EF1 tornado in Chatham County, North Carolina

Tornado April 19, 2019 · Chatham County, North Carolina

EF1

Rating

1.9 mi

Path length

150 yd

Path width

$100K

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 150 yards (0.09 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 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

A tornado briefly touched down in the Siler City area. Damage consisted of numerous snapped and uprooted trees, downed power poles and power lines, and damage to the roof covering of several homes. Monetary damages were estimated.

The wider storm

A deepening upper-level trough, which featured a strong polar jet ejecting northeast atop an eastward advancing cold front, brought severe thunderstorms that produced

7 tornadoes and widespread damaging straight-line winds across central NC. The strongest tornado of the day in North Carolina formed in southwestern Orange County and reached EF-2 strength as it neared Hillsborough. Along its path estimated at 12 miles long and a maximum of 600 yards wide, the roof and exterior walls of one home were reported as completely destroyed.

Began near Siler City (35.7420, -79.4912).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Orange County EF1 Edgecombe County EF1 Nash County EF1 Halifax County EF1 Sampson County EF1 Moore County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 820404. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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