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EF1 tornado in Columbus County, North Carolina

Tornado May 9, 2026 · Columbus County, North Carolina

EF1
Rating
1.4 mi
Path length
100 yd
Path width
$50K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 100 yards (0.06 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

Damage began near 356 Delco School Road, where several trees were

snapped and power lines were downed. A short distance away at

McPherson`s Acme General Store (1355 Old Stage Road), a metal

awning was torn from the structure and destroyed, damaging a

nearby 500-gallon propane tank and causing a fuel leak. The

tornado continued east-northeast approximately 1.3 miles with

only intermittent damage before intensifying near the 1225 block

of Fertilizer Road. There, three structures sustained significant

roof damage, including two single-family residences, and a large

oak tree was uprooted. The tornado then rapidly dissipated with

no further damage noted.

The wider storm

An isolated thunderstorm produced a tornado in Columbus County, NC.

Began near Delco (34.3177, -78.2174).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1325500. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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