Tornado History Map

Polk County, North Carolina tornado history

4 tornadoes recorded in or across Polk County from 1977 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 Polk County

The Storm Prediction Center records 4 tornadoes whose paths touched Polk County, North Carolina between 1977 and 2024. None of them is recorded as having killed anyone. The busiest month is October, with 2 tornadoes. The strongest was an F1 on 17 August 1977. The most recent was on 29 December 2024.

  • 4tornadoes
  • 0deaths
  • 0injuries
  • 168per 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 Polk County?

RatingTornadoesShare
F0 / EF0250%
F1 / EF1250%
F2 / EF200%
F3 / EF300%
F4 / EF400%
F5 / EF500%
Unknown rating00%

Polk County tornadoes over time

Tornadoes by decade
Bar chart of tornadoes by period. The most is 2 in 2010s.1970s12010s22020s1

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

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1970s1
2010s2
2020s1
Tornadoes by month
Bar chart of tornadoes by period. The most is 2 in Oct.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May0Jun0Jul0Aug1Sep0Oct2Nov0Dec1
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May0
Jun0
Jul0
Aug1
Sep0
Oct2
Nov0
Dec1

Records for Polk County

  • Strongest and Longest path: North Carolina tornado17 August 1977, F1, 11.5 miles long
  • Most recent: North Carolina tornado29 December 2024, EF0, 1 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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