EF1 tornado in Wake County, North Carolina

An EF-1 tornado briefly touched down approximately 5 miles north-northwest of Wendell, North Carolina on April 15, 2018.

The tornado touched down near Hals Farm Road, just off of Edgemont

Road. The tornado tracked northward across an area consisting of a

mixture of trees, a barn, and a few homes, before crossing Sadie

Drive. The homes near the end of Sadie drive (near the cul-de-sac)

sustained minor damage to siding and some loss/damage to shingles.

Numerous trees were uprooted and several pine trees snapped off

approximately 15 to 25 feet up. An apparent outbuilding was also

destroyed at this location. The damage here was indicative of a weak

tornado with approximate peak wind speeds of 87 MPH, or EF-1 on the

Enhanced Fujita Scale.

The tornado continued tracking northward through a wooded area

causing sporadic damage to trees. The tornado affected several homes

along Woodie Drive, off of Riley Hill Road, with one sustaining

significant damage from a tree falling through the roof of the home.

The tornado then lifted near Riley Hill Road.

A strong upper low moved from Iowa across the Lower Great Lakes region, with a deep trough taking on a negative tilt while swinging into North Carolina. An associated strong cold front approached western North Carolina that afternoon and pushed east and east-northeast across central North Carolina on the night of the 15th. A strengthening and backing flow at all levels led to a surge of moisture into NC. Moderate instability, strong deep layer shear, and high low-level storm-relative helicity were also present. The result was a quasi-linear convective system with embedded mesovortices, which produced widespread severe weather, including a tornado in Greensboro, as it moved through North Carolina.