Tornadoes · United States · North Carolina · 2004
F0 tornado, Apex, North Carolina, September 27, 2004
This F0 tornado ran 4.0 miles across Wake County on September 27, 2004, touching down at 7:30 PM EDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
F040 to 72 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2113 to 157 mph
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
F3158 to 206 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5261 to 318 mph
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.
The record
- Rating
- F0
- Date
- September 27, 2004
- Touchdown
- 7:30 PM EDT (23:30 UTC)
- Path length
- 4.0 miles (6.4 km)
- Path width
- 50 yards (46 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Wake County
- Touchdown point
- 35.700, -78.820
- Lift-off point
- 35.750, -78.870
- Record number
- 1656
What the Weather Service recorded
A tornado touched down near the intersection of Holly Springs Road and Kildaire Farm Road. Minor property damage occurred to a few mobile homes, and a few trees and power lines were blown down. The tornado lifted briefly, and then touched down again on the north side of Apex were several large trees were blown down, especially near the intersection of Schiefflin Road and James road, and along Culvert Street.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
22 minutes of warning. NWS RAH issued a tornado warning for this county at 23:08 UTC, 22 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:45 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23:08 UTC | 23:45 UTC | Tornado Warning | RAH |
Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.
The forecast that day
The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Moderate Risk, with a 0.15 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:58 UTC.
SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Raleigh, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Sep 27, 2:50 PM EDT, 4 hours 40 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 27, 2:50 PM EDT, 4 hours 40 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 250 PM EDT MON SEP 27 2004 .SHORT TERM (TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT)... HPCS JEANNE TRACK HAS TRENDED SLOWER AND A LITTLE LEFT SINCE YESTERDAY. INITIALLY WEAK DEEP LAYER SHEAR HAS KEPT THE HEAVY RAIN SHIELD CLOSER TO THE STORMS CENTER... WITH VERY SLOW NORTHWARD PROGRESSION OF THE FIRST RAIN BAND INTO SOUTH CENTRAL NC. THE DEEP LAYER SHEAR IS PROGGED TO INCREASE TO THE LEFT OF THE CENTER TOMORROW BUT REMAIN ALONG-SHEAR... WHICH WOULD TEND TO SHOVE THE HEAVY RAIN SHIELD WELL NNE OF THE CENTER AND LIMIT EXCESSIVE RAINFALL TOTALS. THE STRONG INVERTED TROUGH EXTENDING NORTHEAST FROM JEANNE ACROSS THE CWA SHOULD HOLD STATIONARY OR DRIFT A BIT TO THE NORTHWEST... AND THIS MAY SERVE AS A HEAVY RAIN FOCUS OVERNIGHT THROUGH TUE MORNING. WILL LEAVE THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH AS IS... ALTHOUGH WILL EXTEND IT A BIT IN TIME UNTIL 4 PM TUE. EXPECT TOTALS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES... A LITTLE LESS IN THE COASTAL PLAIN. REGARDING THE TORNADO RISK... UNLESS THE SURFACE TROUGH MOVES WELL WEST OF THE CWA... THE NE WINDS ON ITS WEST SIDE WITHIN THE WEDGED AIR MASS WILL POSE A SERIOUS THREAT OF GREATLY ENHANCED HELICITIES AS JEANNES CENTER APPROACHES... AND ESPECIALLY WHERE A LITTLE HEATING CAN RAISE CAPES. A BROAD SPS FOR THIS THREAT WILL BE ISSUED. FOR TUE... WILL TAPER OFF PRECIP CHANCES FROM SOUTHWEST TO EAST AS THE CIRCULATION CENTER EXITS BY EVENING ACCORDING TO THE OFFICIAL TRACK. LOWS 65-72 TONIGHT... HIGHS 71-78 TUE. && .LONG TERM (WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY)... THE GFS/ECMWF/00Z UKMET AGREE ON JEANNE OFFSHORE AND MOVING QUICKLY AWAY WED (ALTHOUGH THE OLD UKMET AND DGEX HOLD IT CLOSER TO THE COAST). WILL CONTINUE TREND OF DRYING BUT WITH THE UPPER JET OVERHEAD AND A FAIRLY BRISK SOUTHERN STREAM WEST-SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW PERSISTING... WE SHOULD SEE ENOUGH MID LEVEL SKY COVER FOR PERIODS OF PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK. THEN A DEEP TROUGH TRANSLATES EASTWARD WITH AN ATTENDANT COLD FRONT... ALTHOUGH WITH SCANT OPPORTUNITY FOR ANY MOISTURE RETURN IN THE LOW LEVELS... WILL KEEP THE FROPA DRY FOR NOW. WILL FAVOR TEMPS NEAR THE GFS ENSEMBLE MOS GUIDANCE. && .AVIATION... KEEP THE LOW CLOUDS IN THROUGH TUE MORNING WITH HEAVY RAIN MOVING IN OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS AND LOW LEVEL WIND SHEAR OVERNIGHT INTO TUE MORNING. && .RAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NC...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 4 PM TUESDAY FOR MOST OF CENTRAL NC. && SHORT TERM/LONG TERM...HARTFIELD AVIATION...LOCKLEAR
Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 27, 6:45 AM EDT, 12 hours 45 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 645 AM EDT MON SEP 27 2004 NCZ007>011-021>028-038>043-073>078-083>086-088-089-280830- ALAMANCE NC-ANSON NC-CHATHAM NC-CUMBERLAND NC-DAVIDSON NC-DURHAM NC- EDGECOMBE NC-FORSYTH NC-FRANKLIN NC-GRANVILLE NC-GUILFORD NC- HALIFAX NC-HARNETT NC-HOKE NC-JOHNSTON NC-LEE NC-MONTGOMERY NC- MOORE NC-NASH NC-ORANGE NC-PERSON NC-RANDOLPH NC-RICHMOND NC- SAMPSON NC-SCOTLAND NC-STANLY NC-VANCE NC-WAKE NC-WARREN NC-WAYNE NC- WILSON NC- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ALBEMARLE...ASHEBORO...BURLINGTON... CHAPEL HILL...CLINTON...DURHAM...FAYETTEVILLE...GOLDSBORO... GREENSBORO...HENDERSON...LAURINBURG...LEXINGTON...LILLINGTON... LOUISBURG...MOUNT OLIVE...NASHVILLE...OXFORD...PITTSBORO...RAEFORD... RALEIGH...ROANOKE RAPIDS...ROCKINGHAM...ROCKY MOUNT...ROXBORO... SANFORD...SMITHFIELD...SOUTHERN PINES...TARBORO...TROY...WADESBORO... WARRENTON...WILSON AND WINSTON-SALEM 552 AM EDT MON SEP 27 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE... THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND POSSIBLE TORNADOES OVER THE SOUTHERN HALF OF CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND POSSIBLE TORNADOES OVER THE NORTHERN HALF OF CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS ALSO IN AFFECT FOR THE PIEDMONT AND WESTERN SANDHILLS OF CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA. RAINFALL TOTALS COULD BE 2 TO 4 INCHES WITH LOCALLY HEAVIER AMOUNTS IN EXCESS OF 5 INCHES. .DAY TWO... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL TAPER OFF FROM THE SOUTH DURING THE DAY TUESDAY. THERE WILL BE A LINGERING CHANCE OF HEAVY RAIN THROUGH THE EARLY MORNING HOURS. .DAYS THREE THROUGH SEVEN... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS AND LOCAL STORM SPOTTER GROUPS SHOULD CLOSELY MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS AND STATEMENTS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. 27
