NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Madison, 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
21 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Madison, North Carolina since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 42 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 20
- Tornadoes
- 42
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Madison
The strongest storm to pass near Madison was an unnamed storm in 1896, a Category 1 hurricane with 78 mph winds when its centre passed 50 miles away. The record near Madison begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 36 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 5 systems. Of the 21 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 475 North Carolina cities on this site, 65% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Madison. The highest rating among the 42 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on March 28, 2010, came within 23 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on March 20, 1998, killed 2 people. Of the 42, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 18 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 12. The most recent tornado was on September 27, 2024. Of the 475 North Carolina cities, 76% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Madison. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 65 times since 1958, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Madison has more hail reports within 10 miles than 50% of the 475 North Carolina cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Madison
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1996 | FranSep 6 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 5 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1952 | AbleAug 31 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 3 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 12 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 16 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 50 mi | Category 1 (78 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 28 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 10 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 12 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Madison: 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 Madison
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s9(1 EF3+)
- 2000s7
- 1990s8(1 EF3+)
- 1980s8(1 EF3+)
- 1970s2
- 1960s3
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 20, 1998 | F3 | 1 mi | 12 mi | 2 / 27 |
| Mar 28, 2010 | EF3 | 23 mi | 3.46 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 1989 | F3 | 13 mi | 10.5 mi | 0 / 30 |
| May 8, 2008 | EF2 | 19 mi | 3.85 mi | 1 / 3 |
| Apr 15, 2018 | EF2 | 20 mi | 32.75 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 24, 2017 | EF2 | 18 mi | 16.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 23 mi | 8.8 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Aug 17, 1994 | F2 | 21 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 10 |
| May 5, 1989 | F2 | 15 mi | 5.5 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Jun 6, 1981 | F2 | 17 mi | 9.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 12, 1964 | F2 | 23 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 16, 1954 | F2 | 18 mi | 6.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 42, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Madison
The Storm Prediction Center has 65 hail reports within 10 miles of Madison since 1958, made on 47 separate days. Of these, 28 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 4 days, most recently May 9, 2008. The most recent report is from May 6, 2022. May has the most reports, 26.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Madison
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Danbury, NC, 12 miles west of Madison at 1,019 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 48°F and 29°F. September is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 47.6 inches over 77 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (24.5 of 47.6 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 21 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (9); a normal September there has highs of 79°F and 5.0 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 34 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 101 nights a year. Snowfall averages 8.7 inches a year, most of it in February. That 47.6 inches is more than at 38 of the 140 North Carolina stations used on this site (27%). Stoneville, 7 miles northeast, has its own station (Eden, NC): 47.1 inches a year, 0.5 less than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 48 | 29 | 3.8 | 6 | 2.6 |
| Feb | 52 | 30 | 2.9 | 6 | 2.8 |
| Mar | 59 | 36 | 4.1 | 7 | 1.1 |
| Apr | 70 | 45 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.1 |
| May | 77 | 55 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 84 | 63 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 68 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 66 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 59 | 5.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 47 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 60 | 36 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 51 | 31 | 4.0 | 7 | 2.1 |
| Year | 68 | 47 | 47.6 | 77 | 8.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Danbury, NC (1,019 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 Madison
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 245 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Madison: 194 thunderstorm wind reports, 24 flash floods, 22 floods, 3 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $3.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on June 8, 2003. September has had the most flash floods, 7 of 24. Of the 472 North Carolina cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 328 have had fewer than Madison.
June 13, 2013: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Madison — 1 injured, $200,000 damage.
July 25, 2018: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Madison — $500,000 damage.
October 11, 2018: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Madison — $500,000 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 Madison's ZIP code 27025 have filed 26 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $207,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1979, with 11. 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, 85 have fewer than Madison.
Rockingham County, which includes Madison, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 hurricanes, 4 snowstorms, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 25, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Rockingham 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 $25.1 million a year, the 47th highest of 100 North Carolina counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $18.4 million (73%), 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 Madison
- Mayodan, NC3 mi
- Stoneville, NC7 mi
- Stokesdale, NC9 mi
- Sandy Ridge, NC10 mi
- Walnut Cove, NC11 mi
- Belews Creek, NC12 mi
- Summerfield, NC13 mi
- Oak Ridge, NC14 mi
- Eden, NC15 mi
- Ridgeway, VA16 mi
- Germanton, NC16 mi
- Reidsville, NC17 mi
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