Confirmed Tornadoes on March 15th

After surveying Saturday night's damage, the local National Weather Service did confirm that two tornadoes touched down, one in Columbus County and one in Pender County. Here is the storm survey from the local National Weather Service.

COLUMBUS COUNTY...TORNADO NEAR FAIR BLUFF NC...

SCATTERED DAMAGE OCCURRED ACROSS WESTERN COLUMBUS COUNTY ALONG A 10 MILE PATH FROM WEST OF FAIR BLUFF NORTHEAST TO NEAR EVERGREEN. THE FIRST DAMAGE OCCURRED AT 615 PM ON FARMLAND ALONG THE STATE LINE WHERE 10-15 TREES WERE SNAPPED OR BLOWN OVER. ON THE SAME PROPERTY...A OPEN SHED WAS BLOWN APART AND DISPLACED APPROXIMATELY 15 YARDS.

THE VAST MAJORITY OF DAMAGE OCCURRED IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY OF FAIR BLUFF. NUMEROUS TREES UP TO 20 INCHES IN DIAMETER WERE EITHER BLOWN OVER OR SNAPPED OFF. WIND DAMAGE TO HOMES WAS MINOR...HOWEVER SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE DID OCCUR TO A FEW HOMES AS THE RESULT OF FALLING TREES.

WITH THE EXCEPTION A SMALL AREA ALONG ORANGE STREET IN FAIR BLUFF...THE DAMAGE WAS CONSISTENT WITH STRAIGHTLINE WINDS IN THE RANGE OF 60 TO 80 MPH. HOWEVER ALONG THE WEST SIDE OF ORANGE STREET...THE DAMAGE PATTERN WAS SUGGESTIVE OF A BRIEF TORNADIC CIRCULATION REACHING THE GROUND SNAPPING SEVERAL TREES BEFORE LIFTING. THE EXTENT OF DAMAGE WAS CONSISTENT WITH AN ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE RATING OF EF0. THE TOUCHDOWN...WHICH OCCURRED AT 616 PM...WAS VERY LOCALIZED WITH AN APPROXIMATE PATH LENGTH OF 30 YARDS AND WIDTH OF 10 YARDS.

NO SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED FOR APPROXIMATELY 7 MILES NORTHEAST OF FAIR BLUFF...UNTIL TWO MILES SOUTHWEST OF EVERGREEN ALONG BUD STEPHENS ROAD. HERE...AT AROUND 626 PM...A COUPLE OF TREES APPROXIMATELY 12 INCHES IN DIAMETER WERE UPROOTED...AND A LARGE SHED...APPROXIMATELY 20 FEET WIDE AND 60 FEET LONG WAS LIFTED OFF THE FOUNDATION AND DEMOLISHED AS IT WAS DEPOSITED ABOUT 30 YARDS TO THE SOUTH. EYEWITNESSES TO THIS EVENT VERIFIED THAT IT WAS NOT THE RESULT OF A TORNADO.

PENDER COUNTY...INCLUDING THE HAMPSTEAD NC TORNADO...

THERE WERE TWO AREAS OF CONCERN THAT WERE INVESTIGATED. THE FIRST AREA WAS LOCATED ABOUT 1 MILE NORTHWEST OF THE TOWN OF ROCKY POINT IN THE CEDAR GROVE MOBILE HOME PARK. THERE WERE FIVE MOBILE HOMES THAT SUSTAINED DAMAGED DUE TO STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS THAT APPROACHED 90 TO 95 MPH. PINE TREES WERE BLOWN DOWN AND SNAPPED OFF WITH DEBRIS DAMAGING MOST OF THE MOBILE HOMES...TWO OF THE HOMES WERE BLOWN OFF THEIR FOUNDATIONS AND SUSTAINED MAJOR DAMAGE. THE PATH OF DAMAGE EXTENDED ABOUT 100 YARDS WIDE AND ABOUT 300 YARDS LONG.

THE SECOND AREA OF CONCERN WAS IN THE TOWN OF HAMPSTEAD WHERE THE DAMAGE WAS CAUSED BY A TORNADO WITH WINDS UP TO 110 MPH IN CERTAIN AREAS. THE TORNADO WAS RATED AS AN EF1...BUT FOR MOST OF THE PATH THE TORNADO WAS RATED AT EF0. THE PATH EXTENDED FROM ABOUT 100 YARDS SOUTHWEST OF HIGHWAY 210 AND US ROUTE 17 AND CONTINUED FOR 2 MILES TO THE NORTHEAST WITH A MAXIMUM WIDTH OF 100 YARDS. THE TWO HARDEST HIT AREAS WHERE THE TORNADO WAS RATED AS A EF1 WAS AT THE INTERSECTION OF PANSY LANE AND PEANUT ROAD WHERE SEVERAL BUSINESS AND HOMES SUSTAINED DAMAGE. THE SECOND AREA WAS ABOUT 1 MILE AWAY OFF OF LOBLOLLY ROAD...WHERE SEVERAL HOMES SUSTAINED DAMAGED AND NUMEROUS TREES WERE BLOWN DOWN. THE TORNADO THEN LIFTED UP AND SKIPPED FOR ANOTHER 1/2 MILE BEFORE DISSIPATING NEAR RAVINSWOODS ROAD. ALTHOUGH THE PATH WAS 2 MILES IN LENGTH THE TORNADO FREQUENTLY LIFTED BACK UP TO TREE TOP LEVEL AND CAUSED TOPS OF TREES TO SNAP OFF WITH LITTLE DAMAGE TO HOMES OR BUSINESSES.

PENDER COUNTY OFFICIALS ESTIMATED TOTAL DAMAGE WAS $2M FROM THE TORNADO AND STRAIGHT-LINE WIND GUSTS. THERE WERE 15 HOMES WITH MINOR DAMAGE...3 WITH MODERATE. THERE WERE 10 BUSINESSES WITH MINOR DAMAGE...3 WITH MODERATE...AND 1 WITH MAJOR. THERE WERE 5 MOBILE HOMES WITH MINOR DAMAGE...AND 2 WITH MODERATE DAMAGE.