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Sep 27, 1:41 PM EDT, 5 hours 49 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 141 PM EDT MON SEP 27 2004 NCZ007>011-021>028-038>043-073>078-083>086-088-089-280837- ALAMANCE NC-ANSON NC-CHATHAM NC-CUMBERLAND NC-DAVIDSON NC-DURHAM NC- EDGECOMBE NC-FORSYTH NC-FRANKLIN NC-GRANVILLE NC-GUILFORD NC- HALIFAX NC-HARNETT NC-HOKE NC-JOHNSTON NC-LEE NC-MONTGOMERY NC- MOORE NC-NASH NC-ORANGE NC-PERSON NC-RANDOLPH NC-RICHMOND NC- SAMPSON NC-SCOTLAND NC-STANLY NC-VANCE NC-WAKE NC-WARREN NC-WAYNE NC- WILSON NC- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ALBEMARLE...ASHEBORO...BURLINGTON... CHAPEL HILL...CLINTON...DURHAM...FAYETTEVILLE...GOLDSBORO... GREENSBORO...HENDERSON...LAURINBURG...LEXINGTON...LILLINGTON... LOUISBURG...MOUNT OLIVE...NASHVILLE...OXFORD...PITTSBORO...RAEFORD... RALEIGH...ROANOKE RAPIDS...ROCKINGHAM...ROCKY MOUNT...ROXBORO... SANFORD...SMITHFIELD...SOUTHERN PINES...TARBORO...TROY...WADESBORO... WARRENTON...WILSON AND WINSTON-SALEM 141 PM EDT MON SEP 27 2004 ...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES ACROSS CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON... THE REMNANTS OF HURRICANE JEANNE ARE EXPECTED TO APPROACH FROM THE SOUTH TONIGHT AND MOVE ACROSS CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA ON TUESDAY. THE COMBINATION OF A WEAK SURFACE BOUNDARY COMBINED WITH BREAKS IN THE CLOUD COVERAGE WILL FURTHER HEIGHTEN THE TORNADO THREAT OVER CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA. BANDS OF HEAVY RAIN AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE OVER THE AREA LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. RAPID CHANGES IN WIND DIRECTION WITH HEIGHT ABOVE GROUND LEVEL AHEAD OF THE STORM CENTER WILL INCREASE CHANCES OF ISOLATED TORNADOES WITH THE HEAVY RAIN BANDS. LOCATIONS WITH GREATEST RISK OF ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL BE JUST TO THE SOUTH AND EAST OF THE STORM TRACK. CURRENT PROJECTIONS MOVE THE STORM CENTER FROM THE SOUTHWEST NEAR ALBEMARLE AND TROY TUESDAY MORNING TO THE RALEIGH-DURHAM AREA TUESDAY EVENING. GUSTY STRAIGHT LINE WINDS...WITH LOCALIZED WIND GUSTS UP TO 30 TO 40 MPH ARE ALSO POSSIBLE IN THE HEAVY RAIN BANDS TONIGHT AND TUESDAY. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS AND LOCAL STORM SPOTTER GROUPS SHOULD CLOSELY MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS AND STATEMENTS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES. BL
Special weather statement, Sep 27, 4:30 PM EDT, 3 hours before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 430 PM EDT MON SEP 27 2004 NCZ042-073>078-083>086-088-089-272225- ANSON NC-CUMBERLAND NC-HARNETT NC-HOKE NC-JOHNSTON NC-LEE NC- MONTGOMERY NC-MOORE NC-RICHMOND NC-SAMPSON NC-SCOTLAND NC-STANLY NC- WAYNE NC- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ALBEMARLE...CLINTON...FAYETTEVILLE... GOLDSBORO...LAURINBURG...LILLINGTON...MOUNT OLIVE...RAEFORD... ROCKINGHAM...SANFORD...SMITHFIELD...SOUTHERN PINES... TROY AND WADESBORO 430 PM EDT MON SEP 27 2004 ...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EDT FOR THE SOUTHERN COUNTIES OF CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA... A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM FOR ROUGHLY THE SOUTH HALF OF CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA. THROUGH 630 PM...OCCASIONAL SHOWERS WITH INFREQUENT RUMBLES OF THUNDER WILL CROSS THE SOUTHERN PIEDMONT AND SANDHILL COUNTIES. THESE SHOWERS WILL PRODUCE WIND GUSTS BETWEEN 25 AND 35 MPH AND RAINFALL AMOUNTS UP TO AN INCH IN LESS THAN AN HOUR. DUE TO THE THREAT OF TORNADOES...YOU ARE URGED TO STAY TUNED TO A RELIABLE SOURCE OF WEATHER INFORMATION THROUGHOUT THE EVENING. ADDITIONAL WEATHER WATCHES ARE POSSIBLE AND THERE COULD BE A FEW WARNINGS.
Local storm report, Sep 27, 5:45 PM EDT, 1 hour 45 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
545 PM EDT MON SEP 27 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0541 PM TORNADO SOUTHERN PINES 35.18N 79.40W
09/27/2004 MOORE NC LAW ENFORCEMENT
TORNADO ON THE GROUND SOUTHSIDE OF SOUTHERN PINES. TREES
AND POWERLINES DOWN.
