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EF1 tornado in Gaston County, North Carolina

Tornado May 8, 2024 · Gaston County, North Carolina

EF1
Rating
8.2 mi
Path length
60 yd
Path width
2
Injuries
$200K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 60 yards (0.03 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

NWS storm survey found the path of an EF1 tornado that touched down near West Davidson Ave, snapping several trees. The tornado quickly moved east, crossing Highway 321 near I-85, where the tornado reached peak intensity. Several buildings sustained minor roof damage, multiple power poles were snapped, and numerous trees were uprooted or snapped in a wooded area around Sims Legion Park. Two people were injured by falling trees in this area. The tornado snapped additional trees as it crossed I-85 and moved through east Gastonia. Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped in this area, while a warehouse sustained minor-to-moderate roof damage. The tornado continued to produce tree damage as it moved through the Lowell area, where it crossed the South Fork Catawba River. Several more trees were downed in Belmont before the tornado lifted near Oak St in the Springwood community.

The wider storm

A couple of waves of strong to severe thunderstorms moved from east Tennessee into western North Carolina...one during the afternoon and evening of the 8th, and another during the early morning of the 9th. Scattered severe storms produced several EF1 tornadoes, large to very large hail, and isolated swaths of damaging winds.

Began near Gastonia (35.2810, -81.2100).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

4 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1186748. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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