A retreating area of high pressure over Virginia, and a northward advancing warm front moving into Virginia, set the stage for an unstable atmosphere prone for rotation over the Piedmont and Foothill region of North Carolina. By the afternoon hours, showers and storms starting forming, with a couple of these storms reached severe levels with hail and damaging winds.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS RNK wrote it up.
A retreating area of high pressure over Virginia, and a northward advancing warm front moving into Virginia, set the stage for an unstable atmosphere prone for rotation over the Piedmont and Foothill region of North Carolina. By the afternoon hours, showers and storms starting forming, with a couple of these storms reached severe levels with hail and damaging winds. A shortly lived EF0 tornado occurred near Elkin in Surry County.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Blacksburg, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 28, 1:10 PM EST, 2 hours 14 minutes earlier.
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</html>The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 103 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:23 UTC.
6 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm winds snapped and uprooted numerous large trees. An outbuilding and boat also sustained damage. Damage values are estimated.
Thunderstorm winds blew down several trees and the roof off a shed along the 400 block of Luffman Road. Damage values are estimated.
A swath of thunderstorm straight line wind damage occurred within an area almost five miles long and around three miles wide near Elkin. The damage consisted of multiple locations with scattered to numerous trees and power lines downed. Additionally, there was wind damage to some small barns and outbuildings, and trees and tree limbs were downed on many homes. In one case of home damage, a sunroom was partially destroyed by a fallen tree. One person was trapped under a fallen tree, sustained minor injuries and required hospitalization. Occurring within this path of destruction was a brief EF-0 tornado which is discussed in detail in a 15:44 EST Tornado report. Damage values are estimated.
A brief tornado touched down near Knollwood Drive and traveled southeast for about 100 yards into a valley before lifting. The tornado reached a maximum strength of EF-0 with peak winds estimated to be 85 mph. The tornado uprooted several trees and was embedded within a the larger area of straight line winds described in the 15:41 EST Thunderstorm Wind report for Surry County. Damage values are estimated.
Thunderstorm winds blew down several trees in Jonesville and also blew trees down on power lines at a location one mile northeast of Arlington. Damage values are estimated.
Thunderstorm winds blew multiple trees down. Damage values are estimated.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for North Carolina, 2023Warnings in North Carolina, April 2023
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1087898, 1087899, 1087900, 1087901, 1087837, 1087843, 1087844, 1087902, 1087904, 1087905, 1087907.