EF1 tornado in Gaston County, North Carolina

Tornado March 28, 2010 · Gaston County, North Carolina

EF1

Rating

0.1 mi

Path length

100 yd

Path width

$1.1M

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

A very short tornado path was surveyed near Belmont. The tornado touched down in the Parkdale Dr/Landing Rd area, where a mill was damaged. Part of the metal sheet roofing was peeled back and thrown in multiple directions, allowing some interior walls to collapse. A tractor trailer was also overturned on the south side of the mill. Several homes were damaged at a mobile home park adjacent to the mill, where a number of trees were also blown down. The tornado traveled roughly 200 yards before lifting.

The wider storm

Strong wind shear and moderate instability developed over the region ahead of a cold front. Several severe storms affected the western Carolinas during the afternoon and evening hours. Large hail and straight line winds were the most commonly reported severe weather, though one supercell thunderstorm produced two tornadoes over the western piedmont of North Carolina.

Began near Belmont South (35.2346, -81.0166).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

1 more tornado the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF2 Rowan County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 219533. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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