Tornadoes · United States · North Carolina · 2006

F0 tornado, Spring Hope, North Carolina, May 14, 2006

This F0 tornado ran 1.0 miles across Nash County on May 14, 2006, touching down at 7:15 PM EDT and reaching 100 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.

  1. F040 to 72 mphthis tornado

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. 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.

  7. 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
May 14, 2006
Touchdown
7:15 PM EDT (23:15 UTC)
Path length
1.0 miles (1.6 km)
Path width
100 yards (91 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Nash County
Touchdown point
35.880, -78.120
Lift-off point
35.880, -78.120
Record number
544

The warnings

17 minutes of warning. NWS RAH issued a tornado warning for this county at 22:58 UTC, 17 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:45 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 18:47 UTC and running to 01:51 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
16:39 UTC18:47 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchRAH
18:47 UTC01:51 UTCTornado WatchRAH
19:56 UTC20:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAH
22:58 UTC23:45 UTCTornado WarningRAH

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 Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 20:04 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.

The 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

11.3 hours before the tornado, 162 km from the path. May 14, 2006.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 12:00Z on 2006-05-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 129 joules per kilogram, CIN -113, lifted condensation level 846 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 12:00Z on 2006-05-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 15 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 22 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
129 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-113 J/kg
Surface CAPE
131 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
846 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
8 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
15 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
168 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1
0-3 km lapse rate
5.8 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), 00:00Z

0.7 hours after it, 162 km from the path. May 15, 2006.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 00:00Z on 2006-05-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 32 joules per kilogram, CIN -69, lifted condensation level 943 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 00:00Z on 2006-05-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -126 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 38 knots.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
32 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-69 J/kg
Surface CAPE
516 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
943 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-126 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
15 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.0
Supercell composite
-0.8
0-3 km lapse rate
6.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Rocky_mount-Wilson_(Asos) (RWI), 21 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
21:53 UTC6760 3 kt1008.8
22:53 UTC666180° 4 kt1008.5
23:53 UTC575410° 7 kt1009.8TSRA BR
00:53 UTC5655190° 3 kt1010.2TSRA BR

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The radar

The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 41 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:16 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.

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
20:20 UTCHAIL 0.885 Se CreedmoorGranville, NC
20:20 UTCHAIL 1RolesvilleWake, NC
22:15 UTCHAIL 1.751 E PurnellGranville, NCGOLF BALL SIZE HAIL REPORTED IN PURNNEL 1 MILE EAST OF INTERSECTION OF PURNELL AND NEW LIGHT RD.
22:15 UTCHAIL 1.756 W Wake ForestWake, NCGOLF BALL SIZE HAIL REPORTED AT ROLLING VIEW MARINA.
22:28 UTCHAIL 1.754 W Wake ForestWake, NCGOLF BALL SIZE HAIL AT THE INTERSECTION STONEY HILL RD AND BUD MORRIS RD.
22:30 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD15 N RaleighWake, NCFUNNEL CLOUD REPORTED BY PUBLIC NEAR WAKEFIELD PLANTATION AT PENROSE TRAIL.
22:43 UTCTORNADO3 Ne RolesvilleWake, NCPUBLIC REPORT OF A TORNADO TOUCHING DOWN NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF US HWY 401 AND NC HWY 96.
23:15 UTCTORNADO6 Ssw Spring HopeNash, NCTORNADO SPOTTED BY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. NUMEROUS TREES DOWN IN THE AREA.
23:19 UTCHAIL 1RaleighWake, NCQUARTER SIZE HAIL OBSERVED AT THE NWS OFFICE IN RALEIGH.
23:35 UTCHAIL 1.754 E NashvilleNash, NCNICKEL UP TO GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL REPORTED COVERING THE GROUND NEAR OAK LEVEL COMMUNITY...THREE TO FOUR MILES EAST OF NASHVILLE.
23:35 UTCHAIL 1.754 E NashvilleNash, NCNICKEL UP TO GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL REPORTED COVERING THE GROUND NEAR OAK LEVEL COMMUNITY...THREE TO FOUR MILES WEST OF NASHVILLE.
23:38 UTCHAIL 0.75NashvilleNash, NCPENNY HAIL REPORTED IN THE TOWN OF NASHVILLE.
23:49 UTCHAIL 0.88Rocky MountNash, NCNICKEL SIZE HAIL REPORTED ONE MILE SOUTH OF NASH GENERAL HOSPITAL AT WINSTEAD AVE AND WINSTEAD RD.
00:20 UTCHAIL 0.75ConetoeEdgecombe, NC

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2006 tornado in North CarolinaEvery tornado in North Carolina since 1950Warnings in force in North Carolina nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of May 14, 2006

15 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 142:49 PM EDTF1Cabarrus, NC0.250$10,000
May 143:50 PM CDTF0Williamson, TX0.270
May 145:06 PM EDTF0Washington, NC1.025$10,000
May 144:40 PM CDTF0Brazoria, TX1.030$10,000
May 145:40 PM EDTF1Darlington, SC0.6151$400,000
May 145:55 PM EDTF1Florence, SC0.315$250,000
May 146:10 PM EDTF0Durham, NC0.550
May 146:43 PM EDTF0Franklin, NC0.550
May 147:00 PM EDTF2Florence, SC0.6150$1.3 million
May 147:42 PM EDTF0Berkeley, SC0.125$1,000
May 147:45 PM EDTF1Lee, NC1.5100
May 148:25 PM EDTF0Pitt, NC0.125
May 148:46 PM EDTF0Martin, NC0.125
May 148:48 PM EDTF1Charleston, SC1.8175
May 149:25 PM EDTF1Tyrrell, NC2.0150$70,000

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.