Abstract:
Tornadoes, with winds which can reach 300 miles per hour, are one of the most violent storms that pass through North Carolina. Since the National Weather Service began recording them in 1950, only Ashe, Mitchell, and Polk counties have never experienced one. The state has averaged twenty-five tornados a year for the past thirty years. This ranks the state nationally 23rd in the number of yearly tornados and 20th in the number of tornado-related deaths.