Tornadoes · United States · North Carolina

1995 tornadoes in North Carolina

26 tornadoes touched down in North Carolina in 1995, 29 percent above the average of the record for the state. They killed 1 people and injured 174.

1994 1996 The whole country in 1995

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2113 to 157 mph

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3158 to 206 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5261 to 318 mph

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Every tornado in North Carolina in 1995

January 6 5 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
January 611:15 PM ESTF0Bladen2.015013$50,000 to $500,000
January 612:30 AM ESTF1Duplin1.0731$5,000 to $50,000
January 612:40 AM ESTF1Lenoir1.01008$5,000 to $50,000
January 612:45 AM ESTF1Sampson1.07313$50,000 to $500,000
January 612:45 AM ESTF1Wayne0.55022$500,000 to $5 million

April 12 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 123:23 PM EDTF0Union0.5231$5,000 to $50,000

May 11 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 115:57 PM EDTF1Bertie0.110$50,000 to $500,000
May 117:26 PM EDTF0Randolph1.033

May 19 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 198:38 AM EDTF1Hoke6.0501$50,000 to $500,000

June 8 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 87:52 PM EDTF0Person1.033

June 12 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 126:13 PM EDTF0Halifax3.040

July 1 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 13:55 PM EDTF0Brunswick0.110

October 5 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
October 511:40 AM EDTF0Greene0.223$5,000 to $50,000

October 27 4 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
October 275:20 PM EDTF2Person4.073$50,000 to $500,000
October 276:10 PM EDTF2Granville2.073$50,000 to $500,000
October 276:35 PM EDTF2Vance3.050$5 million to $50 million
October 276:50 PM EDTF0Warren1.050$5,000 to $50,000

October 28 3 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
October 282:15 AM EDTF0Onslow0.323$500 to $5,000
October 282:30 AM EDTF0Onslow0.540$5,000 to $50,000
October 282:35 AM EDTF0Onslow0.223$50 to $500

November 7 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
November 75:00 PM ESTF0Robeson0.110
November 75:30 PM ESTF2Columbus0.740122$50,000 to $500,000

November 11 4 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
November 117:50 PM ESTF1Edgecombe1.01003$5,000 to $50,000
November 118:15 PM ESTF2Northampton0.3100$50,000 to $500,000
November 119:00 PM ESTF1Gates2.2100$5,000 to $50,000
November 119:25 PM ESTF1Pasquotank1.0100$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Every tornado in North Carolina since 1950Warnings in force in North CarolinaThe live radar over North Carolina

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.