&&
WSSLocal storm report, Sep 27, 6:02 PM EDT, 1 hour 28 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
602 PM EDT MON SEP 27 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0548 PM TORNADO SOUTHERN PINES 35.18N 79.40W
09/27/2004 MOORE NC LAW ENFORCEMENT
CARS FLIPPED OVER FROM TORNADO. DAMAGE TO SEVERAL
BUILDINGS. ROOFS TAKEN OFF A FEW METAL BUILDINGS.
&&
BLAESThe air that afternoon
The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.
Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), 12:00Z
11.5 hours before the tornado, 103 km from the path. September 27, 2004.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -50333 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 515 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 25 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 14 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 80 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 176 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 3.8 K/km
Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), 00:00Z
0.5 hours after it, 103 km from the path. September 28, 2004.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 113 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -25 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 15 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 471 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 51 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 28 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 195 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 219 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.8
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.5 K/km
The surface observations
Raleigh / Durham (RDU), 19 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21:51 UTC | 74 | 71 | 70° 7 kt | 1013.2 | ||
| 22:51 UTC | 74 | 72 | 70° 7 kt | 1012.9 | ||
| 23:51 UTC | 74 | 72 | 80° 8 kt | 1012.9 | -RA | |
| 00:51 UTC | 75 | 73 | 90° 10 kt | 1012.5 |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 33 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:29 UTC.
Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track
Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2004 tornado in North CarolinaEvery tornado in North Carolina since 1950Warnings in force in North Carolina nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of September 27, 2004
26 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 27 | 5:45 AM EDT | F0 | Hampton, SC | 0.5 | 40 | |||
| September 27 | 6:00 AM EDT | F0 | Bulloch, GA | 0.5 | 40 | |||
| September 27 | 7:15 AM EDT | F0 | Screven, GA | 0.7 | 40 | |||
| September 27 | 8:30 AM EDT | F0 | Berkeley, SC | 1.0 | 150 | |||
| September 27 | 10:20 AM EDT | F0 | Jenkins, GA | 0.5 | 30 | |||
| September 27 | 10:23 AM EDT | F1 | Clarendon, SC | 3.0 | 400 | 4 | ||
| September 27 | 12:05 PM EDT | F1 | Florence, SC | 0.4 | 30 | $20,000 | ||
| September 27 | 12:54 PM EDT | F1 | Georgetown, SC | 1.6 | 30 | $30,000 | ||
| September 27 | 1:39 PM EDT | F0 | Aiken, SC | 3.0 | 100 | |||
| September 27 | 2:03 PM EDT | F0 | Lee, SC | 6.0 | 80 | |||
| September 27 | 2:25 PM EDT | F1 | Marion, SC | 1.5 | 30 | $30,000 | ||
| September 27 | 2:30 PM EDT | F0 | Chesterfield, SC | 3.0 | 120 | |||
| September 27 | 2:52 PM EDT | F0 | Dillon, SC | 0.2 | 25 | |||
| September 27 | 3:15 PM EDT | F0 | Marlboro, SC | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| September 27 | 4:39 PM EDT | F0 | Saluda, SC | 2.0 | 80 | |||
| September 27 | 5:08 PM EDT | F1 | Newberry, SC | 3.0 | 220 | |||
| September 27 | 5:30 PM EDT | F0 | Lexington, SC | 1.0 | 80 | |||
| September 27 | 5:41 PM EDT | F1 | Moore, NC | 8.0 | 200 | |||
| September 27 | 5:44 PM EDT | F0 | Newberry, SC | 3.0 | 100 | |||
| September 27 | 6:20 PM EDT | F0 | Moore, NC | 0.5 | 25 | |||
| September 27 | 7:45 PM EDT | F0 | Richmond, NC | 0.5 | 25 | |||
| September 27 | 8:00 PM EDT | F1 | Martin, NC | 0.2 | 100 | $100,000 | ||
| September 27 | 8:10 PM EDT | F0 | Montgomery, NC | 1.0 | 50 | |||
| September 27 | 9:08 PM EDT | F2 | Fairfield, SC | 2.0 | 220 | 1 | 13 | |
| September 27 | 10:15 PM EDT | F1 | Cherokee, SC | 0.8 | 50 | $90,000 | ||
| September 27 | 11:00 PM EDT | F1 | Cleveland, NC | 2.0 | 30 | $50,000 |
What this means
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.
Sources
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.