National Weather Service Raw Text Product

389 
NOUS42 KRAH 292257
PNSRAH
NCZ007>011-021>028-038>043-073>078-083>086-088-089-300015-

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
700 PM EDT MON MAR 29 2010

...EF-2 TO EF-3 TORNADO CONFIRMED IN HIGH POINT IN GUILFORD COUNTY 
NORTH CAROLINA...

LOCATION...HIGH POINT IN GUILFORD COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA
DATE...03/28/2010
ESTIMATED TIME...730 EDT 
MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF-3 
MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...138 MPH 
MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...250-300 YARDS 
PATH LENGTH...
* FATALITIES...
* INJURIES...3 (LIKELY A HIGHER NUMBER OF MINOR INJURIES)

* 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 RALEIGH NC IN COOPERATION WITH 
GUILFORD COUNTY EMERGENCY SERVICES CONFIRMED AN EF-3 TORNADO WITH 
WINDS UP TO 138 MPH IN HIGH POINT LOCATED IN SOUTHWEST GUILFORD 
COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA ON 03/28/2010.

THIS TORNADO APPEARS TO BE A CONTINUATION OF THE TORNADOES WHICH 
TOUCHED DOWN IN DAVIDSON COUNTY. THE HIGH POINT TORNADO WAS THE 
THIRD TORNADO PRODUCED BY THE SAME THUNDERSTORM WHICH PRODUCED 
TORNADOES IN LINWOOD AND SINK ROAD IN DAVIDSON COUNTY. 

THE TORNADO IN HIGH POINT INITIALLY TOUCHED DOWN AS AN EF-1 WITH 
WINDS AROUND 100 MPH AT APPROXIMATELY 730 PM EDT NEAR OLD PLANK ROAD 
IN SOUTHWEST GUILFORD COUNTY. IT WAS IN THIS AREA WHERE THE APPLE 
TREE ACADEMY SUSTAINED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE AND 2 VEHICLES INCLUDING A 
SMALL BUS WERE ROLLED 50 YARDS ACROSS THE STREET. FROM THIS POINT 
THE TORNADO CONTINUED NORTHEAST ACROSS HIGHWAY 311. 

THE NEXT AREA TO EXPERIENCE DAMAGE WAS JUST NORTH OF HIGHWAY 311 AND 
SOUTH OF OLD MILL ROAD ALONG LANGADLE...IMPERIAL AND IMPALA DR.  
TORNADO DAMAGE IN THIS AREA CONTINUED TO INDICATE EF-1 WINDS WITH 
NUMEROUS TREES BLOWN DOWN ALONG WITH A NUMBER OF HOMES WITH ROOF AND 
SIDING DAMAGE. AS THE TORNADO CROSSED OLD MILL ROAD MOVING TOWARDS 
JOHNSON STREET THE TORNADO INTENSITY INCREASED TO EF-2. 

JUST NORTH OF OLD MILL ROAD THE EF-2 TORNADO SEVERELY DAMAGED 
NUMEROUS HOMES ALONG BRANDON DR. IN ONE INSTANCE AN ENTIRE BEDROOM 
WAS BLOWN OFF OF A SINGLE STORY HOME. THREE INDIVIDUALS TAKING 
SHELTER IN A CLOSET IN THE BEDROOM WERE CARRIED ABOUT 50 FEET AND 
WERE BURIED UNDER THE DEBRIS OF THE HOUSE. ONE INDIVIDUAL 
EXPERIENCED SEVERAL BROKEN BONES...BUT OVERALL INJURIES WERE NOT 
SERIOUS. THE REMAINDER OF THE HOUSE WAS SHIFTED ON THE FOUNDATION 
ABOUT 8 INCHES SEVERELY DAMAGING THE ENTIRE STRUCTURE. 

DAMAGE SURVEYED NORTH OF OLD MILL ROAD TO SKEET CLUB ROAD ALONG 
EITHER SIDE OF JOHNSON ROAD INDICATED THE TORNADO WAS AN EF-2 
TORNADO WITH WINDS AROUND 130 MPH FOR MOST OF ITS DURATION...BRIEFLY 
REACHING EF-3 INTENSITY WITH WINDS OF 138 MPH NEAR HAMPTON PARK DR. 
THE EF-3 RATING WITH PEAK WINDS OF 138 MPH WAS ESTIMATED AT 1278 
SILVERSTONE COURT WHERE MOST OF THE UPPER FLOOR OF A TWO STORY STICK 
BUILT HOME WAS BLOWN OFF. IN THIS AREA ALONG HAMPTON PARK 
DR...SCARLET DR...RUSKIN DR AND JOHNSON ROAD AT  LEAST 50 TO 60 
HOMES WERE DAMAGED.

THE TORNADO CROSSED JOHNSON ROAD AS AN EF-2 CROSSING ELMWOOD 
AVE...OAK FOREST DR AND MAPLEWOOD AVE. NEARLY EVERY HOUSE IN THIS 
HIGHLY URBANIZED AREA EXPERIENCED MINOR TO MODERATE DAMAGE. THE 
SECOND FLOOR OF A TWO STORY HOME WAS BLOWN OFF OF A RESIDENCE AT THE 
END OF ELMWOOD AVE. AS THE TORNADO CROSSED MAPLEWOOD AVE AND 
WELLINGHAM LANE IT WEAKENED TO AN EF-1 BUT CONTINUED TO DAMAGE 
NUMEROUS HOMES REMOVING POTIONS OF ROOFS AND SIDING. ONCE CROSSING 
SKEET CLUB ROAD NEAR POPLAR CREEK LANE THE TORNADO CONTINUED NORTH 
FINALLY LIFTING OFF THE GROUND NEAR KENDALE ROAD JUST NORTH OF THE 
LAKE.

OVERALL THE TORNADO CAUSED DAMAGE TO OVER 200 HOMES AND EMERGENCY 
OFFICIALS ARE STILL WORKING WITH THE RED CROSS AND STATE OF NORTH 
CAROLINA TO COMPLETE ADDITIONAL DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS. NUMEROUS 
RESIDENTS INTERVIEWED HEARD THE TORNADO WARNINGS ON LOCAL TELEVISION 
AND RADIO. IN ALL CASES WHERE MAJOR DAMAGE OCCURRED RESIDENTS WERE 
AWARE THAT WARNINGS WERE IN EFFECT AND TOOK COVER MOMENTS BEFORE THE 
TORNADO STRUCK. MANY RESIDENTS REPORTED BEING ABLE TO SEE AND HEAR 
THE TORNADO BEFORE IT STRUCK. 

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WOULD LIKE TO THANK GUILFORD COUNTY 
EMERGENCY SERVICES FOR THEIR ASSISTANCE DURING THE TORNADO SURVEY. 

FURTHER DETAILS WILL PROVIDED WHEN THE SURVEY IS COMPLETE.

THIS INFORMATION CAN ALSO BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE AT
WEATHER.GOV/RAH.

FOR REFERENCE...THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE CLASSIFIES TORNADOES INTO
THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:

EF-0...WIND SPEEDS 65 TO 85 MPH.
EF-1...WIND SPEEDS 86 TO 110 MPH.
EF-2...WIND SPEEDS 111 TO 135 MPH.
EF-3...WIND SPEEDS 136 TO 165 MPH.
EF-4...WIND SPEEDS 166 TO 200 MPH.
EF-5...WIND SPEEDS GREATER THAN 200 MPH.

$$

JO/TC