Posted by wxii12.com blogs at 9/15/2007 6:10 PM
Weak tornadoes are typical with tropical systems that move inland. We’ve seen our share of weak tornadoes from tropical systems in the last few years. Remnants of Tropical Storm Cindy helped form a tornado just east of Yadkinville on July 7, 2005. On September 17, 2004, Tropical Storm Ivan encouraged a tornado near Stokesdale in Guilford County.More recently on September 14, 2007, we just so happened to have a nice combination of tropical energy from Hurricane Humberto’s remnants along with upper level support and a surface front. These weather ingredients helped produce a tornado in Clemmons area at 2:36 p.m and then another tornado at 4:23 p.m. near Thomasville on highway 52.
Homeowners along Peace Haven road say the tornado knocked down several trees as it tore through their neighborhood. Siding was ripped off and a resident reported her fence being blown away. The strength of these tornadoes were listed as weak with winds between 65 mph and 86 mph on the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF-0. The tornado rating is assigned after damage is surveyed. Take a look at how meteorologists estimate the power of tornadoes:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/ef-scale.html
Between the months of March and May, the state of North Carolina experiences the most tornadoes for the year. Many tornadoes in North Carolina develop between the hours of 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Are you wondering when the last time a tornado hit your neighborhood? The Storm Event Database developed by climatologists at the State Climate Office of North Carolina may help you find out the answer. Here’s a link to their database:
http://www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu/monitoring/events.html
To be better prepared for severe weather, make sure to have a family disaster plan. Also, remember to check the battery in your NOAA weather radio each month when you change your smoke detector battery. If you don’t have a NOAA weather radio, consider buying one from a local electronics store. This radio acts as a weather alarm clock and will sound an alarm if a warning is issued by the National Weather service for your area.
