“Unlike hurricane season, which formally begins on June 1st and ends on November 30th [there it is again, Charles!], there is no officially designated ‘tornado season’ and tornadoes are at least possible any time of year. Just the same, there certainly are times of the year that tornadoes, and especially violent tornado outbreaks, are more likely than others. In a very general sense, central North Carolina tends to have most of its tornado activity from late winter into spring, with a secondary period of enhanced potential around November.

Some research recently summarized by personnel at the Raleigh National Weather Service Office indicates that the principle period for violent and potentially deadly tornadoes in our region runs from mid February into early May, with another active period in November. There are often some tornadoes from mid-May into June as well, but there is a notable tendency for these to be of the weak (F0 and F1 category) and short-lived variety that are less likely to do major damage or lead to serious injuries and fatalities.”

“The Atlantic hurricane season is officially from 1 June to 30 November. There is nothing magical in these dates, and hurricanes have occurred
outside of these six months, but these dates were selected to encompass over 97% of tropical activity. June 1st has been the traditional start of the Atlantic hurricane season for decades. However, the end date has been slowly shifted outward, from October 31st to November 15th until its current date of November 30th.”