EF0 tornado in Johnston County, North Carolina

A weak EF-0 tornado very briefly touched down in Smithfield. Damage consisted of

at least one very large Oak tree that was uprooted and blown down

onto a home. In addition, numerous other large tree branches and

several smaller trees were snapped and uprooted. This tornado

occurred in an outer rain band associated with Hurricane Dorian.

Hurricane Dorian moved north and northeastward near and along the coast of North Carolina on September 5th and 6th, with Dorian making landfall along the Outer Banks of North Carolina during the morning of September 6th. Meanwhile, heavy rain and strong damaging winds spread inland and across eastern central North Carolina. Heavy rainfall of 3 to 7 inches produced flash flooding across portions of the Coastal Plain of central North Carolina, generally along and east of the Interstate 95 corridor. Strong damaging winds of 35 to 55 mph spread inland across the Coastal Plain and eastern Sandhills of central North Carolina. This resulted in numerous power outages and trees down in these locations. Several weak tornadoes occurred during the afternoon of September 5th as multiple rain bands shifted eastward and into central North Carolina during peak heating.