Wayne County tornado history

30 tornadoes touched Wayne County, North Carolina between 1950 and 2025 — about 0.4 a year. The strongest was rated F4 (Mar 28, 1984). Tornadoes here killed 4 and injured 286 people.

30tornadoes since 1950

F4strongest rating

4killed · 286 injured

64.1 milongest path · 1962

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

By rating

(E)F015

(E)F19

(E)F23

(E)F32

(E)F41

(E)F50

By month

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: March.

By decade

’50’60’70’80’90’00’10’20

Strongest tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured	Killed
Mar 28, 1984	F4	21 mi	1,407 yd	149	3
Apr 16, 2011	EF3	20.4 mi	400 yd	30	0
Mar 28, 1984	F3	9 mi	527 yd	81	0
Mar 16, 1955	F2	6.6 mi	500 yd	1	1
Aug 20, 1986	F2	1 mi	23 yd	0	0
Mar 8, 1998	F2	1 mi	50 yd	0	0
May 29, 1973	F1	17.9 mi	10 yd	0	0
Nov 4, 1992	F1	2 mi	30 yd	0	0
Jun 21, 1961	F1	1 mi	50 yd	1	0
Aug 6, 1993	F1	1 mi	30 yd	0	0
Feb 21, 2014	EF1	0.8 mi	175 yd	0	0
Jan 6, 1995	F1	0.5 mi	50 yd	22	0

Most recent tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured
Sep 5, 2019	EF0	0.6 mi	125 yd	0
Sep 17, 2018	EF0	0.4 mi	100 yd	0
Oct 8, 2016	EF0	0.9 mi	250 yd	0
Feb 24, 2016	EF0	1 mi	75 yd	0
Feb 21, 2014	EF1	0.8 mi	175 yd	0
Apr 16, 2011	EF3	20.4 mi	400 yd	30
Aug 27, 2008	EF0	1.9 mi	100 yd	0
Apr 12, 2008	EF0	0.4 mi	20 yd	0
Apr 12, 2008	EF0	0.9 mi	20 yd	0
Jun 4, 2004	F0	1 mi	100 yd	0
Apr 1, 1998	F0	0.5 mi	50 yd	0
Mar 8, 1998	F2	1 mi	50 yd	0

Deadliest: Mar 28, 1984, F4, 3 killed.

Nearby counties

Greene County, NC20 Lenoir County, NC30 Johnston County, NC25 Wilson County, NC20 Duplin County, NC42 Sampson County, NC25 Pitt County, NC33 Nash County, NC19

Questions

How many tornadoes has Wayne County, North Carolina had?

30 tornadoes touched Wayne 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 Wayne County?

The strongest rating recorded was F4 on Mar 28, 1984, with a 21-mile path and 3 deaths.

When is tornado season in Wayne County?

Most of its tornadoes happened in March (8 of 30). 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).