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EF2 tornado in Wilson County, North Carolina

Tornado May 5, 2009 · Wilson County, North Carolina

EF2
Rating
2.8 mi
Path length
100 yd
Path width
1
Injury
$1.5M
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 EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 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

At the intersection of North Carolina highway 581 and North Carolina Highway 42 at Buckhorn Crossroads and EF-0 tornado touched down at 3:44 EST and tracked off to the northeast. At Buckhorn Crossroads several trees were snapped off and shingles blown off a house.

As the tornado moved to the northeast it tracked into a wooded area and began to intensive. It emerged from the wooded area just to the southwest of the intersection of Sadie Road and Rock Ridge School Road, into the Rock Ridge area, at 4:50 PM and had strengthen to an EF-2. At that time, peak winds were estimated at 120 to 135 mph with a path width of 100 yards. The first home that was damage to the southwest of the aforementioned intersection was a well built brick home that sustained roof and some structural damage. The carport attached to this house was destroyed as well. The tornado continued to track to the northeast uprooting and snapping off numerous hardwood trees, before crossing Sadie Road, just south of Rock Ridge School Road. In this area, the tornado caused significant roof and structural damage to two well built homes. Two garages where destroyed as well, one attached and one external. Other homes in the area sustained damage and downed trees as well. In all, eight house in the Rock Ridge area received some damage and downed trees.

The tornado then crossed Rock Ridge School Road and continued to track off to the northeast into a field and eventually a wooded area where the tornado lifted.

The wider storm

Two tornadic supercells developed along a stalled warm front that extended across souther piedmont and coastal plain of North Carolina.

The cells produced 4 tornadoes in Johnston, Nash and Wilson counties.

Began near Buckhorn Xrds (35.6790, -78.1077).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 159950. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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