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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Red Springs, 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

74 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Red Springs, North Carolina since 1851, 8 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Chantal in 2025. Since 1950, 76 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
8

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
66

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
76

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
9

39 deaths in all

What the records show for Red Springs

The strongest storm to pass near Red Springs was Hazel in 1954, a Category 3 hurricane with 116 mph winds when its centre passed 42 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1899, whose centre came within 19 miles. The record near Red Springs begins with an unnamed storm in 1851; the most recent system was Chantal in 2025, a tropical storm 64 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 7 systems, 3 of them at hurricane strength. Of the 74 systems, 16 have come since 2000. Red Springs has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 64% of the 475 North Carolina cities on this site. The highest rating among the 76 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on March 28, 1984, came within 16 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on March 28, 1984, killed 12 people. Of the 76, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 31 have come since 2000. March and September have had the most tornadoes, 13 each. The most recent tornado was on May 14, 2024. Red Springs has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 71% of the 475 North Carolina cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 41 times since 1974, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 475 North Carolina cities, 76% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Red Springs.

Compare Red Springs's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Red Springs

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Red Springs, North Carolina, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2025ChantalJul 664 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
2024DebbyAug 858 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 1
2022IanOct 115 miTropical storm (48 mph)Category 5
2021ElsaJul 823 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 1
2021ClaudetteJun 218 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
2020IsaiasAug 457 miCategory 1 (77 mph)Category 1
2019NestorOct 209 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2018MichaelOct 1167 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 5
2018FlorenceSep 1568 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 4
2016HermineSep 367 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 1
2015AnaMay 1068 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
2013AndreaJun 712 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2008HannaSep 646 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 1
2006ErnestoSep 172 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 1
2006AlbertoJun 142 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
2004CharleyAug 1465 miTropical storm (70 mph)Category 4
1998EarlSep 425 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1996JosephineOct 852 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1996FranSep 637 miCategory 1 (79 mph)Category 3
1995AllisonJun 651 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 1
1985KateNov 2272 miTropical storm (51 mph)Category 3
1985BobJul 2571 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 1
1984DianaSep 1443 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 4
1972Unnamed 1972 stormJul 1268 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1972AgnesJun 2131 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1971GingerOct 175 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1970AlmaMay 2619 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 1
1965Unnamed 1965 stormJun 168 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1964DoraSep 1373 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 4
1956FlossySep 2645 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
1955DianeAug 1750 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 2
1954HazelOct 1542 miCategory 3 (116 mph)Category 4
1952Unnamed 1952 stormAug 2832 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
1947Unnamed 1947 stormSep 2427 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1946Unnamed 1946 stormJul 675 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
1945Unnamed 1945 stormSep 1825 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 4
1944Unnamed 1944 stormOct 2013 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 4
1944Unnamed 1944 stormAug 257 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 1
1935Unnamed 1935 stormSep 618 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 5
1929Unnamed 1929 stormOct 229 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1928Unnamed 1928 stormSep 1943 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 5
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 3037 miTropical storm (68 mph)Category 1
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 1774 miTropical storm (45 mph)Category 1
1920Unnamed 1920 stormSep 239 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1916Unnamed 1916 stormSep 661 miTropical storm (44 mph)Tropical storm
1916Unnamed 1916 stormMay 1638 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1913Unnamed 1913 stormOct 1049 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1913Unnamed 1913 stormSep 322 miTropical storm (39 mph)Category 1
1912Unnamed 1912 stormJun 142 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 143 miTropical storm (68 mph)Category 1
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 1629 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1901Unnamed 1901 stormJul 1328 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1899Unnamed 1899 stormOct 3119 miCategory 1 (83 mph)Category 2
1896Unnamed 1896 stormSep 2925 miCategory 1 (84 mph)Category 3
1894Unnamed 1894 stormOct 949 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1894Unnamed 1894 stormSep 2768 miTropical storm (70 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormOct 1328 miCategory 2 (97 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormOct 46 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 4
1893Unnamed 1893 stormJun 1659 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
1889Unnamed 1889 stormSep 2457 miTropical storm (47 mph)Category 2
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1029 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1886Unnamed 1886 stormJul 12 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1885Unnamed 1885 stormOct 1340 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1885Unnamed 1885 stormAug 2568 miCategory 1 (90 mph)Category 2
1883Unnamed 1883 stormSep 1150 miTropical storm (68 mph)Category 3
1878Unnamed 1878 stormSep 1244 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 2
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 412 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 2942 miCategory 1 (76 mph)Category 1
1867Unnamed 1867 stormJun 238 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1859Unnamed 1859 stormSep 1769 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1856Unnamed 1856 stormSep 141 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 3
1854Unnamed 1854 stormSep 97 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 3
1852Unnamed 1852 stormOct 1044 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1851Unnamed 1851 stormAug 2521 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 Red Springs: 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 Red Springs

