Halifax County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot North Carolina Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Halifax County is about the same as North Carolina average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Halifax County is about the same as North Carolina average and is lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #61
| Halifax County | 0.01 |
| North Carolina | 0.18 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #1
| Halifax County | 0.0000 |
| North Carolina | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #44
| Halifax County | 122.54 |
| North Carolina | 115.21 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 10,904 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Halifax County were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 1 | Cold: | 52 | Dense Fog: | 13 | Drought: | 83 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 984 | Hail: | 2,972 | Heat: | 26 | Heavy Snow: | 176 |
| High Surf: | 2 | Hurricane: | 30 | Ice Storm: | 48 | Landslide: | 3 | Strong Wind: | 220 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 5,243 | Tropical Storm: | 20 | Wildfire: | 2 | Winter Storm: | 202 | Winter Weather: | 231 |
| Other: | 596 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Halifax County.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Halifax County.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Halifax County.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 46 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Halifax County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 3.1 | 1988-11-28 | 4 | 36°12'N / 77°49'W | 36°21'N / 77°34'W | 22.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 10 | 2.5M | 0 | Halifax |
| 3.8 | 1979-04-03 | 2 | 36°12'N / 77°40'W | 0.80 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Halifax | |
| 5.9 | 1952-07-23 | 2 | 36°15'N / 77°45'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Halifax | |||
| 13.3 | 1988-11-28 | 4 | 36°21'N / 77°34'W | 36°27'N / 77°25'W | 10.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Northampton |
| 15.8 | 1981-09-15 | 2 | 36°28'N / 77°33'W | 1.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Northampton | |
| 18.0 | 1988-11-28 | 4 | 36°06'N / 78°04'W | 36°12'N / 77°49'W | 10.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 2 | 22 | 2.5M | 0 | Nash |
| 22.6 | 1989-03-30 | 2 | 36°22'N / 77°28'W | 36°29'N / 77°08'W | 22.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 11 | 2.5M | 0 | Northampton |
| 23.3 | 1969-10-02 | 2 | 36°27'N / 78°00'W | 36°30'N / 77°55'W | 5.60 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Warren |
| 23.3 | 1984-03-28 | 2 | 35°57'N / 77°50'W | 2.00 Miles | 177 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Nash | |
| 24.4 | 1952-05-10 | 2 | 36°06'N / 77°15'W | 0 | 6 | 0K | 0 | Bertie | |||
| 25.2 | 1953-05-02 | 2 | 36°37'N / 77°38'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Emporia | |
| 26.1 | 1992-11-23 | 3 | 35°49'N / 77°43'W | 35°58'N / 77°17'W | 24.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Edgecombe |
| 27.2 | 1988-11-28 | 2 | 36°30'N / 77°19'W | 36°33'N / 77°16'W | 3.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Northampton |
| 28.2 | 1984-03-28 | 3 | 36°08'N / 77°12'W | 36°12'N / 77°06'W | 6.00 Miles | 880 Yards | 6 | 19 | 2.5M | 0 | Bertie |
| 28.8 | 1992-11-23 | 3 | 35°58'N / 77°17'W | 36°01'N / 77°12'W | 11.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 9 | 250K | 0 | Martin |
| 29.1 | 1966-11-02 | 2 | 36°15'N / 78°11'W | 36°18'N / 78°09'W | 3.80 Miles | 77 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Warren |
| 33.0 | 1957-11-08 | 3 | 35°44'N / 77°40'W | 35°51'N / 77°18'W | 22.10 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Edgecombe |
| 33.5 | 1955-06-11 | 2 | 35°46'N / 77°31'W | 35°53'N / 77°12'W | 19.40 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Pitt |
| 33.7 | 2008-05-11 | 2 | 36°08'N / 77°11'W | 36°12'N / 76°55'W | 15.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 2 | 1.0M | 0K | Bertie |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: Tornado first touched down about two miles north-northwest of Lewiston Woodville. The tornado path then continued east-northeast across the county producing EF0 to EF2 damage. The tornado path ended as EF0 damage about one mile south of Powellsville. Confirmed EF1 tornado damage about two miles north-northwest of Lewiston Woodville consisted of numerous trees downed on Route 308, and several trailer and brick homes damaged with some mobile homes destroyed near Piney Woods Road. Confirmed EF2 tornado damage about three miles north-northeast of Lewiston Woodville and five miles southwest of Connaritsa consisted of several mobile homes destroyed and a church demolished on Connaritsa Road. Confirmed EF1 tornado damage occurred again about four miles southwest of Powellsville. The damage was along Hexlena Road, with numerous trees downed or snapped off and extensive damage to a few mobile homes. The tornado damage ended about one mile south of Powellsville. Confirmed EF0 tornado damage occurred along Sally Freeman Road, where a porch attached to a mobile home, was demolished. Also, several trees were snapped off. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Scattered severe thunderstorms produced damaging winds, large hail and one tornado across portions of northeast North Carolina. | |||||||||||
