EF1 tornado in Robeson County, North Carolina

Tornado April 16, 2011 · Robeson County, North Carolina

EF1

Rating

0.7 mi

Path length

50 yd

Path width

$1.5M

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 50 yards (0.03 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 National Weather Service Storm Survey Team concluded an EF1 tornado touched down near Rowland, North Carolina. The maximum wind speed was estimated to 105 mph. The path length was just over two-thirds of a mile. The maximum path width was 50 yards. Significant damage occurred to about 50 homes as a result of snapped pine trees, up to two feet in diameter. Shingles were observed to be missing from many roofs. A detached garage was pushed several feet off its foundation and a few outbuildings were destroyed. Significant damage was reported to an elementary school. Straight-line wind damage to trees was apparent for another mile beyond the point where the tornado lifted.

The wider storm

A powerful storm system that had moved across the deep south during previous days, swept across the eastern Carolinas during the afternoon and evening hours. Instability and shear values were highly supportive of super-cell thunderstorms. The result was a large outbreak of severe weather including strong and deadly tornadoes across eastern North Carolina.

Began near Rowland (34.5314, -79.3002).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Bladen County 3 dead EF2 Bladen County 1 dead EF1 Robeson County EF1 Columbus County EF0 Columbus County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 298778. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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