EF1 Tornado — Rockingham, North Carolina

2018-04-15 · near Benaja, Rockingham, North Carolina

Event narrative

A tornado touched down southeast of Greensboro in Guilford County shortly after 4:00 PM EST. This tornado later entered Rockingham County about one mile southeast of Haw River near Chrismon Road at 4:25 PM EST. The tornado damaged numerous buildings, outbuildings, and barns. At least twenty homes and farms suffered damage, while one house and two mobile homes were completely destroyed. The Oak Haven Event Center in downtown Ruffin also sustained damage. Countless trees were snapped or uprooted. Estimated maximum wind speeds were 110 MPH. Seven people were injured, including a father and a seven-year-old son who were critically injured in their moving car when it struck a double-wide mobile home that was lifted on to the 1300 block of Grooms Road. The tornado finally lifted at 4:46 PM EST about four miles north-northeast of Ruffin between Dibrell Road and Bradley Road.

Wider weather episode

A strong cold front with a negatively-tilted upper level trough approached the North Carolina Piedmont. Plenty of wind shear with modest instability made conditions ripe for large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes. A supercell ahead of the cold front became strong enough to produce two tornadoes. The first tornado initially formed in Guilford County but crossed into Rockingham County and caused noteworthy damage, while a second tornado touched down in Caswell County and continued into Virginia.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.2450, -79.6430)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 748581. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.