Jones County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot North Carolina Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Jones County is about the same as North Carolina average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Jones County is higher than North Carolina average and is higher than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #83
| Jones County | 0.00 |
| 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
| Jones 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, #8
| Jones County | 174.70 |
| 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 7,588 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Jones 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: | 0 | Cold: | 16 | Dense Fog: | 1 | Drought: | 18 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 733 | Hail: | 2,639 | Heat: | 3 | Heavy Snow: | 23 |
| High Surf: | 2 | Hurricane: | 26 | Ice Storm: | 16 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 49 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 3,543 | Tropical Storm: | 18 | Wildfire: | 3 | Winter Storm: | 74 | Winter Weather: | 26 |
| Other: | 398 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Jones County.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Jones County.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Jones County.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 56 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Jones County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 7.7 | 1999-04-15 | 2 | 35°00'N / 77°37'W | 35°05'N / 77°22'W | 15.00 Miles | 900 Yards | 0 | 8 | 2.0M | 0 | Jones |
| Brief Description: On the night of April 15, 1999 several tornadoes touched down. One multi-vortex tornado touched down in Duplin County about a half mile south of Kenansville. The tornado tracked east northeast between Pink Hill and Beulaville and just to the north of Potters HIll before entering Jones County. Once in Jones County the tornado passed just north of Hargetts crossroads and traced north of Route 41... ending near the intersection of Routes 58 and 41. The tornado track covered nearly 30 miles and ranged between a half mile to around one mile wide. An unconfirmed wind report of 165 mph was measured near Trenton. In total... hundreds of trees were knocked down, over 30 homes were destroyed, 60 homes suffered major damage, and a significant number of livestock were killed, | |||||||||||
| 8.6 | 1978-04-19 | 2 | 35°08'N / 77°16'W | 0.70 Mile | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Jones | |
| 11.2 | 1965-03-17 | 3 | 35°00'N / 77°13'W | 35°04'N / 77°06'W | 8.20 Miles | 100 Yards | 1 | 5 | 2.5M | 0 | Jones |
| 13.6 | 2008-05-11 | 2 | 34°52'N / 77°14'W | 34°52'N / 77°13'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 6 | 150K | 0K | Onslow |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: Tornado touched down near Belgrade and moved east into southern Jones county about 1 mile southeast of Belgrade. The tornado had a path length of around 5 miles and was rated as an EF2. Several homes received moderate to severe damage with 6 minor injuries reported. Several outbuildings were destroyed and numerous trees were sheared off. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Numerous thunderstorms developed near the coast of eastern North Carolina during the late afternoon and evening hours ahead of a cold front. Unstable air ahead of the cold front combined with strong wind shear to produce rotating thunderstorms and several tornadoes were reported near the south coast in parts of Onslow...Jones and Carteret counties. | |||||||||||
