NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Mocksville, 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
20 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Mocksville, North Carolina since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 60 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 19
- Tornadoes
- 60
- 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 Mocksville
The strongest storm to pass near Mocksville was an unnamed storm in 1893, a Category 1 hurricane with 74 mph winds when its centre passed 20 miles away. The record near Mocksville begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 47 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 4 systems. Of the 20 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 475 North Carolina cities on this site, 65% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Mocksville. The highest rating among the 60 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on May 8, 2008, came within 12 miles. The deadliest, an EF2 on November 16, 2011, killed 2 people. Of the 60, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 26 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 23. The most recent tornado was on April 11, 2024. Mocksville has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 51% of the 475 North Carolina cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 78 times since 1983, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Mocksville has more hail reports within 10 miles than 65% of the 475 North Carolina cities.
Compare Mocksville's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Mocksville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1985 | BobJul 25 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 5 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1959 | GracieSep 30 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleAug 31 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1927 | Unnamed 1927 stormOct 3 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 3 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 28 | 20 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 12 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 36 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 Mocksville: 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 Mocksville
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s9
- 2000s12(1 EF3+)
- 1990s10(1 EF3+)
- 1980s8(2 EF3+)
- 1970s7
- 1960s5
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 2008 | EF3 | 12 mi | 2.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 7, 1998 | F3 | 13 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 5, 1989 | F3 | 22 mi | 10.5 mi | 0 / 30 |
| May 22, 1985 | F3 | 21 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 16, 2011 | EF2 | 24 mi | 12.51 mi | 2 / 15 |
| May 26, 2022 | EF2 | 19 mi | 5.97 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 24, 2017 | EF2 | 25 mi | 16.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 2017 | EF2 | 8 mi | 5.94 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 24, 2017 | EF2 | 12 mi | 3.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 28, 2010 | EF2 | 17 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 8, 2008 | EF2 | 10 mi | 0.34 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2008 | EF2 | 7 mi | 3.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 60, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Mocksville
The Storm Prediction Center has 78 hail reports within 10 miles of Mocksville since 1983, made on 61 separate days. Of these, 45 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.5 inches, fell on June 4, 1993. The most recent report is from August 15, 2023. May has the most reports, 23.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Mocksville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mocksville 5SE, NC, 7 miles southeast of Mocksville at 680 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 49°F and 25°F. August is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February and October the driest at 3.3 inches; the year adds up to 47.0 inches over 73 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (24.0 of 47.0 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 20 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (9); a normal September there has highs of 80°F and 4.1 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 41 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 116 nights a year. Snowfall averages 4.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 47.0 inches is more than at 32 of the 140 North Carolina stations used on this site (23%). Woodleaf, 9 miles south, has its own station (Salisbury 9 WNW, NC): 44.2 inches a year, 2.8 less 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 | 49 | 25 | 3.8 | 6 | 1.9 |
| Feb | 53 | 27 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.5 |
| Mar | 61 | 33 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.4 |
| Apr | 71 | 42 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| May | 77 | 53 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 84 | 61 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 88 | 66 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 65 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 58 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 71 | 44 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 61 | 33 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Dec | 53 | 28 | 4.0 | 7 | 1.6 |
| Year | 70 | 45 | 47.0 | 73 | 4.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Mocksville 5SE, NC (680 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 Mocksville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 135 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Mocksville: 125 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 flash floods, 4 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $343,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on June 15, 2000.
May 16, 2010: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Mocksville — 1 injured.
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
Davie County, which includes Mocksville, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 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 Davie County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $13.1 million a year, the 74th highest of 100 North Carolina counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.7 million (66%), 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.