F1 tornado in Pender County, North Carolina

Tornado November 16, 2006 · Pender County, North Carolina

Rating

7.3 mi

Whole path

100 yd

Path width

Deaths

Injuries

$570K

Damage as recorded

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 100 yards (0.06 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F1 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F1 meant moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken; the scale paired it with winds of 73–112 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

Tornado tracked through trees in western Pender County before hitting barns and vehicles along NC Highway 210. A large tractor trailer was overturned and a large shed was destroyed. There was minor roof damage to a home and a large tree was heavily damaged.

The wider storm

A fast moving tornadic thunderstorm moved ashore on the coast of Brunswick County. There was no damage found until the storm moved across extreme eastern Columbus County and then extreme western Pender County. The tornado produced F3 damage through Riegelwood and diminished to F1 intensity as it crossed a wooded area to the Cape Fear River and into Pender County. This was the second deadliest tornado to hit North Carolina in the last 50 years.

Began near Point Caswell (34.3600, -78.2100).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 3605. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.