NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Columbus, NC
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
15 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Columbus, North Carolina since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 49 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 15
- Tornadoes
- 49
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Columbus
None of the 15 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Columbus; the strongest was Hugo in 1989, a tropical storm with 69 mph winds when its centre passed 44 miles away. The record near Columbus begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 43 miles away. Of the 15 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 475 North Carolina cities on this site, 83% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Columbus. The strongest of the 49 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on May 5, 1989; its path came within 18 miles, and it killed 2 people. Of the 49, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 25 have come since 2000. October has had the most tornadoes, 11. The most recent tornado was on December 29, 2024. Of the 475 North Carolina cities, 65% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Columbus. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 104 times since 1970, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Columbus has more hail reports within 10 miles than 85% of the 475 North Carolina cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Columbus
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1959 | GracieSep 30 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 15 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 3 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 28 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Columbus: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Columbus
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s13
- 2000s3
- 1990s7
- 1980s2(1 EF3+)
- 1970s12(1 EF3+)
- 1960s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 1989 | F4 | 18 mi | 15 mi | 2 / 35 |
| May 27, 1973 | F3 | 17 mi | 60.2 mi | 0 / 40 |
| Oct 23, 2017 | EF2 | 22 mi | 3.02 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jan 11, 2012 | EF2 | 23 mi | 3.8 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Mar 27, 1994 | F2 | 16 mi | 45.4 mi | 0 / 13 |
| Aug 17, 1985 | F2 | 18 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 39 |
| May 18, 1975 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 1973 | F2 | 22 mi | 23.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 23, 2022 | EF1 | 18 mi | 5.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 6, 2020 | EF1 | 24 mi | 10.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 23, 2017 | EF1 | 22 mi | 21.83 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 23, 2017 | EF1 | 24 mi | 12.68 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 49, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Columbus
The Storm Prediction Center has 104 hail reports within 10 miles of Columbus since 1970, made on 75 separate days. Of these, 47 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 4, 1985. The most recent report is from June 25, 2025. May has the most reports, 32.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Columbus
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Tryon, NC, 5 miles southwest of Columbus at 1,320 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 50°F and 32°F. August is the wettest at 6.1 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 4.5 inches; the year adds up to 64.4 inches over 87 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 50% of the year's precipitation (32.5 of 64.4 inches). September has brought the most of the 15 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (7); a normal September there has highs of 79°F and 5.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 33 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 51 nights a year. Snowfall averages 4.9 inches a year, most of it in January. That 64.4 inches is more than at 131 of the 140 North Carolina stations used on this site (94%). Flat Rock, 13 miles west, has its own station (Hendersonville 1 NE, NC): 59.3 inches a year, 5.1 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 50 | 32 | 5.3 | 7 | 2.4 |
| Feb | 54 | 34 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.8 |
| Mar | 61 | 40 | 5.5 | 7 | 0.6 |
| Apr | 70 | 49 | 5.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 77 | 57 | 5.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 65 | 5.5 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 69 | 5.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 67 | 6.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 62 | 5.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 51 | 4.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 60 | 41 | 4.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 52 | 35 | 6.0 | 7 | 1.1 |
| Year | 69 | 50 | 64.4 | 87 | 4.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Tryon, NC (1,320 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Columbus
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 177 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Columbus: 143 thunderstorm wind reports, 19 flash floods, 11 floods, 3 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 4 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $15.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on June 13, 2001. July has had the most flash floods, 5 of 19. Of the 472 North Carolina cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 270 have had fewer than Columbus.
May 28, 2018: heavy rain event 7 miles from the centre of Columbus — 2 killed.
September 27, 2024: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Columbus — 1 killed, $15.0 million damage.
September 27, 2024: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Columbus — 1 killed, $30,000 damage.
NWS: “Stream gauges across the Pacolet River basin indicated flash flooding developed after 10-15 inches of rain fell across northern Spartanburg County over three days, with even heavier rainfall occurring over the headwaters in the mountains.”
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Columbus's ZIP code 28722 have filed 11 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2016, and were paid $574,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 263 North Carolina cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 10 have fewer than Columbus.
Polk County, which includes Columbus, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 hurricanes, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Helene, on September 28, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Polk County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail and inland flooding; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $8.0 million a year, the 93rd highest of 100 North Carolina counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.1 million (52%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Columbus
- Tryon, NC3 mi
- Mill Spring, NC6 mi
- Landrum, SC7 mi
- Saluda, NC9 mi
- Campobello, SC10 mi
- Flat Rock, NC13 mi
- East Flat Rock, NC14 mi
- Rutherfordton, NC14 mi
- Lake Lure, NC14 mi
- Inman, SC14 mi
- Spindale, NC16 mi
- Zirconia, NC17 mi
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