Topsail Beach, NC Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Topsail Beach is about the same as North Carolina average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Topsail Beach is lower than North Carolina average and is lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #376
| Topsail Beach, NC | 0.05 |
| 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
| Topsail Beach, NC | 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, #681
| Topsail Beach, NC | 85.05 |
| 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 1,551 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Topsail Beach, NC 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: | 0 | Dense Fog: | 0 | Drought: | 0 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 208 | Hail: | 590 | Heat: | 0 | Heavy Snow: | 0 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 0 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 2 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 610 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 1 | Winter Storm: | 0 | Winter Weather: | 0 |
| Other: | 140 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Topsail Beach, NC.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Topsail Beach, NC.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Topsail Beach, NC.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 27 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Topsail Beach, NC.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 3.0 | 1954-11-02 | 2 | 34°22'N / 77°42'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Pender | |||
| 10.6 | 1982-09-26 | 2 | 34°24'N / 77°28'W | 1.00 Mile | 17 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Pender | |
| 12.9 | 2004-08-13 | 2 | 34°24'N / 77°53'W | 34°28'N / 77°50'W | 5.00 Miles | 500 Yards | 3 | 29 | 1.3M | 0 | Pender |
| Brief Description: The remnants of Tropical Storm Bonnie produced a tornado that touched down just south of Rocky Point and moved northeast, causing F0-F2 damage. Damage (F0) was first observed near West Strawberry Lane, with roof damage to a couple of structures. The tornado crossed I-40, just southeast of Rocky Point. It then tracked across Martin Marietta Access Road, causing f0-f1 tree damage. The tornado intensified to f1-f2 as it moved into a small community along Hwy 210. Significant damage occurred on Clayton Lane, Nixon Avenue, and Pickett Road. The tornado reached peak intensity as it moved across Cart Wheel Road, where several homes were completely leveled. It continued to track northeast, with F1 tree damage. The tornado crossed the Northeast Cape Fear River and finally dissipated near Shaw Highway, approximately one mile north of Hwy 210. The following is a summary of damage from Pender County Emergency Management. 17 homes destroyed 25 other homes suffered major damage 34 other homes suffered minor damage 2 businesses suffered major damage 1 business suffered minor damage M26MH, F1MH, M28MH | |||||||||||
| 20.6 | 1962-06-13 | 2 | 34°18'N / 78°00'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Brunswick | |||
| 21.6 | 1969-08-05 | 2 | 34°36'N / 77°54'W | 0.30 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Pender | |
| 29.6 | 1986-07-02 | 2 | 34°45'N / 77°25'W | 1.50 Miles | 33 Yards | 3 | 10 | 250K | 0 | Onslow | |
| 30.5 | 1972-10-24 | 2 | 34°45'N / 77°23'W | 0.70 Mile | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Onslow | |
| 30.5 | 1965-07-15 | 2 | 34°42'N / 78°00'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Duplin | |||
| 33.0 | 2006-11-16 | 3 | 34°20'N / 78°14'W | 34°21'N / 78°13'W | 2.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 8 | 20 | 500K | 0K | Columbus |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: Tornado touched down among manufactured homes just north of Old Lake Road and tracked across an area of more substantial homes and businesses along NC Highway 87. There were 13 homes (mobile and brick) destroyed and more than two dozen damaged. Damage was rated as F3 due to construction of structures that were damaged and destroyed - if structures were better constructed the damage may have been rated higher. The wind speed was estimated to be around 200 mph. As the tornado tracked north of NC Highway 87 toward the county line, the tree damage was rated as F1. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A fast moving tornadic thunderstorm moved ashore on the coast of Brunswick County. There was no damage found until the storm moved across extreme eastern Columbus County and then extreme western Pender County. The tornado produced F3 damage through Riegelwood and diminished to F1 intensity as it crossed a wooded area to the Cape Fear River and into Pender County. This was the second deadliest tornado to hit North Carolina in the last 50 years. | |||||||||||
| 37.1 | 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 |
| 38.6 | 1974-06-01 | 2 | 34°49'N / 78°03'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Duplin | |||
| 39.8 | 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 |
| 39.9 | 1974-06-01 | 2 | 34°56'N / 77°47'W | 0 | 1 | 2.5M | 0 | Duplin | |||
| 40.7 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 40.7 | 1957-04-08 | 3 | 34°50'N / 78°05'W | 8.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 29 | 250K | 0 | Duplin | |
| 41.7 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 41.7 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 42.1 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 42.5 | 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, | |||||||||||
| 43.8 | 1961-06-21 | 2 | 34°57'N / 77°57'W | 1.00 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Duplin | |
| 43.9 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 46.9 | 1990-07-01 | 2 | 34°31'N / 78°27'W | 0.20 Mile | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Bladen | |
| 47.0 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 47.5 | 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, | |||||||||||
| 47.8 | 1964-10-04 | 2 | 34°18'N / 78°54'W | 34°40'N / 78°03'W | 54.60 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Columbus |
| 48.3 | 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 |
| 48.6 | 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. | |||||||||||
* 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.