| 14.6 | 2008-05-11 | 2 | 34°52'N / 77°13'W | 34°53'N / 77°09'W | 4.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 5K | 0K | Jones |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A tornado touched down near Belgrade in Onslow County and crossed into Jones county about 1 mile to the southeast of Belgrade. The tornado was rated as an EF2 and had a total path length of 5 miles. The tornado was about 100 yards wide. Most of the structural damage occurred in Onslow county...however numerous trees were sheared off in Jones county and a porch was destroyed at one residence. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Numerous thunderstorms developed near the coast of eastern North Carolina during the late afternoon and evening hours ahead of a cold front. Unstable air ahead of the cold front combined with strong wind shear to produce rotating thunderstorms and several tornadoes were reported near the south coast in parts of Onslow...Jones and Carteret counties. | |||||||||||
| 15.6 | 1978-04-19 | 2 | 34°56'N / 77°38'W | 34°57'N / 77°35'W | 3.30 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Onslow |
| 18.9 | 1996-09-16 | 2 | 35°13'N / 77°35'W | 35°15'N / 77°35'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 1 | 1.0M | 0 | Lenoir |
| Brief Description: Kinston Public Service complex on Highway 258 south of Kinston hit by tornado. Steel I-beams were twisted and bent upwards. Wind equipment measured 145 mph winds before it stopped working. Two other sets of wind equipment blown away. Warehouse across the street lost its roof. Damage at Lenoir Community College and Diamond Warehouse on Highway 58. Roof sheared off house on Highway 55 in Sand Hill. | |||||||||||
| 19.2 | 1965-03-17 | 3 | 35°04'N / 77°06'W | 35°07'N / 76°57'W | 9.10 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 40 | 2.5M | 0 | Craven |
| 19.5 | 1972-10-24 | 2 | 34°45'N / 77°23'W | 0.70 Mile | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Onslow | |
| 19.8 | 1986-07-02 | 2 | 34°45'N / 77°25'W | 1.50 Miles | 33 Yards | 3 | 10 | 250K | 0 | Onslow | |
| 20.3 | 1969-04-19 | 2 | 35°00'N / 77°00'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Craven | |||
| 20.5 | 1975-03-14 | 2 | 35°11'N / 77°42'W | 35°15'N / 77°35'W | 8.00 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Lenoir |
| 25.1 | 1974-06-01 | 2 | 34°56'N / 77°47'W | 0 | 1 | 2.5M | 0 | Duplin | |||
| 26.4 | 1999-04-15 | 2 | 34°57'N / 77°57'W | 34°59'N / 77°41'W | 15.00 Miles | 900 Yards | 0 | 11 | 4.0M | 0 | Duplin |
| Brief Description: On the night of April 15, 1999 several tornadoes touched down. One multi-vortex tornado touched down in Duplin County about a half mile south of Kenansville. The tornado tracked east northeast between Pink Hill and Beulaville and just to the north of Potters HIll before entering Jones County. Once in Jones County the tornado passed just north of Hargetts crossroads and traced north of Route 41... ending near the intersection of Routes 58 and 41. The tornado track covered nearly 30 miles and ranged between a half mile to around one mile wide. An unconfirmed wind report of 165 mph was measured near Trenton. In total... hundreds of trees were knocked down, over 30 homes were destroyed, 60 homes suffered major damage, and a significant number of livestock were killed, | |||||||||||
| 29.1 | 1963-09-29 | 2 | 35°05'N / 76°54'W | 35°08'N / 76°48'W | 6.60 Miles | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Pamlico |
| 30.5 | 2008-02-18 | 2 | 35°26'N / 77°34'W | 35°27'N / 77°33'W | 1.00 Mile | 150 Yards | 0 | 3 | 500K | 0K | Greene |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A tornado touched down about 1 mile north of Hookerton. The tornado was rated as EF2 and was around 150 yards wide. The tornado demolished a 2 story home shortly after touching down causing 3 minor injuries. The tornado also ripped the roof off a nearby trailer. The tornado stayed on the ground for a little over 1 mile as it moved northeast then lifted. Damage in Greene county was estimated at 300,000 dollars. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A line of thunderstorms moved across eastern North Carolina during the early morning hours on February 18th and produced high winds, some hail and three tornadoes. One thunderstorm produced the three tornadoes that moved along a northeast path across parts of Greene, Pitt, Beaufort and Martin counties. The tornadoes were rated as EF2 in Greene county, and EF1 in Pitt, Beaufort, and Martin counties. The three tornadoes produced around 500,000 dollars in damages with 3 minor injuries reported. | |||||||||||
