:10 PM EST
- Where
- Pamlico County, Arapahoe
- Reported by
- AMATEUR RADIO
- Coordinates
- 35.152, -76.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Funnel cloud spotted just north of Arapahoe.
Tornado, Onslow
- When
- September 15, 3:11 PM EST
- Where
- Onslow County, Sneads Ferry
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 10 yd
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 34.550, -77.400
Tornado reported near Sneads Ferry. It destroyed a pier and knocked down several large trees.
Tornado, Pamlico
- When
- September 15, 3:15 PM EST
- Where
- Pamlico County, Grantsboro
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 10 yd
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 35.150, -76.850
Tornado ripped off the top of a barn near Scotts Store Road in Grantsboro.
Tornado, Carteret
- When
- September 15, 3:40 PM EST
- Where
- Carteret County, 3 mi W of Salter Path
- Rating
- F2
- Path length
- 2 mi
- Path width
- 20 yd
- Property damage
- $300,000
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 34.680, -76.920
Tornado touched down at Emerald Isle Point. 5 homes were damaged...2 received major damage while another 2 were destroyed.
Thunderstorm Wind, Carteret
- When
- September 15, 4:35 PM EST
- Where
- Carteret County, Atlantic Beach
- Measured
- 70 kt (81 mph)
- Reported by
- NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
- Coordinates
- 34.700, -76.730
A wind gust of 80 mph was reported.
Tornado, Carteret
- When
- September 15, 4:55 PM EST
- Where
- Carteret County, Harlowe
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 3 mi
- Path width
- 35 yd
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 34.830, -76.750
Tornado reported along the Newport River near Harlowe.
Waterspout, Beaufort
- When
- September 15, 5:25 PM EST
- Where
- Beaufort County, Bath
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 35.486, -76.845 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Waterspout reported in Bath Creek by 911 operator.
Tornado, Carteret
- When
- September 15, 6:05 PM EST
- Where
- Carteret County, Atlantic Beach
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 1.5 mi
- Path width
- 25 yd
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 34.700, -76.730
Tornado touchdown reported by 911 operator.
Tornado, Washington
- When
- September 15, 6:20 PM EST
- Where
- Washington County, 4 mi S of Creswell
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 10 yd
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 35.820, -76.400
Tornado reported at Lake Phelps and Shore Dr. It destroyed one mobile home.
Tornado, Hyde
- When
- September 15, 6:25 PM EST
- Where
- Hyde County, Swanquarter
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 10 yd
- Reported by
- AMATEUR RADIO
- Coordinates
- 35.420, -76.330
Tornado spotted just west of Swan Quarter.
Tornado, Pamlico
- When
- September 15, 6:31 PM EST
- Where
- Pamlico County, Bayboro
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 10 yd
- Reported by
- DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
- Coordinates
- 35.150, -76.770
Tornado, Pamlico
- When
- September 15, 6:40 PM EST
- Where
- Pamlico County, Hobucken
- Rating
- F2
- Path length
- 10 mi
- Path width
- 50 yd
- Property damage
- $700,000
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 35.250, -76.570
This tornado moved over Hobucken and destroyed a mobile home, a house, tore the roof off of a school and severely damaged two churches.
Tornado, Craven
- When
- September 15, 7:20 PM EST
- Where
- Craven County, Wintergreen
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 6 mi
- Path width
- 20 yd
- Reported by
- FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
- Coordinates
- 35.220, -77.320
Tornado, Pamlico
- When
- September 15, 7:35 PM EST
- Where
- Pamlico County, Bayboro to Alliance
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 2 mi
- Path width
- 20 yd
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 35.150, -76.770
Tornado spotted near EOC and moved northwest to near Alliance.
- Funnel Cloud
- A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
- 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.
- Waterspout
- A tornado over water. One that moves ashore is filed as a tornado from the coastline on.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
- Flash Flooding in North Carolina, September 15 to 16, 199919 deaths · 11 events
- Hurricane in Virginia, September 15 to 16, 19991 death · $142 million · 16 events
- Flash Flooding in Virginia, September 15 to 25, 19991 death · $21 million · 43 events
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in North Carolina, September 15 to 16, 19991 death · 1 injured · $50 million · F0 · 9 events
- Flash Flooding in North Carolina, September 15 to 19, 19991 death · $47 million · 8 events
- Hurricane in North Carolina, September 15 to 16, 1999$3.5 billion · 31 events
- Hurricane and High Wind in North Carolina, September 15 to 16, 1999$113 million · 65 kt wind · 6 events
- Hurricane in North Carolina, September 15 to 16, 1999$75 million · 7 events
- High Wind in Virginia, September 15 to 16, 19991 death · 1 injured · $25,000 · 2 events
- Tornado and Hail in Arizona, September 15, 19992 injured · $18 million · F0 · 3 events
- Hurricane in South Carolina, September 15 to 16, 1999$17 million · 9 events
- Flash Flood and Hail in Texas, September 15, 1999$4.8 million · 2.25 in hail · 10 events
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5717409, 5717527, 5717410, 5717529, 5717411, 5717528, 5717412, 5717413, 5717414, 5717415, 5717416, 5717417, 5717418, 5717419, 5717420, 5717421.