EF3 Tornado — Bertie, North Carolina

2011-04-16 · near Askewville, Bertie, North Carolina

Event narrative

Tornado first touched down about one mile south of Askewville (east of U.S. Rt. 13), producing minor tree and building damage. The tornado began producing significant damage on the east side of Askewville, where numerous structures and several mobile homes sustained major damage or were destroyed. The tornado then tracked continuously for nearly 19 miles finally lifting east of Harrellsville. For much of the tornado's life, the path width was one half to nearly three quarters of a mile wide. EF2 and EF3 damage was widespread from just east of Askewville northeast to about 3 miles west of Colerain, then gradually decreased as the tornado crossed into Hertford county. Numerous homes were destroyed, and many others suffered varying degrees of damage. In addition, there was extensive damage to trees and wooded areas in the path of the tornado. A split in the tornado damage paths just north of Colerain suggests that the tornado underwent a cyclic re-development with 2 tornadoes on the ground simultaneously for a period of about 5 miles.

Wider weather episode

Scattered severe thunderstorms in advance of a cold front produced damaging winds, large hail, and several tornadoes across portions of northeast North Carolina.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.0870, -76.9502)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 304929. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.