278
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$820K
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Orange County, North Carolina: 278 recorded events between 1975 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 69. That places the county #547 nationally and #23 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Orange County, North Carolina: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Orange County is the 2010s, when 99 of the county's 278 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 Orange County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 59.9% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #547 for this hazard and #23 within North Carolina, putting it in the 82.7 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Orange County with 80 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 28, 2020 | CHAPEL HILL WLLMS AR | 50 | 1 | 0 | $50K |
| Jun 13, 2013 | CHAPEL HILL | 61 | 1 | 0 | $3K |
| May 25, 2000 | CHAPEL HILL | 60 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jun 1, 2002 | HILLSBOROUGH | 50 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 29, 2026 | CALVANDER | 50 | $10K |
| Dec 19, 2025 | CHAPEL HILL WLLMS AR | 50 | $5K |
| Aug 1, 2025 | MC DADE | 50 | $5K |
| Jul 28, 2025 | CHAPEL HILL | 50 | $1K |
| Jul 28, 2025 | CALVANDER | 50 | $1K |
| Jul 28, 2025 | TEER | 50 | $3K |
| Jul 19, 2025 | OCCONEECHEE | 50 | $1K |
| Jul 19, 2025 | OCCONEECHEE | 50 | $1K |
| Jul 19, 2025 | SCHLEY | 50 | $5K |
| Jul 6, 2025 | CHAPEL HILL | 50 | $4K |
Other hazards here
More from Orange County
- Hail 84
- Flash Flood 74
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Several trees were reported down in the towns of Efland, Mebane, and Hillsborough areas. This included a tree down on a car in Hillsborough, a tree down on a mobile home in Efland, and another tree down on the roof of a business in Efland.
Several trees were blown down across southern portions of the county. Two trees were blown down on Oak Grove Church Road. Two additional trees were blown down on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd and near the intersection of Caswell and Clayton Roads.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Orange County, North Carolina?
278 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Orange County between 1975 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Orange County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Orange County measured 69.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Orange 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 Orange County, North Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-carolina/orange-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.