5 tornadoes ripped through Eastern NC, injured a person, damaged homes, NWS says
Five tornadoes ripped through parts of three Eastern North Carolina counties on Thursday, March 12, injuring a person in a home, tearing roofs, slicing trees and overturning campers, the National Weather Service reported late Friday.
And severe thunderstorms with possibly damaging winds, tornadoes and large hail threaten the region on Monday, meteorologists in the NWS Newport/Morehead City office said on social media Saturday.
“Showers and thunderstorms chances increase Sunday afternoon through Monday ahead of a strong cold front,” forecasters said.
Storm damage reports
NWS storm damage survey teams found evidence of these tornadoes hitting the counties Thursday afternoon:
•A 90-mph, EF-1 tornado that touched down near a farm on White Oak River Road in Maysville, Onslow County, just before 2:30 p.m. The twister damaged the roof, collapsed and removed barn doors and peeled siding off a farm building, and snapped a row of trees, some in half, according to the NWS.
Maysville is about 120 miles southeast of Raleigh and about 280 miles from Charlotte.
•A 90-100 mph, EF-1 tornado about a mile east of Whortonsville in Pamlico County that blew a large porch and part of a roof 60 yards to the east, snapped and uprooted multiple large pine trees and damaged the siding of homes.
Whortonsville is nearly 150 miles southeast of Raleigh and about 300 miles from Charlotte.
• A 90-100 mph, EF-1 tornado near Fairfield Harbour in Craven County that blew “a large section of a well built roof” at least 100 yards to the east, snapped trees and ripped shingles from homes.
Fairfield Harbour is nearly 130 miles southeast of Raleigh and about 280 miles from Charlotte.
• A 105-mph, EF-1 tornado near Florence in Pamlico County that injured a person on the sun porch of a home on Florence Road, overturned small campers and snapped trees and power poles. The person was hurt when the storm blew a brick outside wall inward, according to the NWS team.
Florence is about 140 miles southeast of Raleigh and about 300 miles from Charlotte.
• An 85-mph, EF-0 tornado a mile from Jacksonville in Onslow County that damaged parts of an American Legion building.
Jacksonville is about 120 miles from Raleigh and 240 miles from Charlotte.
This story was originally published March 14, 2026 at 10:30 AM.