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EF3 tornado in Wilson County, North Carolina

Tornado August 8, 2024 · Wilson County, North Carolina

EF3
Rating
6.5 mi
Path length
200 yd
Path width
1
Death
$2.0M
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 200 yards (0.11 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF3 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF3 is severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, consistent with estimated gusts of 136–165 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

A tornado touched down near Hwy 301 about 2 WNW Black Creek then proceeded NW for approximately 6.5 miles before lifting 4 WNW Lucama. Numerous trees were snapped and several homes were severely damaged along Scott Church Rd. One home has considerable roof damage with roofing covering removed. The tornado continued

NW and did severe damage to Springfield Middle School where several sections of the roof were completely removed and several exterior and load bearing walls were blown out. At this location, wind was estimated to be 140 mph, which puts this tornado at the

EF-3 level on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. The tornado continued moving to the northwest, and along Lloyd Road a two story home completely collapsed after all four walls were blown over. It was here that one fatality occurred. The winds at this location were estimated to be 140 mph. The tornado lifted shortly after crossing Governor Hunt Rd, where a barn was destroyed and numerous trees were snapped and uprooted.

The wider storm

Tropical Depression Debby slowly made its way through Florida, off the South Carolina coast, then back inland through the western Piedmont of North Carolina during the evening hours of 8 August 2024. Ahead of the storm, numerous feeder bands brought periods of heavy rain to central North Carolina, resulting in widespread 4-6 inch rainfall amounts across the western Piedmont, with higher amounts to the east. In addition, numerous tornadoes occurred with this event, with one on 7 August and an additional 6 on 8 August including a rare EF-3 tropical cyclone tornado.

Began near Black Creek (35.6527, -77.9637).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1208443. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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