NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Morganton, 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
15 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Morganton, North Carolina since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 48 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 14
- Tornadoes
- 48
- 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 Morganton
The strongest storm to pass near Morganton was an unnamed storm in 1893, a Category 1 hurricane with 75 mph winds when its centre passed 72 miles away. The record near Morganton begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 26 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1900s, with 3 systems. Of the 15 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 475 North Carolina cities on this site, 65% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Morganton. The highest rating among the 48 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 7, 1998, came within 21 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on May 5, 1989, killed 4 people. Of the 48, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 29 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 16. The most recent tornado was on May 8, 2024. Of the 475 North Carolina cities, 67% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Morganton. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 160 times since 1985, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Morganton has more hail reports within 10 miles than 97% of the 475 North Carolina cities.
Compare Morganton's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Morganton
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1959 | GracieSep 30 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleAug 31 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1927 | Unnamed 1927 stormOct 3 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 15 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 3 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 28 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 28 | 72 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 60 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 Morganton: 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 Morganton
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s18
- 2000s8
- 1990s9(1 EF3+)
- 1980s3(1 EF3+)
- 1970s6
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 1989 | F4 | 16 mi | 14 mi | 4 / 52 |
| May 7, 1998 | F4 | 21 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Oct 23, 2017 | EF2 | 18 mi | 4.87 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 11, 2012 | EF2 | 14 mi | 4.15 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Jan 11, 2012 | EF2 | 24 mi | 3.8 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Oct 26, 2010 | EF2 | 19 mi | 2.58 mi | 0 / 11 |
| May 7, 1998 | F2 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1998 | F2 | 17 mi | 3.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 16, 1994 | F2 | 22 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 5, 1989 | F2 | 14 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 1979 | F2 | 3 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 4, 1974 | F2 | 12 mi | 5.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 48, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Morganton
The Storm Prediction Center has 160 hail reports within 10 miles of Morganton since 1985, made on 114 separate days. Of these, 77 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 24, 2000. The most recent report is from May 14, 2025. June has the most reports, 42.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Morganton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Morganton, NC, 3 miles east of Morganton at 1,180 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 28°F. June and August are the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.7 inches; the year adds up to 51.7 inches over 82 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (26.2 of 51.7 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 15 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 80°F and 4.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 35 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 91 nights a year. Snowfall averages 4.5 inches a year, most of it in March and December. That 51.7 inches is more than at 85 of the 140 North Carolina stations used on this site (61%). Connelly Springs, 12 miles east, has its own station (Hickory Faa Airport, NC): 47.3 inches a year, 4.4 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 | 28 | 4.3 | 7 | 1.0 |
| Feb | 53 | 30 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.3 |
| Mar | 61 | 37 | 4.4 | 7 | 1.6 |
| Apr | 71 | 45 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 78 | 54 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 85 | 62 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 88 | 66 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 65 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 59 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 71 | 46 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 61 | 35 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 52 | 30 | 4.7 | 7 | 1.6 |
| Year | 69 | 46 | 51.7 | 82 | 4.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Morganton, NC (1,180 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 Morganton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 260 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Morganton: 191 thunderstorm wind reports, 31 flash floods, 25 floods, 11 lightning strikes and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 13, and the NWS estimated $2.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on April 10, 2021. April has had the most flash floods, 5 of 31. Of the 472 North Carolina cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 386 have had fewer than Morganton.
April 9, 2011: lightning strike 1 mile from the centre of Morganton — 9 injured.
NWS: “Nine people were injured and several dogs were killed when lightning struck the Burke County Fairgrounds during a dog show.”
July 4, 2011: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Morganton — 1 injured.
NWS: “A 17-year-old male was struck by lightning and injured while riding a motorcycle on Brown Mountain Beach Rd.”
April 26, 2012: lightning strike 5 miles from the centre of Morganton — 1 injured.
NWS: “Lightning struck a man on Chapman Farm Rd, causing some second degree burns.”
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 Morganton's ZIP code 28655 have filed 68 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $7.5 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Helene in 2024: 35 claims (51% of all) and $6.0 million. 54% 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, 166 have fewer than Morganton.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene2024 | 35 | $6.0 million |
Burke County, which includes Morganton, has been named in 24 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 Burke County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and inland flooding; Relatively Low for hurricanes, hail, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $22.8 million a year, the 53rd highest of 100 North Carolina counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $15.0 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.
Cities near Morganton
- Valdese, NC8 mi
- Connelly Springs, NC12 mi
- Nebo, NC12 mi
- Hudson, NC15 mi
- Lenoir, NC16 mi
- Granite Falls, NC16 mi
- Marion, NC17 mi
- Vale, NC21 mi
- Hickory, NC21 mi
- Bostic, NC21 mi
- Union Mills, NC22 mi
- Lawndale, NC22 mi
All North Carolina cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Morganton with another place →