EF1 Tornado — Rowan, North Carolina

2024-04-11 · near Mt Ulla, Rowan, North Carolina

Event narrative

NWS storm survey found the path of an EF1 tornado that touched down just off of Highway 801, just west of Centenary Church Rd in Mount Ulla. The tornado initially impacted a house near Centenary Church Rd, uplifting the roof deck, resulting in significant loss of roof covering material, collapsing a chimney, and blowing in the garage doors. The structure was also displaced off of its foundation. Tree trunks were snapped and uprooted at this location as well. The tornado moved northeast across the intersection of Back Creek Rd and Highway 801, where several trees were snapped or uprooted. A minute later, the tornado hit Mount Ulla Elementary, where metal sheeting from the gym building was peeled off, while very old wooden poles were broken, most likely hit by metal roofing material. The tornado then crossed Highway 801 and Unberger Rd, where large tree branches were broken, plus sheet metal from the school lofted to the nearby property. The tornado lifted just past this location after traveling a little over a mile.

Wider weather episode

Scattered to numerous thunderstorms and small lines of storms developed across western North Carolina ahead of a cold front during the afternoon and evening. Multiple strong to severe storms developed, producing one tornado and several areas of damaging straight line winds.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.6560, -80.7310)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1175263. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.