Tornadoes · United States · North Carolina

Tornadoes in Bertie County, North Carolina

30 tornadoes have crossed Bertie County since 1950, 16th of the 99 counties in North Carolina with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.5 years. They have killed 20 people and injured 122. None was rated F4 or above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

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

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

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

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    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. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

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

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

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

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    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.

Now

Tornadoes
30
Deaths
20
Injuries
122
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
EF3, April 16, 2011

The deadliest in Bertie County

  1. EF3, Bertie and Hertford counties, North CarolinaApril 16, 201112 killed, 58 injured
  2. F3, Bertie County, North CarolinaMarch 28, 19846 killed, 19 injured
  3. EF3, Bertie County, North CarolinaAugust 3, 20202 killed, 14 injured

The strongest

  1. F3, Wilson, Edgecombe and Bertie counties, North CarolinaNovember 8, 1957F3, 46.9 mi (75 km)
  2. EF3, Bertie and Hertford counties, North CarolinaApril 16, 2011EF3, 17.9 mi (29 km)
  3. EF3, Bertie County, North CarolinaAugust 3, 2020EF3, 10.0 mi (16 km)
  4. F3, Bertie County, North CarolinaMarch 28, 1984F3, 6.0 mi (10 km)
  5. EF2, Chowan, Bertie, Perquimans and Pasquotank counties, North CarolinaApril 25, 2014EF2, 35.5 mi (57 km)
  6. EF2, Bertie, Hertford and Gates counties, North CarolinaApril 16, 2011EF2, 17.5 mi (28 km)
  7. EF2, Bertie County, North CarolinaMay 11, 2008EF2, 15.0 mi (24 km)
  8. EF2, Bertie, Chowan and Hertford counties, North CarolinaMay 9, 2008EF2, 11.7 mi (19 km)
  9. F2, Hertford and Bertie counties, North CarolinaMarch 28, 1984F2, 5.0 mi (8 km)
  10. F2, Bertie County, North CarolinaJune 3, 1978F2, 0.8 mi (1 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 24 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Bertie County. Each year links to every tornado in North Carolina that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20231EF0
20201214EF3
20181EF0
20172EF1
20161EF0
201412EF2
201121266EF3
200842EF2
20031F0
20011F0
19991F0
19951F1
19931F0
199111F1
19861F0
19842626F3
19831F1
19791F1
19781F2
19731F0
19691F1
19641F1
195715F3
195216F2

Every tornado that crossed Bertie County

30 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 3, 20233:34 PM EDTEF0Bertie0.660$75,000
August 3, 20201:15 AM EDTEF3Bertie10.0600214$1.0 million
September 14, 201810:03 AM EDTEF0Bertie0.650$2,000
May 5, 20177:27 AM EDTEF0Chowan11.7100$205,000
March 31, 20176:15 PM EDTEF1Bertie4.8100$250,000
February 24, 20162:54 PM ESTEF0Bertie0.550$25,000
April 25, 20147:20 PM EDTEF2Chowan35.54002$2.0 million
April 16, 20117:05 PM EDTEF2Bertie17.55008$1.1 million
April 16, 20116:55 PM EDTEF3Bertie17.91,3001258$3.3 million
September 26, 200810:53 AM EDTEF0Bertie0.675$75,000
May 11, 20086:25 PM EDTEF2Bertie15.02002$1.0 million
May 9, 20088:29 AM EDTEF2Bertie11.7300$120,000
April 20, 20087:05 PM EDTEF0Bertie0.225$3,000
May 9, 20035:50 PM EDTF0Bertie1.050$10,000
September 24, 20016:00 PM EDTF0Bertie1.050$20,000
September 15, 19997:40 PM EDTF0Bertie0.550$2,000
May 11, 19955:57 PM EDTF1Bertie0.110$50,000 to $500,000
June 4, 19937:05 PM EDTF0Bertie0.520
March 29, 19915:10 PM ESTF1Bertie0.5701$5,000 to $50,000
August 20, 19862:45 PM EDTF0Bertie0.113
March 28, 19849:10 PM ESTF2Hertford5.05277$5 million to $50 million
March 28, 19848:55 PM ESTF3Bertie6.0880619$500,000 to $5 million
August 9, 19836:20 PM EDTF1Bertie2.580$50,000 to $500,000
April 3, 19793:30 PM ESTF1Bertie0.530$5,000 to $50,000
June 3, 19783:30 PM EDTF2Bertie0.883$50,000 to $500,000
May 29, 19734:00 AM EDTF0Bertie0.110$5,000 to $50,000
October 2, 19696:00 PM GMT-4F1Bertie20.210$50,000 to $500,000
March 15, 19649:51 AM GMT-5F1Bertie0.327$50,000 to $500,000
November 8, 19576:30 PM GMT-5F3Wilson46.91505$50,000 to $500,000
May 10, 19521:00 PM GMT-4F2Bertie0.1106

Nearby

Warnings in force in Bertie CountyThe forecast for Bertie CountyThe live radar over Bertie CountyEvery county in 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.