271
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
7
Direct injuries
$6.1M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Columbus County, North Carolina: 271 recorded events between 1961 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 75. That places the county #574 nationally and #26 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Columbus County, North Carolina: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Columbus County is the 2010s, when 92 of the county's 271 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Columbus County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 47.7% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #574 for this hazard and #26 within North Carolina, putting it in the 81.8 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Columbus County with 62 recorded events, while Nov is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 4, 1994 | 0 | 0 | 4 | $5.0M | |
| Mar 21, 1984 | 0 | 0 | 3 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 12, 2026 | FREEMAN | 50 | $0 |
| Mar 12, 2026 | ARMOUR | 50 | $1K |
| Jun 25, 2025 | PIREWAY | 50 | $0 |
| Jun 25, 2025 | GUIDEWAY | 50 | $0 |
| Jun 25, 2025 | WHITEVILLE | 50 | $0 |
| Jun 8, 2025 | GUIDEWAY | 50 | $0 |
| Jun 8, 2025 | SOUTH WHITEVILLE | 50 | $0 |
| Jun 8, 2025 | CHADBOURN | 50 | $0 |
| Jun 8, 2025 | NEW HOPE | 50 | $0 |
| Jun 8, 2025 | IRONHILL | 50 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Columbus County
- Hail 179
- Flash Flood 44
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Strong thunderstorm winds overturned two mobile homes. One child, one teenager and two adults were injured. $1.7 million damage to homes and eleven businesses. Numerous power lines were downed. Several liquid propane gas tanks were damaged.
Three trailers were destroyed and two were damaged. One home was damaged. One barn collapsed and the equipment inside was damaged. Two large trees fell onto four parked cars. The cars were severely damaged. A dozen trees in all were reportedly down. The damage was primarily along and near JD Connerette Road. Details were provided by the Columbus County Emergency Manager. The time was estimated based on radar data.
A National Weather Service Storm Survey team concluded a microburst with winds to 75 mph did considerable damage to a small mobile home community. There were approximately 12 mobile homes that experienced damage with one home sustaining major damage. Two pickup trucks were damaged by fallen trees. A dozen sheds and storage buildings were damaged or destroyed. Many windows were broken by the severe winds and debris was strewn across a wide area. A dozen trees were downed or snapped and many large limbs were down. Power lines were also reported down and seven hundred people were reportedly without power. There were two wind maxima associated with this microburst. A 70 mph wind gust caused damage along Joe Brown Highway, just south of McMillan Road. A 75 mph wind gust caused damage in the vicinity of Best Road, just east of Joe Brown Highway. The microburst dissipated north of Best Road, but well south of Old Lumberton Road. The path width was 1936 yards and the path length was 1.15 miles.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Columbus County, North Carolina?
271 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Columbus County between 1961 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Columbus County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Columbus County measured 75.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Columbus County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Columbus County, North Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-carolina/columbus-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.