Tornado events in Cleveland County, North Carolina The tornado events on record, by date and by year
This page is a county record of past events and claims. It does not show the flood zone or the risk of an address. For the flood map of an address, use FEMA's address search (opens in a new tab).
NCEI has 28 tornado events on record for Cleveland County, North Carolina, from 1950 through 30 Jun 2026.
The newest tornado event on record is on 8 May 2024.
From 2016 through 2025, NCEI has 9 tornado events on record for the county.
The NWS collects event reports from a variety of sources, which include (but are not limited to): county, state, and federal emergency management officials, local law enforcement officials, SKYWARN spotters, NWS damage surveys, newspaper clipping services, the insurance industry, and the general public, among others.
The National Weather Service reports property and crop damage estimates using available data at the time of event reporting. These values should therefore be considered broad estimates. Damage amounts are not adjusted for inflation.
The words of the agency. Source: NOAA NCEI, Storm Events Database, page "Frequently Asked Questions", copied on .
Date of the data: NCEI storm events through . Event types on this page: Tornado.
Newest tornado events on record
TornadoEF1
1 mile N of POTTVILLE
TornadoEF0
3 miles SSE of POTTVILLE
TornadoEF0
2 miles ESE of LATTIMORE
TornadoEF2
1 mile ESE of ARCHDALE. Damage estimate: $750 thousand
TornadoEF1
At LAWNDALE. Damage estimate: $250 thousand
TornadoEF0
1 mile WNW of MOORESBORO. Damage estimate: $100 thousand
TornadoEF1
1 mile E of LAWNDALE. Damage estimate: $100 thousand
TornadoEF0
5 miles SSW of BOILING SPGS
TornadoEF0
2 miles SSE of POLKVILLE. Damage estimate: $20 thousand
TornadoEF0
1 mile SW of STUBBS. Damage estimate: $5 thousand
TornadoEF0
1 mile SW of BEAM MILL. Damage estimate: $50 thousand
TornadoEF1
3 miles S of WACO
TornadoEF0
2 miles NNE of BEAM MILL
TornadoEF0
3 miles WSW of KINGS MTN. Damage estimate: $20 thousand
TornadoEF1
1 mile WNW of BEAM MILL. Damage estimate: $25 thousand
TornadoF1
At PATTERSON SPGS. Damage estimate: $50 thousand
TornadoF0
At WACO. Damage estimate: $50 thousand
TornadoF1
1 mile SE of POLKVILLE. Damage estimate: $10 thousand
TornadoF0
At SHELBY. Damage estimate: $1 thousand
TornadoF1
At Earl. Damage estimate: $500 thousand
TornadoF1
No place on record. Damage estimate: $25 thousand
TornadoF0
No place on record. Damage estimate: $25 thousand
TornadoF0
No place on record. Damage estimate: $25 thousand
TornadoF2
No place on record. Damage estimate: $250 thousand
TornadoF4
No place on record. Damage estimate: $25 million
A place is the text of the NCEI record: a distance and a direction from a reference place. The site does not show a place text that names a private property or reads as a person. A tornado before February 2007 has a rating on the Fujita scale (F). A later tornado has a rating on the Enhanced Fujita scale (EF).
Tornado events by year
| Decade | Year that ends in 0 | Year that ends in 1 | Year that ends in 2 | Year that ends in 3 | Year that ends in 4 | Year that ends in 5 | Year that ends in 6 | Year that ends in 7 | Year that ends in 8 | Year that ends in 9 | All |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1960s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1970s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 1980s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1990s | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 2000s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 2010s | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 2020s | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 (part of the year) | 5 |
A darker cell has a larger count. The number is in each cell.
Tornado events are on record from 1950. The year 2026 has the events through 30 Jun 2026 only.
By month, all years
- Jan0 events
- Feb3 events
- Mar0 events
- Apr4 events
- May6 events
- Jun4 events
- Jul1 event
- Aug1 event
- Sep3 events
- Oct4 events
- Nov2 events
- Dec0 events
Magnitudes on record
| Rating | Wind estimate of the scale | Events |
|---|---|---|
| EF0 or F0 | 65 to 85 mph (EF0) | 13 |
| EF1 or F1 | 86 to 110 mph (EF1) | 11 |
| EF2 or F2 | 111 to 135 mph (EF2) | 2 |
| EF3 or F3 | 136 to 165 mph (EF3) | 1 |
| EF4 or F4 | 166 to 200 mph (EF4) | 1 |
| EF5 or F5 | more than 200 mph (EF5) | 0 |
| Unrated | no rating on record | 0 |
Tornadoes may contain multiple segments. A tornado that crosses a county line or state line is considered a separate segment.
The Enhanced F-scale still is a set of wind estimates (not measurements) based on damage.
The wind estimates are those of the Enhanced Fujita scale.
Beside the other counties
| Measure | Cleveland | All counties of North Carolina | All counties of the United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tornado events, 1950 to 2026 | 28 | 1,689 | 81,254 |
| Events for each 100 square miles | 6.0 | 3.5 | 2.3 |
| Events for each 10,000 residents | 2.8 | 1.6 | 2.4 |
The columns for the state and the United States total the counties. They count the events of each county in the same way as the county column. A forecast zone with another name than a county counts for the state only.
More tornado events on record
| Date | Event type | Magnitude | Damage estimate | Deaths | Injuries | On record for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tornado | F1 | $25 thousand | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Tornado | F1 | $3 thousand | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Tornado | F3 | $250 thousand | 0 | 3 | County |
The table has all other events on record. A damage figure is an estimate in the NCEI record.
Official channels
- NCEI Storm Events Database (opens in a new tab)Search the full NCEI record by state, county and date.
- National Weather Service: Greenville-Spartanburg, SC (opens in a new tab)The forecast office that issues the weather warnings for the county.
- FEMA Flood Map Service Center: Search By Address (opens in a new tab)Search an address to see its flood map. This site has no flood-zone data.
These links open the pages of the agencies. The site checked the links on .
Cite this page
County Hazards. "Tornado events on record for Cleveland County, North Carolina". https://countyhazards.com/county/nc/cleveland/tornado/. Data: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database through 30 Jun 2026. Page made on .
Questions
- Which month has the most tornado events on record for Cleveland County?
- May has 6 of the 28 tornado events on record from 1950 through 30 Jun 2026.
- How many tornado events are on record for North Carolina?
- NCEI has 1,691 tornado events on record for North Carolina from 1950 through 30 Jun 2026. That count has every forecast zone of the state.
- How does Cleveland County compare with the other counties of North Carolina?
- The counties of North Carolina have 3.5 tornado events for each 100 square miles. Cleveland County has 6.0.
- Which tornado ratings are on record for Cleveland County?
- 24 tornado events have a rating of EF0, F0, EF1 or F1. 4 events have a higher rating.