Cleveland County tornado history

29 tornadoes touched Cleveland County, North Carolina between 1950 and 2025 — about 0.4 a year. The strongest was rated F4 (May 5, 1989). Tornadoes here killed 4 and injured 108 people.

29tornadoes since 1950

F4strongest rating

4killed · 108 injured

60.2 milongest path · 1973

(E)F0(E)F1(E)F2(E)F3(E)F4(E)F5· dots = start point only

By rating

(E)F011

(E)F112

(E)F24

(E)F31

(E)F41

(E)F50

By month

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: May.

By decade

’50’60’70’80’90’00’10’20

Strongest tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured	Killed
May 5, 1989	F4	14 mi	800 yd	52	4
May 27, 1973	F3	60.2 mi	150 yd	40	0
Mar 27, 1994	F2	45.4 mi	100 yd	13	0
Feb 6, 2020	EF2	8.7 mi	150 yd	0	0
Oct 23, 2017	EF2	4.9 mi	150 yd	0	0
Feb 10, 1990	F2	0.4 mi	50 yd	0	0
Oct 23, 2017	EF1	21.8 mi	150 yd	0	0
May 8, 2024	EF1	21.3 mi	100 yd	0	0
Oct 23, 2017	EF1	12.3 mi	100 yd	0	0
Jun 16, 2009	EF1	9.3 mi	300 yd	0	0
Feb 6, 2020	EF1	7.5 mi	100 yd	0	0
Jul 12, 2003	F1	6 mi	200 yd	0	0

Most recent tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured
May 8, 2024	EF1	21.3 mi	100 yd	0
May 26, 2022	EF0	0.2 mi	25 yd	0
May 26, 2022	EF0	—	25 yd	0
Feb 6, 2020	EF1	7.5 mi	100 yd	0
Feb 6, 2020	EF2	8.7 mi	150 yd	0
Oct 23, 2017	EF1	21.8 mi	150 yd	0
Oct 23, 2017	EF2	4.9 mi	150 yd	0
Oct 23, 2017	EF1	12.3 mi	100 yd	0
Oct 8, 2017	EF0	13.5 mi	100 yd	0
Nov 16, 2011	EF0	0.3 mi	50 yd	0
Apr 9, 2011	EF0	0.5 mi	75 yd	3
Jun 16, 2009	EF0	1.1 mi	50 yd	0

Deadliest: May 5, 1989, F4, 4 killed.

Nearby counties

Cherokee County, SC23 Rutherford County, NC13 Lincoln County, NC23 Gaston County, NC21 Burke County, NC10 Catawba County, NC20 York County, SC24 Polk County, NC4

Questions

How many tornadoes has Cleveland County, North Carolina had?

29 tornadoes touched Cleveland County, North Carolina between 1950 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database — about 0.4 per year.

What was the strongest tornado in Cleveland County?

The strongest rating recorded was F4 on May 5, 1989, with a 14-mile path and 4 deaths.

When is tornado season in Cleveland County?

Most of its tornadoes happened in May (6 of 29). Tornadoes can occur in any month, so keep alerts on year-round.

Right now: live tornado warnings map · alerts for your location. Dates link to that day’s full storm reports where available (2004 onward).