270
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$800K
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Burke County, North Carolina: 270 recorded events between 1957 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 75. That places the county #577 nationally and #27 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Burke County, North Carolina: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Burke County is the 2010s, when 120 of the county's 270 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 Burke County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 45.9% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #577 for this hazard and #27 within North Carolina, putting it in the 81.7 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Burke County with 87 recorded events, while Jan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 18, 2012 | RUTHERFORD COLLEGE | 50 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| May 12, 1985 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 16, 2026 | MORGANTON | 50 | $0 |
| Jul 12, 2025 | DREXEL | 50 | $5K |
| Jul 11, 2025 | DREXEL | 50 | $0 |
| May 8, 2025 | MORGANTON | 50 | $0 |
| Dec 29, 2024 | VALDESE | 50 | $0 |
| Aug 30, 2024 | BRINDLETOWN | 50 | $0 |
| Aug 30, 2024 | MORGANTON | 50 | $0 |
| Aug 17, 2024 | BRIDGEWATER | 50 | $0 |
| Jul 16, 2024 | CHESTERFIELD | 50 | $0 |
| Jul 5, 2024 | MORGANTON | 50 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Burke County
- Hail 211
- Flash Flood 44
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Newspaper reported a large tree fell on and destroyed a workshop building in Glen Alpine. NWS employee reported multiple large limbs blown down in the area around Broughton Hospital (1 SSE Morganton). Public reported trees blown down off Bethel Rd (2 ESE) and numerous trees blown down just northeast of town. Spotter reported a tree blown down on a house at North Anderson St and Collett St (where two children were briefly trapped) in the city, and another tree on a house off Highway 70 between Morganton and Drexel.
County comms, the public, and spotters reported numerous trees and power lines blown down from the Glen Alpine area through the south part of Morganton. In Glen Alpine, the main area impacted was around Jamestown Rd, Mt Olive Church Rd, and Highway 70 near I-40. A home was reportedly blown off its foundation in this area. One tree fell on a home on Snowhill Church Rd. In Morganton, more than 20 trees fell near Enola Rd and I-40, with one tree on an automobile and other trees on two buildings. Other trees were uprooted or snapped on Parker Rd near the hospital.
Public reported multiple trees blown down with one on a trailer, part of the roof removed from a house, and a destroyed barn on Buzz Lowman St. Media reported numerous trees blown down nearby on Old Laurel Rd and significant damage to the roof of a manufacturing building on Claude Britton Rd. Ham radio operator reported multiple large trees down on Highway 18.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Burke County, North Carolina?
270 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Burke County between 1957 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Burke County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Burke County measured 75.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Burke 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 Burke County, North Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-carolina/burke-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.