| 34.1 | 2008-11-15 | 3 | 35°45'N / 77°55'W | 35°50'N / 77°49'W | 8.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 1 | 4 | 1.0M | 200K | Wilson |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The tornado occurred along a discontinuous, approximately eight-mile path that began with minor roof damage to a dwelling and a snapped tree along Harrison drive just south of Ward Boulevard. The most significant damage was then noted to the northeast, along London Church Road, south of Route 1330. On London Church Road, one home was completely destroyed and swept off of its foundation. Based on eyewitness accounts and the damage, fire and rescue estimate the home rolled as many as four times. In this home, there was unfortunately one fatality and two injuries. Across the road from this home to the northeast, the upper portion of a home was destroyed, and another home had a roof completely blown away with trees on top of it. In this latter home, eyewitness accounts noted there were two more injuries, conditions unknown. The tornado then followed a discontinuous path into Elm City. There were numerous indications of tree damage in elm city with a porch roof blown off, and outbuildings damaged or toppled. Finally, the last noticeable damage was observed along route 1400, and just north of the intersection of Hefner Road and Route 1402, where small clusters of trees were snapped and outbuildings were damaged. The damage in and northeast of Elm City was consistent with EF-0 damage. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Two mini-supercells tracked northeast along a warm front during the early morning hours of the 15th. The two supercells spawned several tornadoes in Samspon, Johnston, and Wilson counties, two of which resulted in two fatalities. | |||||||||||
| 34.3 | 1981-02-11 | 2 | 35°56'N / 78°09'W | 35°57'N / 78°06'W | 3.30 Miles | 800 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Nash |
| 34.6 | 1953-03-15 | 3 | 35°45'N / 77°44'W | 35°45'N / 77°34'W | 9.20 Miles | 27 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Edgecombe |
| 35.6 | 1957-11-08 | 3 | 35°51'N / 77°18'W | 36°00'N / 77°00'W | 19.70 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Bertie |
| 36.8 | 1984-03-28 | 2 | 36°14'N / 77°00'W | 36°16'N / 76°58'W | 3.00 Miles | 527 Yards | 0 | 2 | 25.0M | 0 | Bertie |
| 37.1 | 1957-11-08 | 3 | 35°42'N / 77°45'W | 35°44'N / 77°40'W | 5.10 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Wilson |
| 37.4 | 1988-11-28 | 4 | 35°58'N / 78°27'W | 36°06'N / 78°04'W | 21.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 17 | 25.0M | 0 | Franklin |
| 37.6 | 1953-03-15 | 3 | 35°45'N / 78°05'W | 35°45'N / 77°44'W | 19.60 Miles | 27 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Wilson |
| 38.0 | 1966-11-02 | 2 | 36°00'N / 78°26'W | 36°15'N / 78°11'W | 22.20 Miles | 77 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Franklin |
| 38.2 | 1983-05-16 | 2 | 36°20'N / 76°58'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Hertford | |
| 38.7 | 1966-11-02 | 2 | 36°43'N / 78°02'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Brunswick | |
| 39.0 | 1992-11-23 | 3 | 35°38'N / 78°05'W | 35°49'N / 77°43'W | 25.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Wilson |
| 39.6 | 1954-09-20 | 2 | 35°43'N / 77°54'W | 0.50 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 4 | 250K | 0 | Wilson | |
| 40.1 | 1984-03-28 | 2 | 36°16'N / 76°58'W | 36°18'N / 76°53'W | 2.00 Miles | 527 Yards | 0 | 5 | 25.0M | 0 | Hertford |
| 40.3 | 1981-03-30 | 2 | 36°30'N / 77°04'W | 36°32'N / 76°56'W | 7.70 Miles | 83 Yards | 1 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Hertford |
| 40.4 | 1992-11-23 | 3 | 36°01'N / 77°12'W | 36°12'N / 76°41'W | 31.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Bertie |
| 40.9 | 1986-10-14 | 3 | 36°47'N / 77°46'W | 36°54'N / 77°40'W | 12.00 Miles | 800 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Brunswick |
| 42.2 | 1953-03-15 | 3 | 35°46'N / 78°06'W | 35°45'N / 78°05'W | 1.30 Miles | 27 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Nash |
| 42.5 | 1978-06-03 | 2 | 36°00'N / 76°57'W | 0.80 Mile | 83 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Bertie | |
| 43.0 | 1996-04-15 | 2 | 35°53'N / 78°16'W | 35°53'N / 78°16'W | 2.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 5 | 1.0M | 0 | Franklin |
