EF2 Tornado — Harnett, North Carolina

2011-04-16 · near Erwin Arpt, Harnett, North Carolina

Event narrative

The tornado exited Cumberland County and entered Harnett County just south of Dunn. EF1 damage was common in the Dunn area, with areas of EF2 damage with wind speeds up to 130 mph. Mobile homes were completely wiped off of their foundations and trees were debarked. A second fatality occurred here when a 42 year-old Hispanic male died from injuries suffered from the tornado. The victim's body was found lying on a concrete slab, thrown from a mobile home that was destroyed. Several other residents in the mobile home park were injured, including one that was ejected from a trailer and impaled with an object, with another person trapped underneath debris. In total, 200 homes and businesses were damaged, with 40 home destroyed and another 40 homes having major damage.

Wider weather episode

A strong storm system that had a history of producing deadly tornadoes across Oklahoma and the deep south on the 14th and 15th weakened as it crossed the southern Appalachians during the early morning hours of the 16th. A squall line descended the Blue Ridge by the late morning hours, and rapidly intensified

as it moved east into the central Piedmont of North Carolina, with four long live tornadic supercells evolving from the linear convective segment. These tornadic supercells went on to produce 9 tornadoes in the Raleigh CWA, including 2 EF3s, and 4 EF2s. The tornadoes left 8 dead with approximately 275 injuries.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.2543, -78.6720)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 297552. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.