| 31.2 | 1984-03-28 | 3 | 35°16'N / 77°50'W | 35°19'N / 77°47'W | 4.00 Miles | 527 Yards | 0 | 7 | 25.0M | 0 | Lenoir |
| 31.6 | 1996-04-15 | 2 | 35°28'N / 77°32'W | 35°28'N / 77°32'W | 1.30 Miles | 75 Yards | 0 | 0 | 150K | 0 | Greene |
| Brief Description: Tornado ripped the roof off a church on NC903. Sanctuary was left intact. The tornado crossed a field and totally destroyed a modular home on Gray Road one-half mile NE of the church. Family had left the house and sought refuge at a relatives home. | |||||||||||
| 31.7 | 1984-03-28 | 4 | 35°20'N / 77°47'W | 35°24'N / 77°42'W | 5.00 Miles | 1223 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Lenoir |
| 32.0 | 1984-03-28 | 4 | 35°24'N / 77°42'W | 35°30'N / 77°30'W | 13.00 Miles | 1223 Yards | 7 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Greene |
| 32.0 | 1984-03-28 | 3 | 35°12'N / 77°54'W | 35°16'N / 77°50'W | 5.00 Miles | 527 Yards | 0 | 74 | 25.0M | 0 | Wayne |
| 32.7 | 1971-05-13 | 2 | 35°07'N / 77°12'W | 35°33'N / 76°37'W | 44.40 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Craven |
| 33.6 | 1996-04-15 | 2 | 35°01'N / 77°57'W | 35°02'N / 77°57'W | 1.00 Mile | 75 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Duplin |
| Brief Description: Tornado destroyed 2 hog houses and damaged a third along Highway 903. | |||||||||||
| 34.1 | 1961-06-21 | 2 | 34°57'N / 77°57'W | 1.00 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Duplin | |
| 34.1 | 1977-03-04 | 3 | 35°29'N / 77°33'W | 35°32'N / 77°29'W | 4.90 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Greene |
| 34.5 | 1996-04-15 | 2 | 34°55'N / 77°57'W | 34°55'N / 77°57'W | 1.00 Mile | 75 Yards | 0 | 3 | 70K | 0 | Duplin |
| Brief Description: Tornado on Williamson Road ripped the roof off one trailer and totally destroyed another trailer. Three people were slightly injured. | |||||||||||
| 34.5 | 1996-04-15 | 2 | 34°55'N / 77°57'W | 34°55'N / 77°57'W | 0.80 Mile | 75 Yards | 0 | 0 | 200K | 0 | Duplin |
| Brief Description: Three turkey barns totally destroyed and the roof of a vacant house was partially blown off on NC50. Thousands of baby turkeys were killed. | |||||||||||
| 34.7 | 1999-09-15 | 2 | 34°41'N / 76°55'W | 34°41'N / 76°55'W | 2.00 Miles | 20 Yards | 0 | 0 | 300K | 0 | Carteret |
| Brief Description: Tornado touched down at Emerald Isle Point. 5 homes were damaged...2 received major damage while another 2 were destroyed. Between 1108 and 2110 LST on Wednesday, September 15th the Morehead City/Newport office issued 20 tornado warnings. That is an average of two warnings per hour for ten hours. At least ten of the tornadoes were reported by spotters during the event. This tornadic event was the precurser to Hurricane Floyd which made landfall on Thursday, September 16th and caused record flooding across eastern North Carolina. | |||||||||||
| 34.8 | 1996-04-15 | 2 | 34°54'N / 77°57'W | 34°54'N / 77°57'W | 1.50 Miles | 75 Yards | 0 | 0 | 450K | 0 | Duplin |
| Brief Description: Eyewitnesses saw a tornado as it destroyed 3 hog houses on NC11 south of Kenansville. Travelled NE downing trees which blocked the highway and struck another hog farm about a mile away destroying 4 hog buildings. | |||||||||||
| 35.0 | 1978-04-19 | 2 | 34°50'N / 78°02'W | 34°52'N / 77°50'W | 11.60 Miles | 70 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Duplin |
| 35.6 | 1965-03-17 | 3 | 35°07'N / 76°57'W | 35°14'N / 76°33'W | 24.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 1 | 40 | 2.5M | 0 | Pamlico |
| 38.2 | 1953-04-16 | 2 | 35°34'N / 77°11'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Pitt | |
| 38.6 | 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 |
