EF0 tornado in Wilkes County, North Carolina

An EF-0 tornado, with peak winds estimated at 80 MPH, touched down near the intersection of Clingman Road and Briarlea Drive and traveled northwest through a populated area and caused minor damage to a few homes. This damage was mainly in the form of siding damage and removed shingles. A chicken coop and outbuilding were severely damaged. In addition, a few small trees were uprooted. The tornado traveled northwest and quickly lifted, less than a mile of its initial touchdown, near the intersection of Clingman Road and Cedar Forest Road.

Remnants of Tropical Storm Fred moved north from the Gulf Coast states into the Central Appalachians. Strong low level shear and abundant tropical moisture sparked low topped, rotating thunderstorms which helped spawn two brief EF-0 tornados in Wilkes County. Non-rotating damaging thunderstorm winds also occurred in portions of northwest North Carolina during the afternoon of the 17th and again during the late evening of the 17th into the early morning hours of the 18th. These multiple rounds of thunderstorms

led to at least 9,000 residents losing power in northwest North Carolina. In addition, a south to southeast flow of high tropical moisture allowed for several inches of rain to fall over portions of our area, with the highest amounts in the NC mountains.