The Good Friday Severe Weather Outbreak of April 10, 2009

Heat Continues for the East and South-Central U.S.; Strong to Severe Storms Across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast

The extremely dangerous heat wave continues across the East Coast and much of the South-Central U.S. today. Record high temperatures are expected for some areas especially across the Mid-Atlantic where extreme heat risk conditions reside. There is a Slight Risk (level 2 of 5) of severe thunderstorms today for the northern Mid-Atlantic into portions of southern New England. Read More >

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 1041 PM EDT SUN APR 12 2009 ...TORNADO CONFIRMED IN GREENWOOD SC... LOCATION...GREENWOOD...GREENWOOD COUNTY SC DATE...APRIL 10TH 2009 ESTIMATED TIME...841 TO 847 PM EDT MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING/CAUSE...EF1 ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...110 MPH MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...200 YARDS PATH LENGTH...5 MILES ...SUMMARY... A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT FOUND AN AREA OF TORNADO DAMAGE IN GREENWOOD COUNTY THAT BEGAN ABOUT 3 MILES WEST OF GREENWOOD NEAR HUNTERS CREEK SUBDIVISION. THE TORNADO TRAVELED EAST/SOUTHEAST...MOVING ACROSS THE WEST...SOUTHWEST AND SOUTHERN PART OF THE CITY OF GREENWOOD. NUMEROUS MEDIUM TO LARGE HARDWOOD AND PINE TREES WERE UPROOTED OR SNAPPED OFF ALONG THE PATH. SERIOUS DAMAGE WAS LARGELY RELATED TO TREES FALLING ON STRUCTURES BUT SOME ROOFS WERE SEVERELY STRIPPED. THE DAMAGE OBSERVED WAS CONSISTENT WITH WIND SPEEDS OF 100-110 MPH...MAKING THIS AN EF1 TORNADO ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE. DUE TO THE NUMBER AND SIZE OF LARGE TREES UPROOTED THE STRENGTH OF THE STORM MAY NEED TO BE UPGRADED ONCE PICTURES TAKEN OF THE DAMAGE ARE REVIEWED IN GREATER DETAIL. ANOTHER SHORTER DAMAGE TRACK ABOUT 2 MILES TO THE NORTH ON KARLIE ROAD...OFF OF LAUREL ROAD ON THE NORTH SIDE OF TOWN...LEFT SEVERAL HOMES WITH FEWER SHINGLES...ALONG WITH MISSING GUTTERS AND SIDING. QUITE A FEW MEDIUM-SIZED HARDWOOD TREES WERE BLOWN OVER AND SNAPPED OFF. ONE HOME NEAR THE END OF THE TRACK HAD A LARGE SECTION OF THE ROOF STRUCTURE AND PART OF AN EXTERIOR WALL BLOWN OFF. THERE WAS ALSO A SEMI TRAILER BLOWN OVER ON AN ADJACENT EMPTY LOT. THE DAMAGE OBSERVED WAS CONSISTENT WITH WIND SPEEDS OF 100-110 MPH ALSO...MAKING THIS AN EF1 TORNADO ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND THEIR GRATITUDE TO THE GREENWOOD PUBLIC SAFETY MANAGER FOR ASSISTANCE IN THIS DAMAGE SURVEY. $$ RB