EF1 Tornado — Union, North Carolina

2025-03-05 · near Indian Trail Arpt, Union, North Carolina

Event narrative

NWS storm survey found the path of an EF1 tornado that began in the vicinity of Porter Ridge High School. Tree branches were broken and a free-standing light pole was broken off at the base. The fence around the schools tennis court was also blown over and two storage buildings collapsed nearby. The tornado moved northeast across Ridge Road, where a house under construction was heavily damaged, presumably due to air rushing in via window and garage door openings, which lifted off part of the roof. Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped along Friendship Baptist Church Rd. Minor structural damage occurred to a house in the Benton Acres neighborhood. The tornado continued northeast to Lawyers Rd just west of US 601, snapping several hundred yards of wooden power poles, while causing little damage to adjacent homes. The tornado apparently dissipated at this location.

Wider weather episode

An area of showers with isolated embedded thunderstorms moved across the North Carolina Piedmont during the morning in advance of a cold front. A brief EF1 tornado developed in association with an embedded line segment in Union County.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.0880, -80.5770)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1241568. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.