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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Nashville, NC

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

71 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Nashville, North Carolina since 1851, 8 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ophelia in 2023. Since 1950, 58 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
8

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
63

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
58

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
9

14 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Nashville

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Nashville, North Carolina, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2023OpheliaSep 2331 miTropical storm (48 mph)Tropical storm
2021ElsaJul 817 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2021ClaudetteJun 2135 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2020IsaiasAug 418 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
2019NestorOct 20overheadTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2018MichaelOct 1125 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 5
2013AndreaJun 710 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2008HannaSep 63 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2006ErnestoSep 160 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
2006AlbertoJun 1442 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
2004CharleyAug 1455 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 4
2003IsabelSep 1839 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 5
2000HeleneSep 2333 miTropical storm (41 mph)Tropical storm
1999FloydSep 1667 miCategory 1 (83 mph)Category 4
1999DennisSep 537 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1998EarlSep 434 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1997DannyJul 2412 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1996JosephineOct 870 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1996FranSep 649 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 3
1996BerthaJul 1339 miTropical storm (72 mph)Category 3
1984DianaSep 1463 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 4
1972AgnesJun 2159 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1970AlmaMay 263 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1965Unnamed 1965 stormJun 1638 miTropical storm (43 mph)Tropical storm
1964IsbellOct 1637 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 3
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 1468 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1960BrendaJul 3044 miTropical storm (61 mph)Tropical storm
1959CindyJul 107 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1956FlossySep 2764 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
1955DianeAug 1734 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 2
1954HazelOct 1518 miCategory 1 (92 mph)Category 4
1947Unnamed 1947 stormSep 2555 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1945Unnamed 1945 stormSep 1853 miTropical storm (48 mph)Category 4
1944Unnamed 1944 stormOct 2012 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 4
1944Unnamed 1944 stormAug 210 miTropical storm (48 mph)Category 1
1935Unnamed 1935 stormSep 67 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 5
1929Unnamed 1929 stormOct 232 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1928Unnamed 1928 stormSep 1928 miCategory 1 (79 mph)Category 5
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 3037 miTropical storm (70 mph)Category 1
1916Unnamed 1916 stormSep 669 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1916Unnamed 1916 stormMay 1626 miTropical storm (43 mph)Tropical storm
1913Unnamed 1913 stormSep 359 miTropical storm (47 mph)Category 1
1912Unnamed 1912 stormJun 1459 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1907Unnamed 1907 stormJun 2973 miTropical storm (54 mph)Tropical storm
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 146 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 1
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 1632 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
1899Unnamed 1899 stormOct 3122 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 2
1896Unnamed 1896 stormSep 3065 miCategory 1 (79 mph)Category 3
1894Unnamed 1894 stormOct 1054 miTropical storm (70 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormOct 1328 miCategory 1 (87 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormOct 460 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
1893Unnamed 1893 stormJun 1659 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
1889Unnamed 1889 stormSep 2428 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1030 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1887Unnamed 1887 stormOct 2042 miTropical storm (39 mph)Category 1
1886Unnamed 1886 stormJul 26 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1885Unnamed 1885 stormOct 1359 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1883Unnamed 1883 stormSep 127 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 2373 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 1151 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1881Unnamed 1881 stormSep 1047 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 2
1878Unnamed 1878 stormOct 2353 miCategory 2 (102 mph)Category 2
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 415 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 3
1876Unnamed 1876 stormSep 1737 miCategory 1 (82 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 2923 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2547 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1867Unnamed 1867 stormJun 2358 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 2766 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1859Unnamed 1859 stormSep 1742 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 1
1854Unnamed 1854 stormSep 1023 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1851Unnamed 1851 stormAug 2544 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Nashville: 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 Nashville

By decade

  • 2020s7(3 EF3+)
  • 2010s12(1 EF3+)
  • 2000s9(1 EF3+)
  • 1990s10(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s6(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s6
  • 1960s2
  • 1950s6(2 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Nashville, North Carolina
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Nov 27, 1988F413 mi83 mi4 / 154
Apr 16, 2011EF325 mi65.23 mi6 / 103
Aug 8, 2024EF322 mi6.5 mi1 / 0
Nov 15, 2008EF313 mi8.19 mi1 / 4
Sep 27, 2024EF39 mi0.25 mi0 / 15
Jul 19, 2023EF35 mi13.53 mi0 / 16
Nov 23, 1992F317 mi160 mi0 / 44
Nov 8, 1957F324 mi46.9 mi0 / 5
Mar 15, 1953F316 mi30.1 mi0 / 1
Mar 16, 1955F224 mi6.6 mi1 / 1
May 13, 2019EF214 mi17.18 mi0 / 0
Apr 16, 2011EF218 mi8.97 mi0 / 10

The strongest 12 of 58, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Nashville while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

Other cities in North Carolina