Tornadoes · United States · North Carolina

Tornadoes in Cleveland County, North Carolina

29 tornadoes have crossed Cleveland County since 1950, 19th of the 99 counties in North Carolina with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.6 years. They have killed 4 people and injured 108. 1 was rated F4 or EF4 and 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
29
Deaths
4
Injuries
108
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F4, May 5, 1989

The deadliest in Cleveland County

  1. F4, Cleveland, Lincoln and Catawba counties, North CarolinaMay 5, 19894 killed, 52 injured

The strongest

  1. F4, Cleveland, Lincoln and Catawba counties, North CarolinaMay 5, 1989F4, 14.0 mi (23 km)
  2. F3, Greenville, Spartanburg, Cherokee and Cleveland counties, South Carolina and North CarolinaMay 27, 1973F3, 60.2 mi (97 km)
  3. F2, Spartanburg, Cherokee, Cleveland and Gaston counties, South Carolina and North CarolinaMarch 27, 1994F2, 45.4 mi (73 km)
  4. EF2, Cleveland and Gaston counties, North CarolinaFebruary 6, 2020EF2, 8.7 mi (14 km)
  5. EF2, Cherokee and Cleveland counties, South Carolina and North CarolinaOctober 23, 2017EF2, 4.9 mi (8 km)
  6. F2, Cleveland County, North CarolinaFebruary 10, 1990F2, 0.4 mi (1 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 17 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Cleveland County. Each year links to every tornado in North Carolina that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20241EF1
20222EF0
20202EF2
20174EF2
201123EF0
20092EF1
20082EF1
20042F1
20031F1
19961F0
1994213F2
19922F1
19902F2
19891452F4
19791F1
19751F1
1973140F3

Every tornado that crossed Cleveland County

29 tornadoes, newest first. 4 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files them under that state rather than North Carolina.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 8, 20243:00 PM EDTEF1Cleveland21.3100
May 26, 20224:23 PM EDTEF0Cleveland0.025
May 26, 20224:13 PM EDTEF0Cleveland0.225
February 6, 202010:55 AM ESTEF2Cleveland8.7150$750,000
February 6, 20209:45 AM ESTEF1Cleveland7.5100$250,000
October 23, 20174:08 PM EDTEF1Cleveland12.3100$100,000
October 23, 20172:36 PM CDTEF2Cherokee to NC4.9150$250,000
October 23, 20172:33 PM CDTEF1Cherokee to NC21.8150$205,000
October 8, 20174:54 PM EDTEF0Cleveland13.5100$21,000
November 16, 20114:25 PM ESTEF0Cleveland0.350$5,000
April 9, 20114:50 PM EDTEF0Cleveland0.5753$50,000
June 16, 20096:00 PM EDTEF1Cleveland9.3300
June 16, 20095:42 PM EDTEF0Cleveland1.150
April 28, 20089:30 AM EDTEF0Cleveland0.140$20,000
April 19, 20088:07 PM EDTEF1Cleveland4.925$25,000
September 27, 200411:00 PM EDTF1Cleveland2.030$50,000
September 17, 20046:05 AM EDTF0Cleveland0.940$50,000
July 12, 20038:25 PM EDTF1Cleveland6.0200$10,000
September 16, 19966:35 PM EDTF0Cleveland0.1180$1,000
August 16, 19946:30 PM EDTF1Cleveland2.0200$50,000 to $500,000
March 27, 19942:55 PM CSTF2Spartanburg to NC45.410013$500,000 to $5 million
November 22, 19929:15 PM ESTF1Cleveland5.0500$5,000 to $50,000
June 4, 19925:02 PM EDTF0Cleveland0.2200$5,000 to $50,000
April 10, 19908:50 PM EDTF0Cleveland0.230$5,000 to $50,000
February 10, 19908:00 AM ESTF2Cleveland0.450$50,000 to $500,000
May 5, 19896:54 PM EDTF4Cleveland14.0800452$5 million to $50 million
June 24, 19792:30 AM EDTF1Cleveland0.5300$5,000 to $50,000
May 15, 19754:30 PM EDTF1Cleveland0.110$500 to $5,000
May 27, 19736:20 PM CDTF3Greenville to NC60.215040$500,000 to $5 million

Nearby

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