By decade

  • 2020s5
  • 2010s13(1 EF3+)
  • 2000s13
  • 1990s13
  • 1980s9(3 EF3+)
  • 1970s13(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s7(2 EF3+)
  • 1950s3(2 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Red Springs, North Carolina
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Mar 28, 1984F416 mi17 mi7 / 100
Mar 28, 1984F42 mi40 mi4 / 395
Apr 8, 1957F4in town121.4 mi4 / 70
Apr 8, 1957F410 mi0.8 mi0 / 21
Mar 28, 1984F319 mi40 mi12 / 101
Apr 16, 2011EF314 mi52.86 mi2 / 176
Feb 22, 1971F324 mi85.7 mi2 / 60
Apr 18, 1969F31 mi77.3 mi0 / 3
Aug 29, 1964F313 mi21.9 mi0 / 15
May 15, 1976F28 mi10.1 mi3 / 4
Sep 29, 1963F214 mi85.8 mi3 / 12
Apr 15, 1999F211 mi0.3 mi1 / 4

The strongest 12 of 76, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Red Springs

The Storm Prediction Center has 41 hail reports within 10 miles of Red Springs since 1974, made on 30 separate days. Of these, 23 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 3 days, most recently April 20, 2024. The most recent report is from April 20, 2024. April and May have the most reports, 13 each.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Red Springs

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Laurinburg Maxton Airport, NC, 9 miles west of Red Springs at 220 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 55°F and 34°F. September is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.6 inches; the year adds up to 40.3 inches over 66 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 56% of the year's precipitation (22.4 of 40.3 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 74 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (29); a normal September there has highs of 85°F and 4.9 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 67 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 58 nights a year. That 40.3 inches is more than at 1 of the 140 North Carolina stations used on this site (1%). Shannon, 5 miles east, has its own station (Raeford, NC): 48.8 inches a year, 8.5 more than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 92°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Laurinburg Maxton Airport, NC
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"
Jan55343.16
Feb59362.66
Mar67423.35
Apr76502.75
May83593.36
Jun89684.27
Jul92723.97
Aug90703.86
Sep85644.95
Oct76522.74
Nov66412.95
Dec58362.95
Year755240.366

Averages for 1991–2020 at Laurinburg Maxton Airport, NC (220 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.

North Carolina weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Red Springs

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 111 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Red Springs: 103 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 flash floods and 3 floods. They killed 2 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $32.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 104 mph, on March 16, 2002. September has had the most flash floods, 3 of 5. Of the 472 North Carolina cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 28 have had fewer than Red Springs.

  • September 15, 2018: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Red Springs — 2 killed.

  • April 15, 1999: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Red Springs — 2 injured, $40,000 damage.

  • March 16, 2002: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Red Springs — 1 injured, $750,000 damage.

    NWS: “A NWS Storm survey determined that straight line thunderstorm winds produce extensive damage to a trailer park in the northern part of Robeson county. 18 structures in all were damaged.”

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 Red Springs's ZIP code 28377 have filed 11 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1989, and were paid $143,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 263 North Carolina cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 10 have fewer than Red Springs.

Robeson County, which includes Red Springs, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1984, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 15 hurricanes, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tropical storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Eta, on March 3, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Robeson County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for strong wind; Relatively High for hurricanes, tornadoes and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $56.9 million a year, the 22nd highest of 100 North Carolina counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $17.9 million (31%), is from hurricanes.

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 Red Springs