EF1 tornado in Tyrrell County, North Carolina

The tornado spun up along Highway 94, about 5.5 miles southeast of Columbia. Trees on either side of the highway were blow down or snapped off with damage estimated at EF0. The tornado continued to move northeast through fields, before intensifying to EF1 with winds estimated at 105 mph as it struck a church along Highway 64 near Alligator. Nearly half the roof was blown off the church with an entire wall collapsed. A mobile home nearby the church was also severely damaged. The tornado then moved into fields and appeared to dissipate just north of Highway 64.

One of the largest tornado outbreaks ever observed across eastern North Carolina occurred during the afternoon and evening of April 16th 2011. Several powerful super-cell thunderstorms developed ahead of an approaching cold front. Conditions ahead of the front were favorable for tornadoes with a moderately unstable atmosphere combined with strong winds that veered with height. Altogether 12 tornadoes were reported across the Newport/Morehead City county warning area. These tornadoes combined to produce over 40 million dollars in damages. There were numerous injuries but no fatalities were reported. In addition to the tornadoes there were several reports of damaging winds and large hail.