What the record says
On 15 February 2021, a tornado touched down near Sunset Beach, North Carolina. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 21.9 miles long and up to 275 yards wide, rated EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale. It killed 3 people and injured 10.
- EF3Enhanced Fujita rating
- 3deaths
- 10injuries
- 21.9 mipath length
- 275 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it killed three or more people and it was rated 3 and killed at least one person.
This page gives the official record's figures. Numbers of deaths and injuries are sometimes revised after a survey, and they cannot convey what the day was like for the people who lived through it.
Counties it crossed
The start point was at 33.91, -78.51 and the end point at 34.18, -78.30 (latitude, longitude).
How to read this path
The Storm Prediction Center records most tornadoes as a straight line from the point where they touched down to the point where they lifted. The real path usually curved and was not the same width all the way along. The width given is the widest part. Older records are less precise, and the record starts in 1950.
Source: the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database, public domain.
Other notable tornadoes in North Carolina
- Greenville, North Carolina tornado28 March 1984, F4, 16 deaths, 153 injuries, 28 miles long
- St. Pauls, North Carolina tornado28 March 1984, F3, 12 deaths, 101 injuries, 40 miles long
- Askewville, North Carolina tornado16 April 2011, EF3, 12 deaths, 58 injuries, 17.9 miles long
- Sandyfield, North Carolina tornado16 November 2006, F3, 8 deaths, 20 injuries, 2.2 miles long
- Laurinburg, North Carolina tornado28 March 1984, F4, 7 deaths, 100 injuries, 17 miles long
- Raleigh, North Carolina tornado16 April 2011, EF3, 6 deaths, 103 injuries, 65.2 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 2021
- Woodland Mills, Tennessee tornado10 December 2021, EF4, 57 deaths, 515 injuries, 168.5 miles long
- Bowling Green, Kentucky tornado11 December 2021, EF3, 16 deaths, 63 injuries, 29.3 miles long
- Bay, Arkansas tornado10 December 2021, EF4, 8 deaths, 14 injuries, 81.2 miles long
- Ragland, Alabama tornado25 March 2021, EF3, 6 deaths, 10 injuries, 38.2 miles long
- Granite City, Illinois tornado10 December 2021, EF3, 6 deaths, 1 injury, 4.2 miles long
All tornadoes of 2021 · North Carolina tornado history · All notable tornadoes