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EF3 tornado in Beaufort County, North Carolina

Tornado April 25, 2014 · Beaufort County, North Carolina

EF3
Rating
21.0 mi
Path length
350 yd
Path width
1
Death
16
Injuries
$15.0M
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 350 yards (0.20 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF3 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF3 is severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, consistent with estimated gusts of 136–165 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

The tornado touched down approximately 1.5 miles west of Chocowinity along Taylor Road causing EF0 damage to trees and mobile homes. The tornado then strengthened to a strong EF2 as it impacted many homes and businesses from the intersection of U.S. Highway 17 and North Carolina Highway 33 eastward for about 1 mile. Several homes had significant damage in this area with numerous trees snapped.

The tornado reached EF3 intensity with winds estimated at 150 mph as it impacted homes along Whichards Beach Road from near Warrens Way to Harbor Drive. Many homes in this area were severely damaged or destroyed. Numerous vehicles and boats were damaged or destroyed.

The tornado then moved into the Washington Park area near Shorewood Drive and Daniels Drive after crossing the Pamlico River. Strong EF2 damage continued for about five miles as the tornado tracked eastward across U.S. Highway 264 to just north of the intersection of North Carolina Highway 32. Extensive damage occurred to numerous homes with some completely destroyed. The tornado continue to track east of North Carolina Highway 32 and north of U.S. Highway 264 for about 10 miles producing mainly EF0 to EF1 damage. The tornado finally dissipated near the Terra Ceia farms area.

There was one indirect fatality and 16 injuries associated with this tornado. It is estimated 150 to 200 homes and structures were damaged with many destroyed.

The wider storm

A cold front approached eastern North Carolina during the afternoon of April 25th 2014. Warm southerly winds ahead of the front produced good instability over the region and numerous showers and thunderstorms crossed during the afternoon and evening. Two super-cell thunderstorms produced the bulk of the severe weather with multiple tornadoes reported in parts of Greene, Pitt and Beaufort counties. There was one indirect fatality as and elderly woman located near Washington died from pneumonia as a result of injuries sustained during the tornado. Total dollar damage was estimated at 15 million dollars.

Began near Chocowinity (35.5100, -77.1200).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 505635. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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