179
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$190K
Property damage
Hail in Columbus County, North Carolina: 179 recorded events between 1966 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 2.75. That places the county #741 nationally and #8 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Hail in Columbus County, North Carolina: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for hail in Columbus County is the 2000s, when 64 of the county's 179 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, hail makes up 31.5% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #741 for this hazard and #8 within North Carolina, putting it in the 76.2 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for hail in Columbus County with 68 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.
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 25, 2025 | WHITEVILLE | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 2, 2025 | SOUTH WHITEVILLE | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 2, 2025 | WHITEVILLE | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 2, 2025 | WHITEVILLE | 1 | $0 |
| May 8, 2024 | DELCO | 1.75 | $0 |
| May 8, 2024 | ARMOUR | 1.75 | $0 |
| Apr 7, 2022 | TABOR CITY | 1.5 | $0 |
| May 6, 2020 | FAIR BLUFF | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 11, 2016 | PLEASANT PLAINS | 1 | $0 |
| May 3, 2016 | PORTERSVILLE | 1 | $500 |
Other hazards here
More from Columbus County
- Thunderstorm Wind 271
- Flash Flood 44
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A NWS storm survey concluded that golfball size hail fell to a depth of six inches in Riegelwood. The hail damaged roofs, siding, and windows of homes, and dented the metal on cars in the area. The thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated between 60 and 70 mph, as evidenced by large tree limbs down.
Thunderstorms moving east caused a lightning fire that destroyed a house just south of Tabor City. A large tree limb was downed onto a car in Tabor City. Six miles east at Iron Hill, six cows in a grove of trees were killed by lightning, and dime size hail was reported 9 miles east of Tabor City.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many hail events are on record in Columbus County, North Carolina?
179 hail events are recorded in Columbus County between 1966 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest hail recorded in Columbus County?
The strongest hail on record in Columbus County measured 2.75.
Where does the hail 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
“Hail in Columbus County, North Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-carolina/columbus-county/hail/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.