Tornado in North Carolina, April 15, 1996

Name: Tornado in North Carolina, April 15, 1996
Start: 1996-04-15T17:45
End: 1996-04-15T18:05
Location: North Carolina

April 15, 1996 · NWS RAH · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The storm moved into Franklin county and destroyed a cement block building 1 mile SW of the community of Pilot. The storm then crossed over Hwy 64 where numerous trees were twisted and downed.

Where it happened

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 5
Property damage: $1.0 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS RAH wrote it up.

The storm moved into Franklin county and destroyed a cement block building 1 mile SW of the community of Pilot. The storm then crossed over Hwy 64 where numerous trees were twisted and downed. Several outbuildings were also destroyed. The storm then entered Pilot where the damage path reached 250 yards across.A frame house was rotated, lifted off its foundation, and moved 30 feet. Cars were thrown into a local farm pond along with other debris. As the tornado left Pilot and approached HWY 39, the tornado reached it greatest width of nearly 400 yards. Damage was evident at every home in its path. The storm then weakened before it moved into Nash county.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

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Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Franklin

When: April 15, 5:45 PM EST to 6:05 PM EST
Where: Franklin County, Pilot
Rating: F2
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 400 yd
Injuries: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $1.0 million
Coordinates: 35.880, -78.270

What these are

Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in North Carolina in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history The tornado archive for North Carolina, 1996 Warnings in North Carolina, April 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5556981.