49
Recorded events
6
Direct deaths
334
Direct injuries
$9.6M
Property damage
Tornado in Robeson County, North Carolina: 49 recorded events between 1957 and 2024. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #400 nationally and #3 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Robeson County, North Carolina: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Robeson County is the 1970s, when 10 of the county's 49 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 Robeson County archive, tornado makes up 7.6% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #400 for this hazard and #3 within North Carolina, putting it in the 86.5 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Mar is the peak month for tornado in Robeson County with 9 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.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984-03-28 | EF4 | 40.0 mi | 2,600 yd | Crossed in |
| 1957-04-08 | EF4 | 121.4 mi | 150 yd | Crossed in |
| 1957-04-08 | EF4 | 0.8 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 1969-04-18 | EF3 | 77.3 mi | 440 yd | Crossed in |
| 1976-05-15 | EF2 | 10.1 mi | 33 yd | Touched down here |
| 1963-09-29 | EF2 | 85.8 mi | 100 yd | Crossed in |
| 1999-04-15 | EF2 | 0.3 mi | 0 yd | Touched down here |
| 2009-03-27 | EF2 | 2.0 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 1979-03-23 | EF2 | 9.8 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1963-07-19 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 27 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 1976 | F2 | 3 | 4 | $250K | |
| Mar 29, 1984 | F4 | 2 | 280 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 16, 1999 | PEMBROKE | F2 | 1 | 4 | $200K |
| Apr 9, 1957 | F4 | 0 | 21 | $250K | |
| Mar 24, 1979 | F2 | 0 | 9 | $250K | |
| Apr 9, 1957 | F4 | 0 | 6 | $250K | |
| Mar 4, 1977 | F1 | 0 | 4 | $250K | |
| Mar 8, 1998 | LUMBERTON | F1 | 0 | 3 | $100K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 14, 2024 | PHILDELPHUS | EF0 | $5K |
| May 14, 2024 | BUIE | EF0 | $10K |
| May 14, 2024 | RED BANKS | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 18, 2022 | TOLARSVILLE | EF0 | $0 |
| Sep 16, 2018 | PURVIS | EF0 | $0 |
| May 23, 2017 | LUMBER BRIDGE | EF0 | $100K |
| Jun 28, 2015 | ALLENTON | EF1 | $20K |
| Jun 28, 2015 | RAYNHAM | EF1 | $40K |
| Feb 21, 2014 | ROZIERS | EF0 | $11K |
| Feb 21, 2014 | RED BANKS | EF0 | $9K |
Other hazards here
More from Robeson County
- Thunderstorm Wind 363
- Hail 172
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A National Weather Service Storm Survey Team concluded an EF1 tornado touched down near Barker Ten Mile, North Carolina. The maximum wind speed was estimated to 105 mph. The path length was near one and a half miles. The maximum path width was 352 yards. Several headstones were turned over in a cemetery on Highway 301. Several ornamental trees, up to eight inches in diameter, were snapped. A half dozen power poles were leaning over and a flag pole was completely bent over. Numerous trees were snapped along Interstate-95. Several dozen large hardwood and pine trees, up to two feet in diameter, were snapped or uprooted. Fallen trees caused substantial damage to over 100 homes along Robin Road, Castle Road and Sherwood Road.
A National Weather Service Storm Survey Team concluded an EF1 tornado touched down near Rowland, North Carolina. The maximum wind speed was estimated to 105 mph. The path length was just over two-thirds of a mile. The maximum path width was 50 yards. Significant damage occurred to about 50 homes as a result of snapped pine trees, up to two feet in diameter. Shingles were observed to be missing from many roofs. A detached garage was pushed several feet off its foundation and a few outbuildings were destroyed. Significant damage was reported to an elementary school. Straight-line wind damage to trees was apparent for another mile beyond the point where the tornado lifted.
A National Weather Service Storm Survey concluded a tornado first touched down near mobile homes just northeast of Lester Road at 135 AM EST. There was significant damage to one mobile home along with some trees down. The tornado tracked north-northeast crossing Highway 20 near Ralph's Auto Repair Shop. All of the bay doors were blown out of the shop and 17 storage buildings located on the property were destroyed. Four vehicles at the repair shop sustained damage as well as a tow truck and a tractor trailer. The tornado continued to move north-northeast knocking trees down across the railroad tracks north of Highway 20. A mobile home along Britt Road sustained moderate damage. The tornado finally dissipated just north of Britt Road at 138 AM EST. The damage was indicative of wind speeds up to 80 mph, EF-0 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. There were no injuries. The total damage was estimated at $50,000 dollars.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Robeson County, North Carolina?
49 tornado events are recorded in Robeson County between 1957 and 2024, causing 6 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Robeson County?
The strongest tornado on record in Robeson County measured F4.
Where does the tornado data for Robeson 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
“Tornado in Robeson County, North Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-carolina/robeson-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.