| Brief Description: The storm moved into Franklin county and destroyed a cement block building 1 mile SW of the community of Pilot. The storm then crossed over Hwy 64 where numerous trees were twisted and downed. Several outbuildings were also destroyed. The storm then entered Pilot where the damage path reached 250 yards across. A frame house was rotated, lifted off its foundation, and moved 30 feet. Cars were thrown into a local farm pond along with other debris. As the tornado left Pilot and approached HWY 39, the tornado reached it greatest width of nearly 400 yards. Damage was evident at every home in its path. The storm then weakened before it moved into Nash county. | |||||||||||
| 45.2 | 1995-10-27 | 2 | 36°20'N / 78°29'W | 36°20'N / 78°25'W | 3.00 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 10.0M | 0 | Vance |
| Brief Description: A tornado first touched down 4 W of Henderson near Interstate 85. The storm moved north and crossed Interstate 85. Sporadic damage occurred to mostly pine trees around the Ruin Creek Road area until the storm hit the Camperland business sales lot. Here, 25 RV's and five Uhauls were destroyed. The roof of the business was blown off. A few blocks away a medical clinic was destroyed. For several blocks down the road, there was damage to roofs of a department store, grocery, hospital, and shopping center. | |||||||||||
| 45.8 | 1955-03-16 | 2 | 35°36'N / 77°58'W | 35°39'N / 77°52'W | 6.60 Miles | 500 Yards | 1 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Wayne |
| 46.2 | 2009-05-05 | 2 | 35°40'N / 78°06'W | 35°42'N / 78°04'W | 3.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 1 | 1.5M | 0K | Wilson |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: At the intersection of North Carolina highway 581 and North Carolina Highway 42 at Buckhorn Crossroads and EF-0 tornado touched down at 3:44 EST and tracked off to the northeast. At Buckhorn Crossroads several trees were snapped off and shingles blown off a house. As the tornado moved to the northeast it tracked into a wooded area and began to intensive. It emerged from the wooded area just to the southwest of the intersection of Sadie Road and Rock Ridge School Road, into the Rock Ridge area, at 4:50 PM and had strengthen to an EF-2. At that time, peak winds were estimated at 120 to 135 mph with a path width of 100 yards. The first home that was damage to the southwest of the aforementioned intersection was a well built brick home that sustained roof and some structural damage. The carport attached to this house was destroyed as well. The tornado continued to track to the northeast uprooting and snapping off numerous hardwood trees, before crossing Sadie Road, just south of Rock Ridge School Road. In this area, the tornado caused significant roof and structural damage to two well built homes. Two garages where destroyed as well, one attached and one external. Other homes in the area sustained damage and downed trees as well. In all, eight house in the Rock Ridge area received some damage and downed trees. The tornado then crossed Rock Ridge School Road and continued to track off to the northeast into a field and eventually a wooded area where the tornado lifted. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Two tornadic supercells developed along a stalled warm front that extended across souther piedmont and coastal plain of North Carolina. The cells produced 4 tornadoes in Johnston, Nash and Wilson counties. | |||||||||||
| 46.9 | 1972-05-15 | 3 | 35°35'N / 77°31'W | 35°36'N / 77°22'W | 8.50 Miles | 120 Yards | 0 | 4 | 2.5M | 0 | Pitt |
| 48.0 | 2008-05-09 | 2 | 36°12'N / 76°49'W | 36°14'N / 76°45'W | 4.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 50K | 0K | Bertie |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: Tornado touched down on Buncomb Road about three miles west of Colerain in northeast Bertie county. Barns were damaged on Harrell Road, and a barn was destroyed on Glovers Cross Road. Trees were downed on Route 45 just south of the Hertford/Bertie county line. The tornado then tracked into Hertford county. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Scattered severe thunderstorms in advance of a cold front produced damaging winds and two tornadoes across portions of northeast North Carolina. | |||||||||||
| 48.4 | 1984-03-28 | 4 | 35°30'N / 77°30'W | 35°41'N / 77°12'W | 20.00 Miles | 1223 Yards | 9 | 153 | 25.0M | 0 | Pitt |
| 49.5 | 1995-10-27 | 2 | 36°13'N / 78°32'W | 2.00 Miles | 75 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Granville | |
| Brief Description: A tornado touched in the community of Corinth. Numerous large trees were downed and a new home lost its roof. Numerous barns and farm outbuildings were destroyed. At the intersection of Highway 96 and SR 1643, a home was damaged when a large tree was blown onto the home and the roof was lifted off. Numerous 100-year-old trees were twisted and snapped. A truck and cement outbuilding were also destroyed. | |||||||||||
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.