NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Spencer, 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
28 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Spencer, North Carolina since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Elsa in 2021. Since 1950, 60 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 26
- Tornadoes
- 60
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Spencer
The strongest storm to pass near Spencer was an unnamed storm in 1896, a Category 1 hurricane with 83 mph winds when its centre passed 63 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1893, whose centre came within 6 miles. The record near Spencer begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Elsa in 2021, a tropical storm 68 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 5 systems. Of the 28 systems, 3 have come since 2000. Of the 475 North Carolina cities on this site, 61% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Spencer. The highest rating among the 60 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 8, 2008, came within 20 miles. The deadliest, an EF2 on November 16, 2011, killed 2 people. Of the 60, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 29 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 18. The most recent tornado was on April 11, 2024. Spencer has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 51% of the 475 North Carolina cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 74 times since 1985, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Spencer has more hail reports within 10 miles than 61% of the 475 North Carolina cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Spencer
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | ElsaJul 8 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1985 | BobJul 25 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 5 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1970 | AlmaMay 26 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1959 | GracieSep 30 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleAug 31 | overhead | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1935 | Unnamed 1935 stormSep 6 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1927 | Unnamed 1927 stormOct 3 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 3 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 16 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 29 | 63 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 28 | 6 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 10 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 12 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 19 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 Spencer: 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 Spencer
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s10
- 2000s13(1 EF3+)
- 1990s9(1 EF3+)
- 1980s3
- 1970s10
- 1960s6
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 2008 | EF3 | 20 mi | 2.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 7, 1998 | F3 | 23 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Nov 16, 2011 | EF2 | 13 mi | 12.51 mi | 2 / 15 |
| Feb 6, 2020 | EF2 | 14 mi | 6.19 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 2017 | EF2 | 25 mi | 5.94 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 24, 2017 | EF2 | 21 mi | 3.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 28, 2010 | EF2 | in town | 5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 8, 2008 | EF2 | 20 mi | 0.34 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2008 | EF2 | 19 mi | 3.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 14, 2005 | F2 | 9 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 1991 | F2 | 24 mi | 28 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 1989 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 8 |
The strongest 12 of 60, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Spencer
The Storm Prediction Center has 74 hail reports within 10 miles of Spencer since 1985, made on 56 separate days. Of these, 42 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 3, 2003. The most recent report is from August 24, 2023. May has the most reports, 24.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Spencer
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Salisbury, NC, 3 miles west of Spencer at 700 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 50°F and 29°F. July is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February and October the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 43.7 inches over 68 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (22.5 of 43.7 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 28 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (12); a normal September there has highs of 81°F and 3.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 37 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 71 nights a year. Snowfall averages 2.4 inches a year, most of it in January. That 43.7 inches is more than at 9 of the 140 North Carolina stations used on this site (6%). Woodleaf, 11 miles northwest, has its own station (Salisbury 9 WNW, NC): 44.2 inches a year, 0.5 more 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 | 50 | 29 | 3.5 | 6 | 1.4 |
| Feb | 54 | 32 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Mar | 62 | 38 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Apr | 72 | 48 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| May | 78 | 56 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 85 | 65 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 88 | 69 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 67 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 61 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 72 | 48 | 3.0 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 61 | 37 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 53 | 32 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.8 |
| Year | 70 | 48 | 43.7 | 68 | 2.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Salisbury, NC (700 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 Spencer
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 192 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Spencer: 172 thunderstorm wind reports, 11 flash floods, 5 lightning strikes, 3 floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 1 person and injured 12, and the NWS estimated $2.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on November 19, 2003. August has had the most flash floods, 3 of 11. Of the 472 North Carolina cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 147 have had fewer than Spencer.
April 13, 2020: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Spencer — 1 killed, 1 injured, $50,000 damage.
May 2, 2003: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Spencer — 3 injured, $10,000 damage.
July 4, 1997: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Spencer — 3 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
Rowan County, which includes Spencer, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 hurricanes, 3 snowstorms, 3 tropical storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Helene, on September 28, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Rowan County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $48.0 million a year, the 28th highest of 100 North Carolina counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $24.8 million (52%), 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 Spencer
- Salisbury, NC4 mi
- Linwood, NC5 mi
- Rockwell, NC11 mi
- Woodleaf, NC11 mi
- China Grove, NC12 mi
- Lexington, NC13 mi
- Gold Hill, NC14 mi
- Landis, NC14 mi
- Cleveland, NC15 mi
- Mount Ulla, NC16 mi
- Richfield, NC17 mi
- Kannapolis, NC17 mi
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