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EF1 tornado in Gates County, North Carolina

Tornado April 16, 2011 · Gates County, North Carolina

EF1

Rating

35.4 mi

Whole path

300 yd

Path width

Deaths

Injuries

$4.3M

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Bertie County → Bertie County → Hertford County → Hertford County → Gates County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 300 yards (0.17 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

Tornado tracked from southeast Hertford county into Gates county crossing the Chowan River while continuing to weaken. The final very minor damage was noted a couple of miles northwest of Hobbsville to the west of Route 32. Most of the damage in Gates county was to trees. Numerous trees were downed with many others snapped at the top. A mobile home roof was blown off and there was minor damage to some farm equipment and a couple other homes.

The wider storm

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

Began near Vivian (36.3059, -76.7139).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF1 Northampton County EF1 Currituck County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 305419. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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