February 16, 2016 Severe Event

February 16, 2016 Severe Event

Overview

A squall line moved across eastern North Carolina during the morning hours of Tuesday February 16, 2016. Several reports of downed trees and wind gusts in excess of 60 mph were received across the Coastal Plains counties (Figure 1). As the system moved east, a small mesocale area of low pressure developed just off the Crystal Coast, called a "mesolow". This low produced wind damage in the Morehead City/Beaufort area with wind gusts as high as 81 mph at Fort Macon. This was followed by an EF-1 tornado touchdown near Davis and Bettie (Figures 2 through 5). Additional wind damage occurred near the path of this mesolow over portions of the Northern Outer Banks as well as mainland Hyde and Tyrrell Counties through mid-morning.

Figure 1. Severe thunderstorms along squall line prompted severe thunderstorm warnings during the the morning of February 16, 2016.



Figure 2. Path of EF-1 tornado in eastern Carteret County on February 16, 2016.


Figure 3. Approximate location of tornado, February 16, 2016. 


Figure 4. Wind damage near Bettie, NC, February 16, 2016.

Figure 5. Tornado damage near Davis, NC, February 16, 2016

Video of Mesolow on Radar

https://www.facebook.com/NWSMoreheadCity/videos/978020408902604/

Storm Reports

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEWPORT/MOREHEAD CITY NC
430 PM EST TUE FEB 16 2016

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0718 AM     TSTM WND DMG     ROSE HILL               34.83N  78.03W
02/16/2016                   DUPLIN             NC   911 CALL CENTER 

            TREE DOWN IN ROSE HILL 

0748 AM     TSTM WND DMG     DEEP RUN                35.13N  77.70W
02/16/2016                   LENOIR             NC   EMERGENCY MNGR  

            TREE DOWN IN DEEP RUN AT TULLS MILL ROAD 

0816 AM     TSTM WND GST     GREENVILLE              35.60N  77.37W
02/16/2016  E60 MPH          PITT               NC   BROADCAST MEDIA 

            WIND GUSTS ESTIMATED AT 60 MPH IN GREENVILLE RELAYED BY 
            WNCT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA 

0830 AM     TSTM WND DMG     BEAUFORT                34.72N  76.65W
02/16/2016                   CARTERET           NC   PUBLIC          

            POWER LINES DOWN 1400-1500 BLOCK OF FRONT STREE IN 
            BEAUFORT. TIME ESTIMATED 

0840 AM     TSTM WND DMG     BEAUFORT                34.72N  76.65W
02/16/2016                   CARTERET           NC   PUBLIC          

            SMALL TREE LIMBS AND FENCE DOWN. MANY SHINGLES MISSING 
            OFF ROOF ON HOME ON OLD CAUSEWAY ROAD. 

0842 AM     TSTM WND GST     BEAUFORT                34.72N  76.65W
02/16/2016  M68 MPH          CARTERET           NC   OTHER FEDERAL   

            BEAUFORT NOS AT NOAA LABS IN BEAUFORT REPORTED AT WIND 
            GUST TO 59 KNOTS 

0843 AM     TSTM WND GST     FORT MACON              34.70N  76.71W
02/16/2016  M81 MPH          CARTERET           NC   WEATHER FLOW    

            WEATHERFLOW SITE AT FORT MACON REPORTED A WIND GUST TO 
            81 MPH AT 843 AM 

0851 AM     TORNADO          3 N DAVIS               34.83N  76.47W
02/16/2016                   CARTERET           NC   PUBLIC          

            TORNADO ON THE GROND IN OPEN GROUNDS FARM REPORTED BY 
            PUBLIC 

0855 AM     TSTM WND DMG     BEAUFORT                34.72N  76.65W
02/16/2016                   CARTERET           NC   LAW ENFORCEMENT 

            DAMAGE ONEILS BODY SHOP ON LENOXVILLE ROAD SUSTAINED 
            WIND DAMAGE ... POSSIBLE TORNADO 

0855 AM     TSTM WND GST     BEAUFORT                34.72N  76.65W
02/16/2016  M65 MPH          CARTERET           NC   ASOS            

            BEAUFORT ASOS REPORTED WIND GUST TO 55 KNOTS 

0855 AM     TSTM WND DMG     7 N DAVIS               34.89N  76.47W
02/16/2016                   CARTERET           NC   PUBLIC          

            POSSIBLE TORNADO DAMAGE. OPEN GROUNDS FARM REPORTS 5 
            POWER POLES DAMAGED 1 MILE NORTH OF NELSON BAY ROAD ON 
            EASTERN END OF FARM. NWS STORM SURVEY TEAM HAS CONFIRMED 
            DAMAGE. TIME APPROXIMATE. 

