Belhaven/Pantego Tornado, April 7, 2014

April 7, 2014 Belhaven/Pantego Tornado - EF2

Tornado on the Ground near Belhaven, NC (Courtesy WITN TV) Damage near Belhaven, NC (NWS Photo)

Damage Path of April 7, 2014 Tornadoes in Beaufort and Hyde Counties.

SUMMARY

...MULTIPLE TORNADOES CONFIRMED ON APRIL 7 2014...

...TORNADO CONFIRMED NEAR BELHAVEN AND PANTEGO IN BEAUFORT COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA...

LOCATION...NORTHWEST OF BELHAVEN AND NEAR PANTEGO IN BEAUFORT COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
DATE...APRIL 7 2014
ESTIMATED TIME...349 PM EDT
MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF2
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...130 MPH MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...300 YARDS PATH LENGTH...APPROXIMATELY 5 MILES FATALITIES...0 INJURIES...5

* THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO
CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT(S) AND PUBLICATION IN NWS STORM DATA.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEWPORT/MOREHEAD CITY NC HAS CONFIRMED A TORNADO NEAR BELHAVEN IN BEAUFORT COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA ON APRIL 7, 2014.

THE TORNADO INITIALLY TOUCHED DOWN JUST WEST OF PANTEGO CREEK AND HIGHWAY 264 NORTH OF BELHAVEN. IT BEGAN AS A MODERATE EF1 TORNADO FROM THERE TO NEAR BEECH RIDGE ROAD. ALONG HIGHWAY 264 THERE WAS DAMAGE TO A FEW STRUCTURES AND A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF LARGE OAKS AND PINE TREES DOWNED...TWISTED...AND SNAPPED. ONE HOME WAS SHIFTED OFF ITS FOUNDATION WITH PARTIAL ROOF DESTRUCTION...A PARTIAL LOSS OF WALLS AND WINDOWS BLOWN OUT. A CAR IN THAT LOCATION WAS TOSSED 50 YARDS FROM THE ROAD WITH TWO INJURIES.

THE TORNADO STRENGTHENED TO A HIGH END EF2 AS IT MOVED THROUGH
THE BEECH RIDGE ROAD AREA NEAR PANTEGO. SEVERAL HOMES...OUT
BUILDINGS...AND SHEDS WERE DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. LARGE NUMBERS OF TREES WERE SNAPPED...MANY NEAR THEIR BASE. A DOUBLE WIDE MOBILE HOME WAS WIPED OFF ITS FOUNDATION AND DESTROYED DESPITE BEING STRAPPED DOWN. UTILITY LINE TOWERS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY DAMAGED HERE AS WELL.

THE TORNADO THEN CONTINUED TO PRODUCE MODERATE EF2 DAMAGE ON
ROSS FARM. A ROOF WAS ENTIRELY TORN OFF A HOUSE...AN OUT BUILDING
DESTROYED...HUGE FARM EQUIPMENT MOVED...AND MANY TREES SNAPPED THERE. THE TORNADO THEN DISSIPATED IN A FIELD.

TORNADO CONFIRMED NEAR PONZER IN HYDE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA

LOCATION...PONZER IN HYDE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
DATE...APRIL 7 2014
ESTIMATED TIME...400 PM EDT
MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF1
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...105 MPH
MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...200 YARDS
PATH LENGTH...1.0 MILES
FATALITIES...0
INJURIES...0

THE SECOND TORNADO FROM THIS EVENT DROPPED DOWN ALONG AN
EXTENSION OF THE TRACK OF THE ORIGINAL TORNADO NEAR PONZER. A
HOME THERE WAS PUSHED OFF ITS FOUNDATION...BUT THE STRUCTURE
REMAINED INTACT. THERE WERE ALSO TREES SNAPPED. THE TORNADO
CONTINUED ABOUT A MILE FURTHER INTO A CHICKEN FIELD WHERE THERE
WAS EVIDENCE IN THE FIELD OF A 200 YARD WIDE TORNADO. THE TORNADO
THEN DISSIPATED.

RADAR IMAGERY

The supercell storm responsible for producing the tornadoes exhibited the tornadic tell-tale hook echo signature for several minutes. Storm relative velocity data also indicated an intense gate-to-gate rotational couplet, in excess of 100 knots, indicating strong rotation within the supercell storm.