The Harrisburg North Carolina Tornado of 3 March 2012

Track of Harrisburg NC tornado on 3 March 2012

Approximate track of the Harrisburg tornado in eastern Mecklenburg County and 
western Cabarrus County, North Carolina, on 3 March 2012.  The tornado path 
is shown by the red area.  Click on image to enlarge.

000
NOUS42 KGSP 040044 CCA
PNSGSP
NCZ071-072-041700-

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
739 PM EST SAT MAR 3 2012

...TORNADO CONFIRMED NEAR CHARLOTTE IN EASTERN MECKLENBURG AND
WESTERN CABARRUS COUNTIES IN NORTH CAROLINA...

LOCATION...CHARLOTTE IN MECKLENBURG COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA
DATE...03/03/12
ESTIMATED TIME...234 AM EST
MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF2
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...135 MPH
MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...200 YARDS
PATH LENGTH...3.2 MILES
BEGINNING LAT/LON...35.26N / 80.68W
ENDING LAT/LON...35.27N / 80.63W
* FATALITIES...0
* INJURIES...4

* 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 GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC HAS
CONFIRMED A TORNADO NEAR CHARLOTTE IN MECKLENBURG COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA
ON 03/03/12.

A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN EARLY SATURDAY MORNING IN EASTERN MECKLENBURG
COUNTY...NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF DULIN CREEK BOULVARD AND LITTLE
WHITEOAK ROAD...SOUTH OF THE PLAZA ROAD EXTENSION. THE TORNADO
THEN MOVED RAPIDLY EAST-NORTHEAST HUGGING...OR PASSING JUST SOUTH
OF PLAZA ROAD EXTENSION. THIS IMPACTED A NUMBER OF COMMUNITIES IN
ITS PATH.

THE TORNADO CROSSED INTERSTATE 485...AND QUICKLY SHIFTED ACROSS
BOTH ROBINSON CHURCH ROAD AND PEACH ORCHARD ROAD. THE TORNADO
LIFTED IN THE OPEN COUNTY NORTH AND EAST OF PEACH ORCHARD ROAD...
BEFORE REACHING HICKORY RIDGE ROAD.

IN EASTERN MECKLENBURG COUNTY 162 HOMES HAD SOME IMPACT. TWENTY
NINE HAD MAJOR IMPACT AND WERE UNINHABITABLE AND FOUR WERE
DESTROYED. IN CABARRUS COUNTY 30 HOMES HAD SOME IMPACT...TWELVE
WITH MAJOR DAMAGE AND TWO DESTROYED.

WALLS WERE COLLAPSED ON HOMES...ROOFS WERE PARTIALLY OR COMPLETELY
BLOWN OFF...ONE HOUSE WAS MOVED FROM ITS FOUNDATION AND DESTROYED.
ONE CAR WAS OVERTURNED...WHILE WINDOWS WERE BLOWN OUT OF OTHER
VEHICLES AND HOMES. ON A NUMBER OF HOMES...SIDING WAS COMPLETELY
STRIPPED AWAY. TREES WERE SNAPPED OR FELLED...AND SOME LANDED ON
VEHICLES AND HOMES.

THE TORNADO WIDTH INITIALLY BEGAN AT 200 YARD WIDE BUT CONTRACTED
SLIGHTLY AT THE END. WITHIN THE DAMAGE SWATH THERE WERE THREE OR
FOUR MAIN POCKETS WHERE THE DAMAGE WAS ACCENTUATED.

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

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.

$$

STUREY