000 NOUS42 KILM 181011 CCA PNSILM NCZ087-096-097-099>101-SCZ017-023-024-032>034-039-046-190030- PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...CORRECTED TIME NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC 830 PM EDT SUN APR 17 2011 ...TORNADO CONFIRMED NEAR BLADENBORO IN BLADEN COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA... LOCATION...BLADENBORO IN BLADEN COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA DATE...APRIL 16, 2011 ESTIMATED TIME...4:58 PM EDT - 5:20 PM EDT MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF-2 ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...120 MPH MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...440 YARDS PATH LENGTH...14 MILES BEGINNING LAT/LON...34.52/78.78 ENDING LAT/LON...34.67/78.57 * FATALITIES...ONE * INJURIES...NONE * THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT(S) AND PUBLICATION IN NWS STORM DATA. ...SUMMARY... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON NC HAS CONFIRMED A TORNADO NEAR BLADENBORO IN BLADEN COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA ON APRIL 16, 2011. TOUCHDOWN OCCURRED AT 458 PM IN DOWNTOWN BLADENBORO AT THE INTERSECTION OF SEABOARD ROAD AND NC HIGHWAY 242 (N. MAIN STREET). A GAS STATION HAD ITS ASPHALT ROOF ENTIRELY RIPPED OFF AND TOSSED INTO THE ALUMINUM AWNING OVER THE PUMPS, DAMAGING THE AWNING. ACROSS SEABOARD ROAD A SMALL INDUSTRIAL BUILDING ALSO HAD ITS ASPHALT ROOF ENTIRELY REMOVED AND TOSSED 30 YARDS DOWNWIND. THE TORNADO THEN CAME ENTIRELY TO THE GROUND DECIMATING A GROVE OF ABOUT 75 MAPLE/OAK TREES, SOME UP TO 2 FT IN DIAMETER. PATH WIDTH AT THIS POINT WAS APPROXIMATELY 150 YARDS, AND ESTIMATED WINDS AT THIS POINT WERE 90 TO 100 MPH, WHICH IS CONSISTENT WITH AN EF1 RATING. THE TORNADO REMAINED ON THE GROUND AS IT TRACKED JUST WEST OF HWY 242 NE OF BLADENBORO. ALONG THIS PATH THE TORNADO ENCOUNTERED A SERIES OF SINGLE WIDE MOBILE HOMES. OF THESE HOMES, ONE UN-MOUNTED HOME WAS FLIPPED ONTO ITS SIDE, A SECOND WAS PARTIALLY DESTROYED, WHILE A THIRD HAD ITS ENTIRE METAL ROOF COVERING RIPPED OFF AND TOSSED UP INTO A TREE. JUST BEYOND THESE HOMES THE BLADENBORO EMS BUILDING WAS ALSO DAMAGED. PARTIAL UPLIFT OF THE ROOF OF THIS BRICK BUILDING WAS NOTED, AS WELL AS THE COMPLETE DESTRUCTION OF A SMALL SHED. IN ADDITION, MANY LARGE HARDWOOD TREES WERE UPROOTED. THIS DAMAGE IS CONSISTENT WITH WINDS OF 90 TO 100 MPH, CONTINUING ALONG AS AN EF1 RATING. THE TORNADO THEN WIDENED TO 200 YARDS AS IT CONTINUED NE JUST WEST OF HWY 242. THE TORNADO ENCOUNTERED A NEIGHBORHOOD OF MOBILE HOMES IN THE RONALD BRITT ROAD AREA. ALMOST EVERY TREE IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD, MOSTLY CONSISTING OF OAK, WAS SNAPPED ABOUT HALFWAY UP THE TRUNK. MANY OF THE HOMES SUSTAINED AT LEAST MINOR COSMETIC DAMAGE. THREE OF THE HOMES WERE COMPLETELY DESTROYED INCLUDING ONE IN WHICH EVEN THE DEBRIS HAD BEEN DEPOSITED WELL DOWNWIND OF WHERE THE HOME INITIALLY STOOD. IT WAS IN THIS LOCATION THAT THE ONE FATALITY OCCURRED. ALTHOUGH MOST OF THE DAMAGE IN THIS AREA CONTINUED AS EF1, THE WORST DAMAGE IS CONSISTENT WITH WINDS OF 110 TO 120 MPH WHICH IS LOW END EF2. AS THE TORNADO CONTINUED TO THE NE IT WIDENED FURTHER AND INCREASED IN STRENGTH. NEAR BILL CRAWLEY ROAD AT AROUND 508 PM, A SINGLE WIDE MOBILE HOME WAS COMPLETELY DEMOLISHED AND ITS DEBRIS WAS SPREAD 50 YARDS TO THE OTHER SIDE OF HWY 242. 