80 mph tornado snapped, uprooted trees in “rugged” NC mountain terrain, NWS says
An 80-mph tornado snapped and uprooted trees in “rugged” N.C. mountain terrain during intense storms Tuesday, a National Weather Service team confirmed Friday.
Read more 80 mph tornado snapped, uprooted trees in “rugged” NC mountain terrain, NWS says
The NWS storm damage team is checking other areas of the mountains for other possible twisters during the storms, meteorologists in the NWS office in Greer, S.C., said on social media.
The EF-0 tornado touched down in the Allegheny area of Madison County, officials said. That’s about 150 miles northwest of Charlotte.
EF-0 is the weakest of six classifications on the NWS Enhanced Fujita Scale for tornado strength and damage.
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The tornado whacked trees for 1.1 miles before dissipating, the team found.
Investigators found damaged trees along Rock Branch Road, before the tornado crossed Highway 212 and snapped or uprooted numerous trees along the southward slope of Shelton Laurel Creek and toward Cutshall Town Road.
“All observed tree damage was consistent with EF-0 intensity,” according to the report. “Although the damage was relatively minor and sporadic, it correlates well with radar data showing a tornadic circulation moving through the area.”
The terrain is so inaccessible that the team could see where exactly the tornado touched down. “The National Weather Service will continue to evaluate the exact start point in the coming weeks if high-resolution satellite imagery becomes available,” according to the report.
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