| 38.7 | 1984-03-28 | 4 | 35°11'N / 78°04'W | 35°16'N / 77°56'W | 8.00 Miles | 1407 Yards | 3 | 59 | 25.0M | 0 | Wayne |
| 38.9 | 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 |
| 39.4 | 1975-03-14 | 2 | 34°58'N / 78°04'W | 35°00'N / 78°02'W | 3.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Duplin |
| 41.1 | 1968-04-24 | 2 | 35°25'N / 76°48'W | 2.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Beaufort | |
| 41.3 | 1967-12-03 | 2 | 34°42'N / 76°45'W | 0.10 Mile | 27 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Carteret | |
| 41.6 | 1996-10-08 | 2 | 35°29'N / 76°52'W | 35°29'N / 76°52'W | 1.00 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 30K | 0 | Beaufort |
| Brief Description: Trailer totally demolished and several homes damaged on Highway 92. | |||||||||||
| 41.8 | 1968-03-12 | 2 | 35°25'N / 76°47'W | 1.00 Mile | 27 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Beaufort | |
| 42.0 | 1974-06-01 | 2 | 34°49'N / 78°03'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Duplin | |||
| 42.2 | 1998-03-08 | 2 | 35°27'N / 77°54'W | 35°28'N / 77°53'W | 1.00 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 100K | 0 | Wayne |
| Brief Description: A tornado touched down in the Musgrave community about 7 miles northeast of Goldsboro. The tornado reached a maximum strength of F2 as it destroyed a chicken house, a brick outbuilding, and a tobacco barn halfway between Eureka and Patetown. A trailer was heavily damaged by flying projectiles (wood) from the tobacco barn. The wood flew completely through the trailers front wall and logged in the back wall. | |||||||||||
| 42.7 | 1986-08-20 | 2 | 35°26'N / 77°56'W | 1.00 Mile | 23 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Wayne | |
| 42.9 | 1969-08-05 | 2 | 34°36'N / 77°54'W | 0.30 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Pender | |
| 43.1 | 1965-07-15 | 2 | 34°42'N / 78°00'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Duplin | |||
| 43.4 | 1957-04-08 | 3 | 34°50'N / 78°05'W | 8.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 29 | 250K | 0 | Duplin | |
| 43.8 | 1984-03-28 | 4 | 35°08'N / 78°10'W | 35°11'N / 78°04'W | 7.00 Miles | 1407 Yards | 0 | 40 | 25.0M | 0 | Duplin |
| 44.1 | 1982-09-26 | 2 | 34°24'N / 77°28'W | 1.00 Mile | 17 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Pender | |
| 45.4 | 1969-04-18 | 3 | 35°07'N / 78°11'W | 35°09'N / 78°07'W | 4.50 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Duplin |
| 46.0 | 1963-05-17 | 2 | 35°42'N / 77°00'W | 35°36'N / 77°06'W | 8.90 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Beaufort |
| 47.1 | 1999-09-15 | 2 | 35°15'N / 76°34'W | 35°15'N / 76°34'W | 10.00 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 700K | 0 | Pamlico |
| Brief Description: This tornado moved over Hobucken and destroyed a mobile home, a house, tore the roof off of a school and severely damaged two churches. Between 1108 and 2110 LST on Wednesday, September 15th the Morehead City/Newport office issued 20 tornado warnings. That is an average of two warnings per hour for ten hours. At least ten of the tornadoes were reported by spotters during the event. This tornadic event was the precurser to Hurricane Floyd which made landfall on Thursday, September 16th and caused record flooding across eastern North Carolina. | |||||||||||
| 47.1 | 1976-06-02 | 2 | 35°07'N / 78°11'W | 0.30 Mile | 13 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Duplin | |
| 47.6 | 1973-04-27 | 2 | 35°28'N / 76°42'W | 0.50 Mile | 123 Yards | 1 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Beaufort | |
| 47.7 | 1975-03-14 | 2 | 35°30'N / 77°00'W | 35°39'N / 76°40'W | 21.30 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 20 | 2.5M | 0 | Beaufort |
| 48.3 | 1984-03-28 | 4 | 35°03'N / 78°15'W | 35°08'N / 78°10'W | 6.00 Miles | 1407 Yards | 0 | 50 | 25.0M | 0 | Sampson |
| 49.9 | 1954-11-02 | 2 | 34°22'N / 77°42'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Pender | |||
* 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.