Skip to content

NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Trinity, NC

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

32 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Trinity, North Carolina since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Elsa in 2021. Since 1950, 49 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
1

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
31

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
49

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
5

4 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Trinity

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Trinity, North Carolina, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021ElsaJul 856 miTropical storm (51 mph)Category 1
2021ClaudetteJun 2174 miTropical storm (44 mph)Tropical storm
2020ZetaOct 2968 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 3
2019NestorOct 2071 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2018MichaelOct 1115 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 5
1996FranSep 664 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 3
1985BobJul 2516 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 1
1979DavidSep 514 miTropical storm (47 mph)Category 5
1970AlmaMay 2660 miTropical storm (43 mph)Category 1
1965Unnamed 1965 stormJun 1675 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1952AbleAug 3118 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1949Unnamed 1949 stormAug 2851 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1945Unnamed 1945 stormSep 1842 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 4
1944Unnamed 1944 stormOct 2063 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 4
1935Unnamed 1935 stormSep 662 miTropical storm (54 mph)Category 5
1929Unnamed 1929 stormOct 249 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1927Unnamed 1927 stormOct 374 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 327 miTropical storm (43 mph)Category 1
1907Unnamed 1907 stormSep 2374 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1902Unnamed 1902 stormOct 1248 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 1649 miTropical storm (41 mph)Tropical storm
1896Unnamed 1896 stormSep 2944 miCategory 1 (82 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2811 miTropical storm (72 mph)Category 3
1889Unnamed 1889 stormSep 2425 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1049 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1886Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22overheadTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1885Unnamed 1885 stormOct 1334 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 115 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1878Unnamed 1878 stormSep 126 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 2
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 466 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 3
1867Unnamed 1867 stormJun 2370 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1859Unnamed 1859 stormSep 1713 miTropical storm (47 mph)Category 1

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

By decade

  • 2020s2
  • 2010s6(1 EF3+)
  • 2000s7(1 EF3+)
  • 1990s8
  • 1980s9(2 EF3+)
  • 1970s8
  • 1960s4(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s5
Strongest tornadoes near Trinity, North Carolina
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Oct 7, 1965F316 mi1 mi1 / 4
Mar 28, 2010EF310 mi4.29 mi0 / 0
May 8, 2008EF322 mi2.9 mi0 / 2
May 5, 1989F323 mi10.5 mi0 / 30
May 22, 1985F320 mi3.5 mi0 / 0
Nov 16, 2011EF25 mi12.51 mi2 / 15
May 8, 2008EF215 mi3.85 mi1 / 3
Apr 15, 2018EF219 mi32.75 mi0 / 5
Mar 28, 2010EF223 mi5 mi0 / 5
May 8, 2008EF225 mi3.54 mi0 / 0
Mar 29, 1991F212 mi28 mi0 / 0
May 5, 1989F224 mi5.5 mi0 / 10

The strongest 12 of 49, 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 Trinity 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