NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Wilkesboro, 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
16 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Wilkesboro, North Carolina since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 38 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 15
- Tornadoes
- 38
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Wilkesboro
The strongest storm to pass near Wilkesboro was an unnamed storm in 1893, a Category 1 hurricane with 74 mph winds when its centre passed 57 miles away. The record near Wilkesboro begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 17 miles away. Of the 16 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 475 North Carolina cities on this site, 65% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Wilkesboro. The strongest of the 38 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on May 7, 1998; its path came within 20 miles. Of the 38, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 20 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 11. The most recent tornado was on September 26, 2024. Of the 475 North Carolina cities, 82% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Wilkesboro. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 77 times since 1984, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Wilkesboro has more hail reports within 10 miles than 63% of the 475 North Carolina cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Wilkesboro
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1985 | BobJul 25 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 5 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1959 | GracieSep 30 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleAug 31 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 3 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 28 | 57 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 12 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 67 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 Wilkesboro: 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 Wilkesboro
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s10
- 2000s1
- 1990s7(1 EF3+)
- 1980s2
- 1970s7
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 7, 1998 | F4 | 20 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 26, 2022 | EF2 | 18 mi | 5.97 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 7, 2005 | F2 | 19 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 1989 | F2 | 16 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 4, 1974 | F2 | 24 mi | 5.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 26, 2024 | EF1 | 14 mi | 0.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 11, 2024 | EF1 | in town | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 2022 | EF1 | 18 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 23, 2022 | EF1 | 9 mi | 6.17 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 17, 2021 | EF1 | 20 mi | 5.09 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 23, 2017 | EF1 | 2 mi | 8.6 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 23, 2017 | EF1 | 8 mi | 8.17 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 38, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Wilkesboro
The Storm Prediction Center has 77 hail reports within 10 miles of Wilkesboro since 1984, made on 56 separate days. Of these, 39 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 6 days, most recently July 21, 2018. The most recent report is from May 8, 2025. May has the most reports, 34.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Wilkesboro
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is N Wilkesboro, NC, 2 miles northeast of Wilkesboro at 1,120 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 48°F and 27°F. August is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.3 inches; the year adds up to 51.8 inches over 84 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 50% of the year's precipitation (26.1 of 51.8 inches). September has brought the most of the 16 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (7); a normal September there has highs of 79°F and 4.3 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 32 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 104 nights a year. Snowfall averages 5.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 51.8 inches is more than at 86 of the 140 North Carolina stations used on this site (61%). Moravian Falls, 4 miles south, has its own station (W Kerr Scott Resv, NC): 52.6 inches a year, 0.8 more than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 48 | 27 | 4.4 | 7 | 2.0 |
| Feb | 52 | 29 | 3.3 | 7 | 1.4 |
| Mar | 60 | 36 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.3 |
| Apr | 70 | 44 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 77 | 53 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 84 | 62 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 66 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 65 | 5.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 58 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 71 | 46 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 60 | 35 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 51 | 30 | 4.4 | 7 | 1.9 |
| Year | 69 | 46 | 51.8 | 84 | 5.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at N Wilkesboro, NC (1,120 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 Wilkesboro
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 264 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Wilkesboro: 202 thunderstorm wind reports, 29 flash floods, 15 heavy rain events, 10 floods and 8 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $4.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on August 30, 2003. May has had the most flash floods, 9 of 29. Of the 472 North Carolina cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 373 have had fewer than Wilkesboro.
June 13, 2013: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Wilkesboro — 1 killed, $75,000 damage.
June 13, 2013: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Wilkesboro — 1 killed, $500 damage.
May 26, 2009: flash flood in Wilkesboro — $2.5 million damage.
NWS: “Moravian Creek flooded and closed Germantown Road near Moravian Falls, and School Street in Wilkesboro. Twenty-seven people were evacuated from their homes along Moravian Creek, near Germantown Road, and six mobile homes were destroyed.”
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 Wilkesboro's ZIP code 28697 have filed 14 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $444,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 14% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 263 North Carolina cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 30 have fewer than Wilkesboro.
Wilkes County, which includes Wilkesboro, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 hurricanes, 3 floods, 3 snowstorms, 3 tropical storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Helene, on September 28, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Wilkes 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 and hail; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $33.1 million a year, the 39th highest of 100 North Carolina counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $25.5 million (77%), 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 Wilkesboro
- North Wilkesboro, NC4 mi
- Moravian Falls, NC4 mi
- Millers Creek, NC9 mi
- Purlear, NC12 mi
- Roaring River, NC12 mi
- Hays, NC13 mi
- Ronda, NC14 mi
- Hiddenite, NC15 mi
- Taylorsville, NC16 mi
- Traphill, NC16 mi
- Union Grove, NC16 mi
- Deep Gap, NC20 mi
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