Gaston County tornado history

21 tornadoes touched Gaston County, North Carolina between 1950 and 2025 — about 0.3 a year. The strongest was rated F3 (Mar 27, 1994). Tornadoes here killed 1 and injured 29 people.

21tornadoes since 1950

F3strongest rating

1killed · 29 injured

56.4 milongest path · 1956

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

By rating

(E)F05

(E)F111

(E)F23

(E)F31

(E)F40

(E)F50

unrated1

By month

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: May.

By decade

’50’60’70’80’90’00’10’20

Strongest tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured	Killed
Mar 27, 1994	F3	18.5 mi	200 yd	2	0
Mar 27, 1994	F2	45.4 mi	100 yd	13	0
May 9, 2008	EF2	18.2 mi	75 yd	0	0
Feb 6, 2020	EF2	8.7 mi	150 yd	0	0
Apr 2, 1974	F1	9.7 mi	100 yd	10	1
Apr 6, 1956	F1	56.4 mi	100 yd	0	0
May 8, 2024	EF1	21.3 mi	100 yd	0	0
Jul 12, 2003	F1	18 mi	200 yd	0	0
Feb 21, 1997	F1	15 mi	200 yd	0	0
May 8, 2024	EF1	8.2 mi	60 yd	2	0
May 26, 2006	F1	2.2 mi	40 yd	0	0
Jan 13, 2006	F1	0.5 mi	100 yd	0	0

Most recent tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured
May 8, 2024	EF1	21.3 mi	100 yd	0
May 8, 2024	EF1	8.2 mi	60 yd	2
Jan 12, 2023	EF0	6.1 mi	100 yd	0
May 22, 2020	EF0	8.6 mi	100 yd	0
Feb 6, 2020	EF2	8.7 mi	150 yd	0
Apr 19, 2019	EF0	7.1 mi	100 yd	1
Mar 28, 2010	EF1	0.1 mi	100 yd	0
May 9, 2008	EF2	18.2 mi	75 yd	0
Jan 5, 2007	unrated	0.3 mi	20 yd	0
Nov 15, 2006	F1	0.1 mi	30 yd	0
May 26, 2006	F1	2.2 mi	40 yd	0
Jan 13, 2006	F1	0.5 mi	100 yd	0

Deadliest: Apr 2, 1974, F1, 1 killed.

Nearby counties

Lincoln County, NC23 Mecklenburg County, NC29 Cleveland County, NC29 York County, SC24 Catawba County, NC20 Cherokee County, SC23 Cabarrus County, NC16 Iredell County, NC23

Questions

How many tornadoes has Gaston County, North Carolina had?

21 tornadoes touched Gaston County, North Carolina between 1950 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database — about 0.3 per year.

What was the strongest tornado in Gaston County?

The strongest rating recorded was F3 on Mar 27, 1994, with a 18.5-mile path.

When is tornado season in Gaston County?

Most of its tornadoes happened in May (7 of 21). 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).