75-80% OF ALL TREES WERE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED IN THIS AREA. THE TORNADO THEN CROSSED BACK ACROSS HWY 242 AND REACHED ITS MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH OF 440 YARDS AS IT CROSSED GUYTON ROAD AND ENCOUNTERED A SERIES OF SINGLE FAMILY HOMES. A LARGE BRICK HOME HAD APPROXIMATELY HALF OF ITS ROOF DESTROYED AND BLOWN AWAY WHILE THE OTHER HOMES SUFFERED SIGNIFICANT COSMETIC DAMAGE. ADDITIONALLY, A FEW EMPTY GALVANIZED STEEL GRAIN SILOS WERE LIFTED AND MOVED 100 YARDS. THIS DAMAGE IS CONSISTENT WITH AN EF2 RATING, WITH WINDS AROUND 120 MPH. THE TORNADO CONTINUED ON THE GROUND THROUGH MOSTLY FORESTED AREAS UNTIL APPROACHING THE ELIZABETHTOWN AREA BY 512 PM. IT FIRST IMPACTED THE HAYFIELD NEIGHBORHOOD BEFORE CAUSING EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO THE AREA BETWEEN SINGLETARY AVENUE AND DOLL STREET, SE OF NC HWY 87. IN THE HAYFIELD AREA A WELL CONSTRUCTED HOME HAD ITS ROOF PARTIALLY LIFTED CAUSING THE EXTERIOR WALLS TO BOW OUT. SIGNIFICANT STRUCTURAL DAMAGE WAS NOTED TO THE ROOF AND UPPER PORTION OF EXTERIOR WALLS. MANY OTHER HOMES IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT COSMETIC DAMAGE. AS THE TORNADO MOVED ACROSS CROMARTIE ROAD ITS WIDTH DECREASED TO ABOUT 300 YARDS AND IT SNAPPED OR UPROOTED NEARLY 100% OF THE TREES IN THIS AREA. MOST OF THE STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO HOMES HERE WAS FROM FALLING TREES. THE DAMAGE DIRECTLY RELATED TO WINDS WAS MOSTLY COSMETIC WITH SHINGLES TORN OFF AND SIDING DAMAGED. AS THE TORNADO CROSSED HWY 87 IT MADE A DIRECT HIT ON ELIZABETHTOWN BAPTIST CHURCH. MODERATE ROOF DAMAGE WAS NOTED ON SEVERAL OF THE BUILDINGS, AND A BRICK COVERED WALKWAY WAS ALMOST COMPLETELY LEVELED. THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH EF1 DAMAGE, WITH WINDS OF 90 TO 100 MPH. FROM THERE THE TORNADO CONTINUED NE IMPACTING MOSTLY RURAL AREAS AND FORESTED REGIONS AS IT BEGAN TO WEAKEN. THE TORNADO CROSSED NC HWY 53 W TAKING DOWN A SWATH OF PINE TREES 100 YARDS WIDE, SOME OF WHICH BLOCKED THE ROAD. THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH LOW END EF1 DAMAGE, WITH WINDS OF 85 TO 95 MPH. AT THIS POINT IT APPEARS THE TORNADO BEGAN TO LIFT AS THE REMAINDER OF THE DAMAGE WAS MORE CONSISTENT WITH STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE THROUGH THE OAK TREE LANE AREA. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT AT THIS POINT A STRONG REAR FLANK DOWNDRAFT WRAPPED AROUND THE TORNADO AND CAUSED SIGNIFICANT TREE DAMAGE BUT VERY LITTLE IN THE WAY OF STRUCTURAL DAMAGE. MANY LARGE OAK TREES WERE UPROOTED WHICH IS CONSISTENT WITH WINDS AROUND 80 MPH. SHORTLY THEREAFTER THE DAMAGE PATH CAME TO AN END AS A FEW SNAPPED PINES WERE NOTED NE OF WILLARD TATUM ROAD BY 520 PM. THIS INFORMATION CAN ALSO BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE AT WEATHER.GOV/ILM. FOR REFERENCE...THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE CLASSIFIES TORNADOES INTO THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES: EF0...WIND SPEEDS 65 TO 85 MPH. EF1...WIND SPEEDS 86 TO 110 MPH. EF2...WIND SPEEDS 111 TO 135 MPH. EF3...WIND SPEEDS 136 TO 165 MPH. EF4...WIND SPEEDS 166 TO 200 MPH. EF5...WIND SPEEDS GREATER THAN 200 MPH. $$ JDW/CAM