NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Kings Mountain, 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
25 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Kings Mountain, North Carolina since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Debby in 2024. Since 1950, 103 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 24
- Tornadoes
- 103
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
5 deaths in all
What the records show for Kings Mountain
The strongest storm to pass near Kings Mountain was an unnamed storm in 1893, a Category 1 hurricane with 77 mph winds when its centre passed 43 miles away. The record near Kings Mountain begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Debby in 2024, a tropical storm 67 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1900s, with 4 systems. Of the 25 systems, 4 have come since 2000. Of the 475 North Carolina cities on this site, 65% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Kings Mountain. The strongest of the 103 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on May 5, 1989; its path came within 20 miles, and it killed 4 people. Of the 103, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 54 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 28. The most recent tornado was on May 3, 2025. Kings Mountain has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 93% of the 475 North Carolina cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 115 times since 1984, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Kings Mountain has more hail reports within 10 miles than 88% of the 475 North Carolina cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Kings Mountain
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | DebbyAug 8 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2006 | AlbertoJun 14 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1985 | BobJul 25 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 5 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1965 | Unnamed 1965 stormJun 16 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1959 | GracieSep 30 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleAug 31 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1927 | Unnamed 1927 stormOct 3 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 15 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 3 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 18 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 28 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 4 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 28 | 43 mi | Category 1 (77 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 20 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 Kings Mountain: 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 Kings Mountain
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s17
- 2000s24
- 1990s22(1 EF3+)
- 1980s6(1 EF3+)
- 1970s15(1 EF3+)
- 1960s4
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 1989 | F4 | 20 mi | 14 mi | 4 / 52 |
| Mar 27, 1994 | F3 | 18 mi | 18.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 27, 1973 | F3 | 14 mi | 60.2 mi | 0 / 40 |
| Feb 6, 2020 | EF2 | 4 mi | 8.66 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 23, 2017 | EF2 | 20 mi | 4.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 11, 2012 | EF2 | 25 mi | 3.8 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Oct 26, 2010 | EF2 | 22 mi | 2.58 mi | 0 / 11 |
| May 9, 2008 | EF2 | 11 mi | 18.21 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 15, 2006 | F2 | 24 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 7, 2004 | F2 | 22 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1998 | F2 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 16, 1994 | F2 | 23 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 103, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Kings Mountain
The Storm Prediction Center has 115 hail reports within 10 miles of Kings Mountain since 1984, made on 80 separate days. Of these, 61 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on April 9, 2011. The most recent report is from June 26, 2025. May has the most reports, 30.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Kings Mountain
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Gastonia Municipal Airport, NC, 12 miles east of Kings Mountain at 797 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 53°F and 33°F. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (22.1 of 43.4 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 25 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (9); a normal September there has highs of 83°F and 3.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 51 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 60 nights a year. That 43.4 inches is more than at 6 of the 140 North Carolina stations used on this site (4%). Bessemer City, 5 miles northeast, has its own station (Gastonia, NC): 44.1 inches a year, 0.7 more than here, and the same July average high, 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 53 | 33 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Feb | 58 | 36 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Mar | 65 | 42 | 3.9 | 7 |
| Apr | 74 | 50 | 3.9 | 6 |
| May | 81 | 58 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Jun | 88 | 67 | 4.2 | 7 |
| Jul | 91 | 70 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Aug | 89 | 69 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Sep | 83 | 63 | 3.8 | 5 |
| Oct | 74 | 51 | 3.3 | 5 |
| Nov | 64 | 41 | 3.3 | 5 |
| Dec | 56 | 36 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Year | 73 | 51 | 43.4 | 71 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Gastonia Municipal Airport, NC (797 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 Kings Mountain
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 184 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Kings Mountain: 171 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 flash floods, 3 heavy rain events, 3 lightning strikes and 1 flood. They killed 3 people and injured 7, and the NWS estimated $782,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on May 10, 2011. December has had the most flash floods, 2 of 6. Of the 472 North Carolina cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 38 have had fewer than Kings Mountain.
March 23, 2012: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Kings Mountain — 2 killed, 1 injured.
May 8, 2024: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Kings Mountain — 1 killed, 1 injured, $20,000 damage.
March 15, 1996: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Kings Mountain — 4 injured, $10,000 damage.
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
Cleveland County, which includes Kings Mountain, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 hurricanes, 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tropical storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Helene, on September 28, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Cleveland County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for hurricanes, hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $27.3 million a year, the 44th highest of 100 North Carolina counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $15.4 million (57%), 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 Kings Mountain
- Bessemer City, NC5 mi
- Grover, NC8 mi
- Cherryville, NC10 mi
- Gastonia, NC11 mi
- Blacksburg, SC11 mi
- Dallas, NC12 mi
- Shelby, NC12 mi
- Crouse, NC12 mi
- Clover, SC13 mi
- Lowell, NC15 mi
- Cramerton, NC16 mi
- Lincolnton, NC17 mi
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