Tornadoes · United States · North Carolina

Tornadoes in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina

30 tornadoes have crossed Mecklenburg County since 1950, 1 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 14th of the 99 counties in North Carolina with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.5 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 25. 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
0
Injuries
25
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, March 27, 1994

The strongest

  1. F3, Gaston, York and Mecklenburg counties, South Carolina and North CarolinaMarch 27, 1994F3, 18.5 mi (30 km)
  2. EF2, Gaston and Mecklenburg counties, North CarolinaMay 9, 2008EF2, 18.2 mi (29 km)
  3. F2, Union and Mecklenburg counties, North CarolinaJune 7, 1968F2, 16.7 mi (27 km)
  4. F2, Mecklenburg County, North CarolinaMay 28, 1973F2, 9.6 mi (15 km)
  5. F2, Mecklenburg County, North CarolinaMarch 10, 1992F2, 3.4 mi (5 km)
  6. F2, York and Mecklenburg counties, South Carolina and North CarolinaSeptember 7, 2004F2, 3.0 mi (5 km)
  7. EF2, Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties, North CarolinaMarch 3, 2012EF2, 2.9 mi (5 km)
  8. F2, Mecklenburg County, North CarolinaSeptember 12, 1965F2, 0.3 mi (0 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 28 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Mecklenburg County. Each year links to every tornado in North Carolina that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20261EF0
20241EF0
20231EF0
20221EF1
20201EF1
20161EF1
20141EF0
201214EF2
20081EF2
20051F1
20041F2
19991F0
19982F0
199412F3
1992118F2
19901F1
19851F0
19841F1
19781F0
19771F1
19751F1
197321F2
19681F2
19651F2
19641F1
19611F1
19601F1
19561F1

Every tornado that crossed Mecklenburg County

30 tornadoes, newest first. 3 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files them under that state rather than North Carolina. 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
March 16, 20269:39 AM EDTEF0Mecklenburg1.425
December 29, 20249:21 AM ESTEF0Mecklenburg1.720
August 7, 20235:07 PM EDTEF0Mecklenburg2.050$20,000
May 23, 20221:36 PM EDTEF1Mecklenburg9.8100$30,000
February 6, 202012:16 PM ESTEF1Mecklenburg17.1150$500,000
November 30, 20166:26 PM ESTEF1Mecklenburg2.4150$100,000
May 15, 20146:46 AM EDTEF0Mecklenburg0.540$10,000
March 3, 20122:35 AM ESTEF2Mecklenburg2.92004$3.0 million
May 9, 20082:10 AM EDTEF2Gaston18.275$7.0 million
March 8, 20057:40 AM ESTF1Mecklenburg3.050$50,000
September 7, 200410:43 AM CDTF2York to NC3.0200$10,000
August 1, 19998:35 PM EDTF0Mecklenburg0.210
May 7, 19987:45 PM EDTF0Mecklenburg6.050$50,000
March 20, 19982:42 PM ESTF0Mecklenburg0.130
March 27, 19945:27 PM CSTF3Gaston to NC18.52002$5 million to $50 million
March 10, 19929:07 PM ESTF2Mecklenburg3.418018$500,000 to $5 million
November 28, 19907:40 PM ESTF1Mecklenburg0.120$5,000 to $50,000
June 6, 19856:20 PM EDTF0Mecklenburg1.0267$50,000 to $500,000
May 3, 19844:25 PM CDTF1Mecklenburg to NC20.0100$50,000 to $500,000
August 14, 19781:45 PM EDTF0Mecklenburg0.110$500 to $5,000
September 16, 19773:30 PM EDTF1Mecklenburg0.210$5,000 to $50,000
October 8, 19754:25 PM EDTF1Mecklenburg0.150$5,000 to $50,000
May 28, 19737:00 PM EDTF1Mecklenburg0.1501$50,000 to $500,000
May 28, 19737:00 AM EDTF2Mecklenburg9.6100$50,000 to $500,000
June 7, 19684:30 PM GMT-4F2Union16.7200$5,000 to $50,000
September 12, 19659:30 PM GMT-4F2Mecklenburg0.370$5,000 to $50,000
August 10, 19646:45 PM GMT-4F1Mecklenburg0.110$50 to $500
April 12, 19616:10 PM GMT-5F1Mecklenburg1.0200$5,000 to $50,000
February 18, 19601:45 PM GMT-5F1Mecklenburg23.710$500 to $5,000
April 6, 19562:00 PM GMT-5F1Gaston56.4100$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

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