NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Linwood, 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
27 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Linwood, North Carolina since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Elsa in 2021. Since 1950, 59 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 25
- Tornadoes
- 59
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Linwood
The strongest storm to pass near Linwood was an unnamed storm in 1896, a Category 1 hurricane with 82 mph winds when its centre passed 61 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1893, whose centre came within 5 miles. The record near Linwood begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Elsa in 2021, a tropical storm 68 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 5 systems. Of the 27 systems, 3 have come since 2000. Of the 475 North Carolina cities on this site, 61% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Linwood. The highest rating among the 59 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on May 8, 2008, came within 16 miles. The deadliest, an EF2 on November 16, 2011, killed 2 people. Of the 59, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 28 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 19. The most recent tornado was on April 11, 2024. Linwood has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 49% of the 475 North Carolina cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 77 times since 1975, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Linwood has more hail reports within 10 miles than 63% of the 475 North Carolina cities.
Compare Linwood's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Linwood
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | ElsaJul 8 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1985 | BobJul 25 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 5 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1970 | AlmaMay 26 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1959 | GracieSep 30 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleAug 31 | overhead | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1935 | Unnamed 1935 stormSep 6 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1927 | Unnamed 1927 stormOct 3 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 3 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 16 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 29 | 61 mi | Category 1 (82 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 28 | 5 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 10 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 12 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 2 |
| 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 Linwood: 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 Linwood
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s9
- 2000s13(1 EF3+)
- 1990s9(1 EF3+)
- 1980s7(2 EF3+)
- 1970s9
- 1960s4
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 2008 | EF3 | 16 mi | 2.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 7, 1998 | F3 | 19 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 5, 1989 | F3 | 25 mi | 10.5 mi | 0 / 30 |
| May 22, 1985 | F3 | 24 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 16, 2011 | EF2 | 9 mi | 12.51 mi | 2 / 15 |
| Feb 6, 2020 | EF2 | 18 mi | 6.19 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 2017 | EF2 | 23 mi | 5.94 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 24, 2017 | EF2 | 22 mi | 3.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 28, 2010 | EF2 | 1 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 8, 2008 | EF2 | 15 mi | 0.34 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2008 | EF2 | 15 mi | 3.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 14, 2005 | F2 | 13 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 59, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Linwood
The Storm Prediction Center has 77 hail reports within 10 miles of Linwood since 1975, made on 54 separate days. Of these, 44 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 3, 2003. The most recent report is from August 24, 2023. May has the most reports, 24.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Linwood
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Salisbury, NC, 8 miles southwest of Linwood at 700 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 50°F and 29°F. July is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February and October the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 43.7 inches over 68 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (22.5 of 43.7 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 27 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (12); a normal September there has highs of 81°F and 3.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 37 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 71 nights a year. Snowfall averages 2.4 inches a year, most of it in January. That 43.7 inches is more than at 9 of the 140 North Carolina stations used on this site (6%). Lexington, 8 miles northeast, has its own station (Lexington, NC): 45.7 inches a year, 2.0 more than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 50 | 29 | 3.5 | 6 | 1.4 |
| Feb | 54 | 32 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Mar | 62 | 38 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Apr | 72 | 48 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| May | 78 | 56 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 85 | 65 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 88 | 69 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 67 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 61 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 72 | 48 | 3.0 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 61 | 37 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 53 | 32 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.8 |
| Year | 70 | 48 | 43.7 | 68 | 2.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Salisbury, NC (700 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 Linwood
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 209 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Linwood: 189 thunderstorm wind reports, 13 flash floods, 5 lightning strikes, 1 flood and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 2 people and injured 13, and the NWS estimated $3.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 26, 1998. July has had the most flash floods, 5 of 13. Of the 472 North Carolina cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 186 have had fewer than Linwood.
April 13, 2020: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Linwood — 1 killed, 1 injured, $50,000 damage.
NWS: “A tree fell on a mobile home on Linwood-Southmont Road, resulting in one injury and one fatality.”
July 13, 2010: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Linwood — 1 killed, $1,000 damage.
May 2, 2003: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Linwood — 3 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
Davidson County, which includes Linwood, has been named in 29 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 14 hurricanes, 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Eta, on March 3, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Davidson County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $64.3 million a year, the 19th highest of 100 North Carolina counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $43.8 million (68%), 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.