Thunderstorm Wind — Sampson, North Carolina

2017-05-29 · near Piney Green, Sampson, North Carolina

Event narrative

A large, 5 mile, north to south swath of straight line wind damage occurred across

northern Sampson County North Carolina. All damage observed was consistently west to east oriented, unambiguously indicating that damage resulted from straight line winds.

At approximately 10:40 PM EDT, a macroburst occurred northeast of Salemburg, destroying numerous turkey houses near the intersection of Tyndall Bridge Road and High House Road east of Highway 242. Tin roofs of the turkey houses were scattered downwind, and approximately 16,000 turkeys were killed. Winds near the center of

this damage were estimated at 80-90 mph. Damaging winds progressed eastward toward and beyond U.S. 421, with a continued 5 mile north to south swath of winds in excess of 70 mph. Several structures and trees were damaged or destroyed in this corridor. A mobile home resting on cinder blocks was rolled off of its foundation and onto a car on U.S. 421 near Woodside Lane. Another significant damage point, potentially associated with a second macroburst or microburst, was found near Basstown Road between Highway 421 and U.S. 701. Here, several trees were snapped halfway up their trunks, and hundreds of trees were downed or damaged. Winds were estimated at 80-90 mph, surrounded by a large area of 70-80 mph winds. Wind damage continued eastward over U.S. 701, including a tree that fell on a car and trapped two occupants. Damaging winds continued across I-40 before exiting Sampson County into Duplin County at approximately 11:19 PM EDT. There were no fatalities but 12 injuries reported. Monetary damages were estimated.

Wider weather episode

A cluster of storm tracked across portions of Sampson County late during the evening producing widespread damage. Numerous homes and buildings were damaged along with widespread power outages. Monetary damages were estimated.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.0760, -78.4640)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 702707. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.