0857 AM     TSTM WND DMG     BETTIE                  34.79N  76.60W
02/16/2016                   CARTERET           NC   PUBLIC          

            TRAMPOLINE OVERTURNED AND SHINGLES RIPPED OFF A ROOF. 
            NEARBY TRANSFORMER BLEW AND POWER OUT 

0858 AM     TORNADO          STACY                   34.84N  76.43W
02/16/2016                   CARTERET           NC   911 CALL CENTER 

            LAW ENFOREMENT REPORTED A TORNADO TOUCHDOWN IN STACY 
            ALONG HIGHWAY 70 

0904 AM     TSTM WND GST     8 W CEDAR ISLAND        35.00N  76.47W
02/16/2016  M71 MPH          CARTERET           NC   ASOS            

            PINEY ISLAND BOMBING RANGE ASOS WIND GUST TO 62 KNOTS 

0910 AM     TSTM WND GST     CEDAR ISLAND            35.00N  76.33W
02/16/2016  M64 MPH          CARTERET           NC   MESONET         

            WIND GUST TO 56 KNOT AT CEADAR ISLAND FERRY TERMINAL 

0915 AM     TSTM WND DMG     ENGELHARD               35.49N  75.99W
02/16/2016                   HYDE               NC   911 CALL CENTER 

            TREES DOWN IN ENGELHARD 

0920 AM     MARINE TSTM WIND OCRACOKE                35.10N  75.98W
02/16/2016  M56 MPH          HYDE               NC   WEATHER FLOW    

            WIND GUST TO 49 KNOTS AT OCRACOKE WEATHERFLOW SITE 

0940 AM     TSTM WND GST     SWANQUARTER             35.40N  76.32W
02/16/2016  M60 MPH          HYDE               NC   MESONET         

            WIND GUST TO 52 KNOTS AT THE NWS SWANQUARTER MESO-NET 

1006 AM     TSTM WND GST     EAST LAKE LANDING       35.90N  75.97W
02/16/2016  M77 MPH          DARE               NC   WEATHER FLOW    

            GUST TO 67 KNOTS AT ALLIGATOR RIVER BRIDGE WEATHERFLOW 
            SITE 

1010 AM     TSTM WND DMG     2 W EAST LAKE           35.87N  76.00W
02/16/2016                   AMZ130             NC   911 CALL CENTER 

            TRACTOR TRAILER OVERTURNED ON THE ALLIGATOR RIVER 
            BRIDGE 

1010 AM     MARINE TSTM WIND JENNETTES PIER          35.91N  75.59W
02/16/2016  M58 MPH          DARE               NC   WEATHER FLOW    

            GUST TO 50 KNOTS AT JENNETTES PIER WEATHERFLOW SITE 

1015 AM     TSTM WND GST     OREGON INLET            35.80N  75.54W
02/16/2016  M70 MPH          DARE               NC   WEATHER FLOW    

            WIND GUST TO 61 KNOTS AT OREGON INLET WEATHERFLOW SITE.

More Information on Davis, NC Tornado

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEWPORT/MOREHEAD CITY NC
136 PM EST TUE FEB 16 2016

...TORNADO CONFIRMED NEAR DAVIS IN CARTERET COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA...

LOCATION...DAVIS IN CARTERET COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA
DATE...FEBRUARY 16 2016
ESTIMATED TIME...8:51 AM EST
MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF1
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...110 MPH
MPH MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...500 FEET
PATH LENGTH...4.2 MILES
BEGINNING LAT/LON...34.82N/76.45W
ENDING LAT/LON...34.88N/76.44W
* FATALITIES...NONE. 
* 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 NEWPORT/MOREHEAD CITY NC HAS CONFIRMED
A TORNADO NEAR DAVIS IN CARTERET COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA ON FEBRUARY
16 2016.

STORM DAMAGE AT THE LUTHER LEWIS AND SON CRAB SHACK AND NEARBY POWER 
POLES IS CONSISTENT WITH HIGH END EF-1 DAMAGE. THE TORNADO CROSSED
HIGHWAY 70 ONTO THE EASTERN END OF OPEN GROUNDS FARM AND KNOCKED DOWN 
5 POWER POLES ALONG NELSON BAY ROAD. 

THE FISH HOUSE IS APPROXIMATELY 1.7 MILES NORTH-NORTHEAST OF DAVIS 
AND THE OPENS GROUNDS FARM DAMAGE IS APPROXIMATELY 5.8 MILES NORTH 
OF DAVIS. 

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

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.