Tornado History Map

Durham County, North Carolina tornado history

12 tornadoes recorded in or across Durham County from 1952 to 2024, coloured by rating on the map.

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Years1950 to 2025
Rating (F or EF scale)

Shows tornadoes that started in, or crossed, the chosen state. To see how many have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • F0 / EF0 Light damage
  • F1 / EF1 Moderate damage
  • F2 / EF2 Considerable damage
  • F3 / EF3 Severe damage
  • F4 / EF4 Devastating damage
  • F5 / EF5 Incredible damage
  • Unknown Not rated (2007 onwards)

How to read the lines. Each line is one tornado, drawn from where it started to where it ended, coloured and sized by its rating. A dot means the record has no end point. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see how many tornadoes have passed nearby. Weaker tornadoes appear as you zoom in. Ratings use the Fujita (F) scale before 1 February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale from then on.

Tornadoes in Durham County

The Storm Prediction Center records 12 tornadoes whose paths touched Durham County, North Carolina between 1952 and 2024. None of them is recorded as having killed anyone. The busiest month is May, with 4 tornadoes. The strongest was an F2 on 5 May 1989. The most recent was on 27 September 2024.

  • 12tornadoes
  • 0deaths
  • 5injuries
  • 419per 10,000 sq mi of land

A tornado that crossed several counties counts in each one, so county counts add up to more than the state's.

How strong were the tornadoes in Durham County?

RatingTornadoesShare
F0 / EF0325%
F1 / EF1542%
F2 / EF2433%
F3 / EF300%
F4 / EF400%
F5 / EF500%
Unknown rating00%

Durham County tornadoes over time

Tornadoes by decade
Bar chart of tornadoes by period. The most is 3 in 1980s.1950s11970s11980s31990s12000s12010s22020s3

The 2020s only run to 2024, so that bar is for a shorter period. The record starts in 1950.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1950s1
1970s1
1980s3
1990s1
2000s1
2010s2
2020s3
Tornadoes by month
Bar chart of tornadoes by period. The most is 4 in May.Jan0Feb1Mar2Apr2May4Jun0Jul1Aug0Sep1Oct0Nov0Dec1
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb1
Mar2
Apr2
May4
Jun0
Jul1
Aug0
Sep1
Oct0
Nov0
Dec1

Records for Durham County

  • Strongest and Longest path: North Carolina tornado5 May 1989, F2, 8.7 miles long
  • Most recent: North Carolina tornado27 September 2024, EF1, 0.6 miles long

Many of these tornadoes killed or injured people. The numbers are the official record's, and they may be revised.

More in North Carolina

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