Tornado in North Carolina
Every tornado event the National Weather Service has filed in North Carolina, year by year, with the most significant episodes. 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.
The most significant on the map
The most significant tornado episodes in North Carolina.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The record
- Events
- 1,691
- Deaths
- 137
- Injuries
- 2,808
- Damage
- $2.1 billion
Every year
The most significant
Ranked by deaths, injuries, damage and size together.
- Tornadoes and Hail in North Carolina, March 28, 1984
- Tornado and Tropical Storm in North Carolina, September 25 to 29, 2024Tropical Cyclone Helene began organizing over the western Caribbean on the 23rd and 24th of September before rapidly intensifying as it moved north through the eastern Gulf of Mexico on the 25th and 26th.
- Tornadoes in North Carolina, April 16, 2011A strong storm system that had a history of producing deadly tornadoes across Oklahoma and the deep south on the 14th and 15th weakened as it crossed the southern Appalachians during the early morning hours of the 16th.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in North Carolina, October 8 to 13, 2016Hurricane Matthew skirted by the North Carolina coast on October 8, 2016, dropping torrential rainfall of 8 to 15 inches and producing wind gusts of 50 to 70 mph across Central and Eastern North Carolina.
- Tornadoes and Hail in North Carolina, April 16, 2011Scattered severe thunderstorms in advance of a cold front produced damaging winds, large hail, and several tornadoes across portions of northeast North Carolina.
- Tornadoes and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, November 28, 1988
- Tornadoes and Hail in North Carolina, May 5, 1989
- Tornadoes and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, April 8, 1957
- Tornadoes and Hail in North Carolina, April 16, 2011One of the largest tornado outbreaks ever observed across eastern North Carolina occurred during the afternoon and evening of April 16th 2011. Several powerful super-cell thunderstorms developed ahead of an approaching cold front.
- Tornadoes and Hail in North Carolina, April 3, 1974
- Tornadoes and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, November 16, 2006A fast moving tornadic thunderstorm moved ashore on the coast of Brunswick County. There was no damage found until the storm moved across extreme eastern Columbus County and then extreme western Pender County.
- Tornadoes and Tropical Storm in North Carolina, September 13 to 25, 2018A ridge of high pressure over eastern North America stalled Florence's forward motion a few miles off the southeast North Carolina coast on September 13th.
- Hurricane and Tornadoes in North Carolina, September 13 to 18, 2018Hurricane Florence was a long-lived Cape Verde hurricane and the wettest tropical cyclone on record in the Carolinas.
- Tornadoes and Hail in North Carolina, March 17, 1965
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in North Carolina, August 17 to 18, 2021Tropical Storm Fred made landfall in the Florida Panhandle on the 16th and lifted steadily north through Georgia and into the southern Appalachians during the 16th and throughout the 17th.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in North Carolina, July 6 to 7, 2025Tropical Storm Chantal made landfall over northeastern South Carolina during the morning hours of July 6.
- Tornadoes and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, February 22, 1971
- Tornadoes in North Carolina, November 23, 1992
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in North Carolina, September 25 to 28, 2024Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a powerful Category 4 hurricane late Thursday, September 26, and moved quickly northward into the southeastern states, and then turned slightly northwestward towards the southern Appalachian Mountains overnight into Friday morning,…
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in North Carolina, September 27 to 30, 2010A stalled front across eastern North Carolina combined with a deep southerly flow of very moist air led to several days of torrential rain across eastern North Carolina from September 27th through the 30th.
- Hurricane and Tornadoes in North Carolina, August 26 to 28, 2011Hurricane Irene made landfall during the morning of the 27th, near Cape Lookout, as a large category 1 hurricane on the Saffir/Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
- Tornadoes and Hail in North Carolina, March 20, 1998Severe thunderstorms during the afternoon hours on the 20th produced two tornadoes, damaging winds and hail to golf ball size.A supercell thunderstorm produced two tornadoes in North Carolina and a third one just over the Virginia border.
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, January 7, 1995Fallen trees caused damage to several buildings in Laurel Hills.
- Tornado in North Carolina, August 13, 2004The remnants of Tropical Storm Bonnie produced a tornado that touched down just south of Rocky Point and moved northeast, causing F0-F2 damage. Damage (F0) was first observed near West Strawberry Lane, with roof damage to a couple of structures.
- Tornadoes and Hail in North Carolina, April 16, 2011A powerful storm system that had moved across the deep south during previous days, swept across the eastern Carolinas during the afternoon and evening hours. Instability and shear values were highly supportive of super-cell thunderstorms.
More
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.