NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lenoir, 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
14 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Lenoir, North Carolina since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 39 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 13
- Tornadoes
- 39
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Lenoir
The strongest storm to pass near Lenoir was an unnamed storm in 1893, a Category 1 hurricane with 75 mph winds when its centre passed 69 miles away. The record near Lenoir begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 19 miles away. Of the 14 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 475 North Carolina cities on this site, 65% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Lenoir. The highest rating among the 39 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 7, 1998, came within 10 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on May 5, 1989, killed 4 people. Of the 39, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 22 have come since 2000. May and October have had the most tornadoes, 9 each. The most recent tornado was on September 25, 2024. Of the 475 North Carolina cities, 80% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Lenoir. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 91 times since 1974, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Lenoir has more hail reports within 10 miles than 77% of the 475 North Carolina cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Lenoir
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1985 | BobJul 25 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 5 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1959 | GracieSep 30 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleAug 31 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 3 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 28 | 69 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 66 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 Lenoir: 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 Lenoir
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s16
- 2000s3
- 1990s7(1 EF3+)
- 1980s3(1 EF3+)
- 1970s6
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 1989 | F4 | 19 mi | 14 mi | 4 / 52 |
| May 7, 1998 | F4 | 10 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Oct 23, 2017 | EF2 | 16 mi | 4.87 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 11, 2012 | EF2 | 17 mi | 4.15 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Jul 7, 2005 | F2 | 22 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 16, 1994 | F2 | 19 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 5, 1989 | F2 | 3 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 1979 | F2 | 15 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 4, 1974 | F2 | 7 mi | 5.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 1951 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 25, 2024 | EF1 | 16 mi | 0.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 11, 2024 | EF1 | 25 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 39, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lenoir
The Storm Prediction Center has 91 hail reports within 10 miles of Lenoir since 1974, made on 73 separate days. Of these, 39 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on June 16, 1998. The most recent report is from June 27, 2025. May has the most reports, 25.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lenoir
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lenoir, NC, 1 mile south of Lenoir at 1,155 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 49°F and 27°F. June is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and February and November the driest at 3.3 inches; the year adds up to 49.6 inches over 81 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 50% of the year's precipitation (25.0 of 49.6 inches). September has brought the most of the 14 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 80°F and 4.3 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 36 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 91 nights a year. Snowfall averages 4.1 inches a year, most of it in December. That 49.6 inches is more than at 63 of the 140 North Carolina stations used on this site (45%). Granite Falls, 10 miles southeast, has its own station (Hickory Faa Airport, NC): 47.3 inches a year, 2.3 less than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 49 | 27 | 3.9 | 6 | 1.3 |
| Feb | 53 | 30 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Mar | 60 | 36 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.3 |
| Apr | 70 | 45 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 77 | 54 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 84 | 63 | 4.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 88 | 67 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 65 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 59 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 71 | 46 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 61 | 36 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 52 | 30 | 4.3 | 7 | 2.3 |
| Year | 69 | 46 | 49.6 | 81 | 4.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lenoir, NC (1,155 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 Lenoir
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 156 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lenoir: 111 thunderstorm wind reports, 31 flash floods, 8 floods, 4 lightning strikes and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 11, and the NWS estimated $2.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on April 10, 2021. Of the 472 North Carolina cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 386 have had fewer than Lenoir.
July 6, 2018: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Lenoir — 1 killed, 2 injured, $5,000 damage.
NWS: “EM reported a large tree was blown down on a vehicle in Green Mountain Park killing a 78-year-old occupant and causing minor injuries to two others. A few other trees were blown down in Lenoir and areas just east of the city.”
June 27, 2008: lightning strike 6 miles from the centre of Lenoir — 8 injured.
NWS: “Eight firefighters working to contain a wildfire were treated for burns when lightning struck nearby.”
June 27, 2010: lightning strike 6 miles from the centre of Lenoir — 1 injured, $100,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Lenoir's ZIP code 28645 have filed 66 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $364,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1979, with 10. 23% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 263 North Carolina cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 163 have fewer than Lenoir.
Caldwell County, which includes Lenoir, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 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 Caldwell County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $25.0 million a year, the 48th highest of 100 North Carolina counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $17.7 million (71%), 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 Lenoir
- Hudson, NC7 mi
- Granite Falls, NC10 mi
- Valdese, NC13 mi
- Blowing Rock, NC16 mi
- Morganton, NC16 mi
- Connelly Springs, NC17 mi
- Hickory, NC18 mi
- Deep Gap, NC18 mi
- Taylorsville, NC19 mi
- Boone, NC20 mi
- Purlear, NC20 mi
- Banner Elk, NC23 mi
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