260
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
6
Direct injuries
$884K
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Gaston County, North Carolina: 260 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 75. That places the county #633 nationally and #29 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Gaston County, North Carolina: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Gaston County is the 2010s, when 76 of the county's 260 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 Gaston County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 52.2% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #633 for this hazard and #29 within North Carolina, putting it in the 79.9 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Gaston County with 67 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 23, 2012 | SOUTH GASTONIA | 40 | 2 | 1 | $0 |
| May 8, 2024 | MOUNTIAN VIEW | 60 | 1 | 1 | $20K |
| Jul 5, 2020 | DUKE POWER VLG | 40 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 16, 2023 | DELLVIEW | 75 | 0 | 1 | $25K |
| Jul 3, 2014 | CHERRYVILLE | 60 | 0 | 1 | $150K |
| Aug 11, 2011 | MC ADENVILLE | 65 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 21, 1990 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 16, 2026 | BELMONT SOUTH | 50 | $0 |
| Aug 1, 2025 | RANLO | 50 | $0 |
| Jun 25, 2025 | SUNNYSIDE | 60 | $0 |
| May 8, 2025 | CROWDERS | 40 | $5K |
| Dec 29, 2024 | SOUTH GASTONIA | 50 | $20K |
| Aug 19, 2024 | CRAMERTON | 50 | $0 |
| Jul 31, 2024 | GASTONIA | 50 | $5K |
| Jul 17, 2024 | BELMONT | 50 | $0 |
| May 25, 2024 | GASTONIA | 50 | $10K |
| May 8, 2024 | DALLAS | 40 | $20K |
Other hazards here
More from Gaston County
- Hail 169
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
County comms reported widespread straight-line wind damage to trees and power lines from the Kings Mountain and Bessemer City areas, across Gastonia to McAdenville. A 62-year-old woman was killed and another person injured when a tree fell on a parked vehicle at South New Hope Rd and Dixon Rd in Gastonia. The screen of an outdoor theater was destroyed in McAdenville.
A squall line developed in the lee of the mountains during the morning, and began producing damaging winds as it moved across the southern piedmont. Numerous trees, large limbs, and power lines were blown down in the county, with 2 trees falling on mobile homes. Some outbuildings were also damaged or destroyed. WFO Columbia relayed a report of a canopy on a gas station collapsing on some vehicles. A small airplane was flipped at AKH, where some sheet metal and a door was blown off a hangar. A tree also fell on and heavily damaged a mobile home in Mt Holly.
Spotters reported power lines blown down at S Gaston St and E Church St and a tree on a house on S Gaston St in Dallas, and a carport damaged and large tree limbs down on Jessica Ln (2 NE Dallas). Spotter also reported a tree across the road at S Willow St and E 2nd Ave in Gastonia and county dispatch reported a tree on a house on Carpenter St (2 ENE Gastonia).
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Gaston County, North Carolina?
260 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Gaston County between 1955 and 2026, causing 4 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Gaston County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Gaston County measured 75.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Gaston 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 Gaston County, North Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-carolina/gaston-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.