EF0 tornado in Durham County, North Carolina

A very brief EF-0 tornado, with estimated maximum wind speeds of 85 mph, touched down during the late afternoon on Monday, May 23, 2022, just northeast of the City of Durham, Durham County North Carolina. The touchdown, which occurred at treetop level, first occurred along Glenbrook Dr, De Mille St, Hinson Dr, Waring St, Da Vinci St, and several of the surrounding streets. The tornado then lifted and briefly touched down again at treetop level along Colonial Heights Dr and Thompson Rd, before lifting and finally dissipating.

Since the rotary winds never actually touched the ground and remained at treetop level, the direct damage was confined to trees and resulted in numerous uprooted and snapped trees. Subsequent damage occurred to several homes when the uprooted and

snapped trees fell on them. While surveying the damage, a resident of the affected area showed the surveyor video that was captured as the damaging was occurring. This video showed a funnel cloud extending down to, but not below the treetop or tree canopy level, thus resulting in the heavy damage to numerous trees in the affected area, and subsequent structural damage.

A stalled surface boundary across the central North Carolina was the focal point for shower and thunderstorm development. Primary impacts were in the form of gusty winds and small hail. Several tornado warnings were issued, although most of the damage was from straight line winds. Moderate flooding due to two rounds of short-lived but heavy rainfall was observed in Alamance, Orange, and Wake counties. Storm activity largely waned after midnight.