Tornadoes · United States · North Carolina

Tornadoes in Carteret County, North Carolina

82 tornadoes have crossed Carteret County since 1950, 1 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 1st of the 99 counties in North Carolina with a tornado on record, an average of 1.1 a year. They have killed 0 people and injured 11. 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
82
Deaths
0
Injuries
11
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
EF2, September 5, 2019

The strongest

Every year with a tornado

The 33 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Carteret County. Each year links to every tornado in North Carolina that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20261EF0
20243EF1
20201EF1
20192EF2
20188EF2
201641EF1
201322EF2
20122EF1
20083EF1
20071EF0
20065F0
20053F0
200473F1
20034F0
20021F0
20013F1
20003F0
19994F2
19984F1
19971F0
19961F0
19932F1
19911F0
19902F2
19892F2
19872F1
197711F1
19761F1
197442F2
19721F0
19671F2
19641F1
196312F1

Every tornado that crossed Carteret County

82 tornadoes, newest first. The 1 at the top is this year's, from the surveying office rather than SPC's published database, and its rating is marked as preliminary.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 24, 20264:34 PM EDTEF0Carteret0.20
September 16, 20247:26 PM EDTEF0Carteret0.360
January 10, 20249:05 PM ESTEF0Carteret0.160
January 10, 20249:05 PM ESTEF1Carteret0.275
September 17, 20209:16 PM EDTEF1Carteret0.125
October 31, 20191:15 AM EDTEF0Carteret0.460
September 5, 20199:02 AM EDTEF2Carteret13.0200
November 24, 20182:40 PM ESTEF0Carteret0.540
November 24, 20182:10 PM ESTEF2Carteret2.875
November 24, 20182:06 PM ESTEF0Carteret0.370
November 13, 20184:45 AM ESTEF1Carteret2.0150
September 14, 201810:28 PM EDTEF1Carteret4.5300
September 14, 20181:12 PM EDTEF1Carteret8.2200
September 14, 201811:58 AM EDTEF1Carteret9.3150
September 14, 201810:57 AM EDTEF1Carteret2.7150
September 2, 20169:23 PM EDTEF1Carteret0.350$75,000
September 2, 20169:20 PM EDTEF1Carteret0.150$150,000
June 25, 20161:45 PM EDTEF0Carteret0.5301$50,000
February 16, 20168:51 AM ESTEF1Carteret4.2167$100,000
November 26, 201310:17 PM ESTEF1Carteret3.2200$4.0 million
November 26, 201310:15 PM ESTEF2Carteret0.42002$2.5 million
December 26, 20122:58 PM ESTEF1Carteret0.9100$10,000
May 30, 201210:34 AM EDTEF1Carteret0.6250$600,000
May 11, 20088:27 PM EDTEF0Carteret0.110
May 11, 20088:17 PM EDTEF0Carteret0.330$10,000
May 11, 20088:06 PM EDTEF1Carteret2.730$30,000
March 2, 20078:40 AM ESTEF0Carteret0.110$1,000
August 31, 20067:05 PM EDTF0Carteret0.150
August 31, 20066:25 PM EDTF0Carteret0.125$10,000
August 27, 20063:29 PM EDTF0Carteret0.125$10,000
July 1, 200612:30 PM EDTF0Carteret0.125
June 14, 200612:40 PM EDTF0Carteret0.525$30,000
August 27, 20053:15 PM EDTF0Carteret0.110
July 13, 20051:35 PM EDTF0Carteret0.120$1,000
June 25, 20056:40 PM EDTF0Carteret1.025$1,000
August 15, 20042:23 PM EDTF0Carteret0.220
August 13, 20045:53 AM EDTF1Carteret0.3203$280,000
July 17, 20045:25 PM EDTF1Carteret3.035$70,000
July 17, 20045:19 PM EDTF0Carteret0.110$10,000
June 7, 20046:25 PM EDTF0Carteret0.125
June 7, 200411:53 AM EDTF0Carteret1.025
April 13, 20042:35 PM EDTF0Carteret0.525$10,000
August 14, 200312:01 PM EDTF0Carteret0.120
August 6, 20035:45 PM EDTF0Carteret0.220$50,000
July 2, 200311:10 AM EDTF0Carteret0.130$2,000
July 2, 200310:55 AM EDTF0Carteret0.120
October 11, 20027:40 PM EDTF0Carteret1.0100
April 17, 20014:16 PM EDTF0Carteret0.5100
April 17, 20014:00 PM EDTF1Carteret0.5100$100,000
April 1, 20014:30 PM EDTF0Carteret0.250
September 18, 20004:37 PM EDTF0Carteret0.150
April 15, 20001:45 PM EDTF0Carteret0.250
April 15, 200012:45 PM EDTF0Carteret0.250$20,000
September 15, 19997:05 PM EDTF0Carteret1.50
September 15, 19995:55 PM EDTF1Carteret3.00
September 15, 19994:40 PM EDTF2Carteret2.020$300,000
April 15, 199911:05 PM EDTF1Carteret8.010$500,000
September 3, 199810:30 PM EDTF0Carteret2.050$50,000
August 26, 19981:25 PM EDTF1Carteret0.330$230,000
July 31, 19983:45 PM EDTF0Carteret0.230
June 2, 19985:15 PM EDTF0Carteret17.050$1,000
October 26, 19976:45 PM ESTF0Carteret0.250$170,000
July 12, 19965:20 PM EDTF0Carteret0.550
September 27, 19939:20 PM EDTF1Carteret2.020$500,000 to $5 million
July 20, 19934:33 PM EDTF0Carteret0.210
June 20, 19918:45 PM EDTF0Carteret0.110
October 23, 19908:23 AM EDTF1Carteret0.7100$5,000 to $50,000
September 15, 19905:45 AM EDTF2Carteret0.540$50,000 to $500,000
September 23, 198910:30 AM EDTF0Carteret1.270$5,000 to $50,000
March 20, 19896:15 AM ESTF2Carteret0.2100$50,000 to $500,000
November 10, 19871:15 PM ESTF0Carteret2.020$50,000 to $500,000
September 13, 19879:30 AM EDTF1Carteret0.220$50,000 to $500,000
June 9, 197712:30 PM EDTF1Carteret1.3201$50,000 to $500,000
July 25, 19767:10 PM EDTF1Carteret0.110$500 to $5,000
May 27, 19742:01 AM EDTF2Carteret2.8350$5,000 to $50,000
May 26, 19741:32 AM EDTF1Carteret1.0123$5,000 to $50,000
May 26, 19741:30 AM EDTF1Carteret0.580$500 to $5,000
May 26, 19741:10 AM EDTF1Carteret1.0402$5,000 to $50,000
September 30, 19726:00 PM EDTF0Carteret0.110
December 3, 19679:15 AM GMT-5F2Carteret0.127$50,000 to $500,000
September 13, 19648:00 AM GMT-4F1Carteret0.110$5,000 to $50,000
May 17, 196312:25 AM GMT-4F1Carteret0.3502$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Carteret CountyThe forecast for Carteret CountyThe live radar over Carteret 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.