EF1 tornado in Halifax County, North Carolina

A tornado touched down southwest of Weldon, NC, just north of Little

Quankey Creek, with the primary indicators being intermittent

uprooted and snapped hardwood trees as the storm progressed

northeast. The tornado remained on the ground for four minutes and

a little over five miles, reaching its peak intensity and width

as it impacted a small community of single family homes just west

of the high school in South Weldon. Several of these structures

suffered minor damage to their roof and siding, and many trees and

small bushes were blown over or snapped. The tornado continued

north causing intermittent tree and minor structural damage

through the western fringes of Weldon before it crossed the

Roanoke River into Northampton County.

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.