NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Star, 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
44 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Star, North Carolina since 1851, 4 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Debby in 2024. Since 1950, 35 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 4
- Tropical storms
- 40
- Tornadoes
- 35
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Star
The strongest storm to pass near Star was an unnamed storm in 1893, a Category 1 hurricane with 91 mph winds when its centre passed 69 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1896, whose centre came within 22 miles. The record near Star begins with an unnamed storm in 1851; the most recent system was Debby in 2024, a tropical storm 63 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 6 systems. Of the 44 systems, 7 have come since 2000. Star has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 50% of the 475 North Carolina cities on this site. The strongest of the 35 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on October 7, 1965; its path came within 17 miles, and it killed 1 person. Of the 35, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 6 have come since 2000. March and May have had the most tornadoes, 7 each. The most recent tornado was on February 6, 2020. Of the 475 North Carolina cities, 84% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Star. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 47 times since 1970, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 475 North Carolina cities, 70% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Star.
Compare Star's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Star
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | DebbyAug 8 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2021 | ElsaJul 8 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2021 | ClaudetteJun 21 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2019 | NestorOct 20 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2013 | AndreaJun 7 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2006 | AlbertoJun 14 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1996 | FranSep 6 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1985 | BobJul 25 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 5 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1970 | AlmaMay 26 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1965 | Unnamed 1965 stormJun 16 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1955 | DianeAug 17 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1952 | AbleAug 31 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1952 | Unnamed 1952 stormAug 28 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormOct 20 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1935 | Unnamed 1935 stormSep 6 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1927 | Unnamed 1927 stormOct 3 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1920 | Unnamed 1920 stormSep 23 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 3 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1913 | Unnamed 1913 stormOct 10 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1904 | Unnamed 1904 stormSep 14 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 16 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormJul 13 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormOct 31 | 62 mi | Category 1 (78 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 29 | 22 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 13 | 69 mi | Category 1 (91 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 4 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 28 | 35 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 10 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJul 2 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 12 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormOct 4 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1867 | Unnamed 1867 stormJun 23 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1854 | Unnamed 1854 stormSep 9 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1851 | Unnamed 1851 stormAug 25 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Star: 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 Star
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s1
- 2000s4
- 1990s8
- 1980s5
- 1970s10
- 1960s4(1 EF3+)
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 7, 1965 | F3 | 17 mi | 1 mi | 1 / 4 |
| Sep 29, 1999 | F2 | 25 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 1991 | F2 | 20 mi | 28 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 27, 1982 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 15, 1976 | F2 | 5 mi | 18.8 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Mar 24, 1975 | F2 | 15 mi | 30.6 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 18, 1969 | F2 | 20 mi | 27.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 1963 | F2 | 25 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 6, 2020 | EF1 | 24 mi | 7.32 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 2019 | EF1 | 9 mi | 1.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 27, 2004 | F1 | 21 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 1991 | F1 | 7 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 35, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Star
The Storm Prediction Center has 47 hail reports within 10 miles of Star since 1970, made on 42 separate days. Of these, 29 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on May 27, 1998. The most recent report is from April 20, 2024. May has the most reports, 13.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Star
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Jackson Springs 5 WNW, NC, 17 miles south of Star at 730 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 52°F and 33°F. September is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.3 inches; the year adds up to 48.3 inches over 77 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (26.2 of 48.3 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 44 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (13); a normal September there has highs of 83°F and 5.3 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 44 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 58 nights a year. Snowfall averages 3.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 48.3 inches is more than at 49 of the 140 North Carolina stations used on this site (35%). Troy, 8 miles west, has its own station (Albemarle, NC): 48.2 inches a year, 0.1 less than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 52 | 33 | 3.9 | 7 | 2.3 |
| Feb | 55 | 35 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.6 |
| Mar | 63 | 41 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Apr | 73 | 50 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| May | 80 | 59 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 87 | 67 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 90 | 70 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 88 | 69 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 83 | 63 | 5.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 73 | 52 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 63 | 42 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 55 | 36 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Year | 72 | 51 | 48.3 | 77 | 3.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Jackson Springs 5 WNW, NC (730 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 Star
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 129 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Star: 119 thunderstorm wind reports, 9 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $4.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 58 mph, on July 6, 1999. Of the 472 North Carolina cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 107 have had fewer than Star.
July 17, 2010: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Star — 1 injured, $3,000 damage.
July 17, 2010: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Star — 1 injured, $2,000 damage.
October 8, 2016: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Star — $3.9 million damage.
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
Montgomery County, which includes Star, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 13 hurricanes, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tropical storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 25, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Montgomery County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hurricanes and tornadoes; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.7 million a year, the 76th highest of 100 North Carolina counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.9 million (50%), 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.