Dare County tornado history

41 tornadoes touched Dare County, North Carolina between 1950 and 2025 — about 0.5 a year. The strongest was rated F3 (Sep 17, 1952). Tornadoes here killed 1 and injured 22 people.

41tornadoes since 1950

F3strongest rating

1killed · 22 injured

12 milongest path · 1990

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

By rating

(E)F025

(E)F111

(E)F24

(E)F31

(E)F40

(E)F50

By month

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: July.

By decade

’50’60’70’80’90’00’10’20

Strongest tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured	Killed
Sep 17, 1952	F3	1 mi	50 yd	0	0
Jul 31, 1978	F2	0.2 mi	50 yd	4	1
Nov 10, 1990	F2	12 mi	40 yd	1	0
Mar 31, 1987	F2	10 mi	440 yd	7	0
Sep 28, 1982	F2	0.3 mi	33 yd	2	0
Jul 24, 1958	F1	2.5 mi	100 yd	1	0
Apr 16, 2011	EF1	0.7 mi	250 yd	0	0
May 29, 1990	F1	0.5 mi	50 yd	1	0
Aug 14, 2004	F1	0.2 mi	30 yd	0	0
Aug 2, 1956	F1	0.1 mi	10 yd	0	0
Jul 10, 1959	F1	0.1 mi	10 yd	0	0
Jun 4, 1989	F1	0.1 mi	20 yd	1	0

Most recent tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured
May 15, 2025	EF0	0.8 mi	100 yd	0
Sep 2, 2016	EF0	0.1 mi	25 yd	3
May 11, 2015	EF0	0.5 mi	30 yd	0
Aug 19, 2012	EF0	—	20 yd	0
Jul 30, 2012	EF0	0.5 mi	20 yd	0
Jul 30, 2012	EF0	1 mi	20 yd	0
Apr 16, 2011	EF1	0.7 mi	250 yd	0
Jul 15, 2007	EF0	0.1 mi	10 yd	0
Jun 14, 2006	F0	0.1 mi	25 yd	0
Aug 14, 2004	F1	0.2 mi	30 yd	0
Aug 26, 2002	F0	0.1 mi	50 yd	0
May 28, 2001	F0	0.5 mi	50 yd	0

Deadliest: Jul 31, 1978, F2, 1 killed.

Nearby counties

Hyde County, NC21 Tyrrell County, NC17 Washington County, NC13 Pasquotank County, NC20 Perquimans County, NC14 Currituck County, NC10 Camden County, NC6 Chowan County, NC14

Questions

How many tornadoes has Dare County, North Carolina had?

41 tornadoes touched Dare County, North Carolina between 1950 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database — about 0.5 per year.

What was the strongest tornado in Dare County?

The strongest rating recorded was F3 on Sep 17, 1952, with a 1-mile path.

When is tornado season in Dare County?

Most of its tornadoes happened in July (9 of 41). 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).