NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Whitsett, 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
34 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Whitsett, North Carolina since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Elsa in 2021. Since 1950, 51 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 31
- Tornadoes
- 51
- 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 Whitsett
The strongest storm to pass near Whitsett was Hazel in 1954, a Category 1 hurricane with 93 mph winds when its centre passed 72 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1896, whose centre came within 25 miles. The record near Whitsett begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Elsa in 2021, a tropical storm 50 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 6 systems. Of the 34 systems, 4 have come since 2000. Of the 475 North Carolina cities on this site, 50% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Whitsett. The highest rating among the 51 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on March 28, 2010, came within 23 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on November 23, 1992, killed 2 people. Of the 51, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 24 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 12. The most recent tornado was on July 6, 2025. Of the 475 North Carolina cities, 62% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Whitsett. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 51 times since 1982, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 475 North Carolina cities, 64% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Whitsett.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Whitsett
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | ElsaJul 8 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2019 | NestorOct 20 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1996 | FranSep 6 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1985 | BobJul 25 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 5 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1970 | AlmaMay 26 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 17 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 72 mi | Category 1 (93 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleAug 31 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormOct 20 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1935 | Unnamed 1935 stormSep 6 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 3 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1904 | Unnamed 1904 stormSep 14 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 12 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 16 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormOct 31 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 25 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 13 | 63 mi | Category 1 (87 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 28 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 10 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJul 2 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 12 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormOct 4 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1867 | Unnamed 1867 stormJun 23 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Whitsett: 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 Whitsett
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s6(1 EF3+)
- 2000s7
- 1990s8(1 EF3+)
- 1980s3
- 1970s7
- 1960s5
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 23, 1992 | F3 | 23 mi | 5.5 mi | 2 / 10 |
| Mar 28, 2010 | EF3 | 23 mi | 3.46 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2008 | EF2 | 22 mi | 3.85 mi | 1 / 3 |
| Apr 19, 2019 | EF2 | 25 mi | 10.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 15, 2018 | EF2 | 8 mi | 32.75 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Mar 29, 1991 | F2 | 25 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 1991 | F2 | 14 mi | 28 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 1, 1977 | F2 | 13 mi | 9.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 18, 1969 | F2 | 13 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 17, 1954 | F2 | 19 mi | 2.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1954 | F2 | 12 mi | 6.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 6, 2025 | EF1 | 20 mi | 0.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 51, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Whitsett
The Storm Prediction Center has 51 hail reports within 10 miles of Whitsett since 1982, made on 43 separate days. Of these, 27 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on April 2, 1983. The most recent report is from August 19, 2024. May has the most reports, 14.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Whitsett
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Burlington Alamance Airport, NC, 7 miles east of Whitsett at 617 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 52°F and 30°F. July is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 43.4 inches over 72 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (23.3 of 43.4 inches); the other six months are drier. Highs reach 90°F on about 48 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 78 nights a year. That 43.4 inches is more than at 7 of the 140 North Carolina stations used on this site (5%). Mc Leansville, 6 miles northwest, has its own station (Greensboro Wtp, NC): 45.9 inches a year, 2.5 more than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 52 | 30 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Feb | 56 | 33 | 2.8 | 6 |
| Mar | 64 | 39 | 3.9 | 7 |
| Apr | 74 | 48 | 3.8 | 6 |
| May | 80 | 57 | 3.4 | 7 |
| Jun | 88 | 65 | 4.3 | 7 |
| Jul | 91 | 70 | 4.7 | 7 |
| Aug | 89 | 68 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Sep | 83 | 62 | 4.4 | 6 |
| Oct | 73 | 49 | 3.1 | 4 |
| Nov | 63 | 38 | 3.3 | 5 |
| Dec | 55 | 33 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Year | 72 | 49 | 43.4 | 72 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Burlington Alamance Airport, NC (617 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 Whitsett
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 168 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Whitsett: 139 thunderstorm wind reports, 28 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 25, 2000. August has had the most flash floods, 8 of 28. Of the 472 North Carolina cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 368 have had fewer than Whitsett.
July 27, 2012: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Whitsett — $313,000 damage.
August 27, 2008: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Whitsett — $150,000 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
Guilford County, which includes Whitsett, has been named in 28 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 12 hurricanes, 4 snowstorms, 3 ice storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 25, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Guilford County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $134.6 million a year, the 6th highest of 100 North Carolina counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $100.5 million (75%), 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 Whitsett
- Gibsonville, NC5 mi
- Mc Leansville, NC6 mi
- Julian, NC8 mi
- Elon, NC9 mi
- Burlington, NC9 mi
- Climax, NC11 mi
- Liberty, NC12 mi
- Pleasant Garden, NC12 mi
- Graham, NC12 mi
- Browns Summit, NC12 mi
- Greensboro, NC13 mi
- Haw River, NC14 mi
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