Tornadoes · United States · North Carolina · 2008

EF0 tornado, Stevens Mill to Belfast, North Carolina, April 12, 2008

From Stevens Mill to Belfast, this EF0 tornado ran 0.9 miles across Wayne County on April 12, 2008, touching down at 3:22 PM EDT and reaching 20 yards wide. It killed nobody.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado

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

  2. EF186 to 110 mph

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

  3. EF2111 to 135 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. EF3136 to 165 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. EF4166 to 200 mph

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

  6. EF5over 200 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
EF0
Date
April 12, 2008
Touchdown
3:22 PM EDT (19:22 UTC)
Lifted
3:23 PM EDT (19:23 UTC)
On the ground
1 minutes
Path length
0.9 miles (1.5 km)
Path width
20 yards (18 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Wayne County
Touchdown point
35.434, -78.030
Lift-off point
35.435, -78.014
Record number
0804121322-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A low topped mini-supercell developed when an line of convection moved along and across a surface boundary. The supercell produced large hail and a weak EF-0 tornado.

A brief EF-0 tornado touched down west of Princeton Road, just north of Old Smithfield Road, in the Oakland Community. The tornado blew in a garage down on a brick house. The roof of a mobile home was ripped off. Another mobile home rolled 20 yards across a field and struck a third mobile home. Finally, a forth mobile home was partially blown away from its foundation.

Law enforcement reported a tornado in a field.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

The warnings

14 minutes of warning. NWS RAH issued a tornado warning for this county at 19:08 UTC, 14 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 19:40 UTC.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 18:12 UTC and running to 20:36 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
18:12 UTC20:36 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchRAH
19:08 UTC19:40 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 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 16:05 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.

Newport, NC (KMHX), 12:00Z

7.4 hours before the tornado, 127 km from the path. April 12, 2008.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Newport, NC at 12:00Z on 2008-04-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -66977, lifted condensation level 915 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Newport, NC at 12:00Z on 2008-04-12The 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 191 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 47 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-66977 J/kg
Surface CAPE
54 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
915 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
47 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
191 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
164 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Newport, NC (KMHX), 00:00Z

4.6 hours after it, 127 km from the path. April 13, 2008.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Newport, NC at 00:00Z on 2008-04-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 350 joules per kilogram, CIN -172, lifted condensation level 992 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, Newport, NC at 00:00Z on 2008-04-13The 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 124 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 57 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
350 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-172 J/kg
Surface CAPE
27 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
992 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
57 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
124 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
134 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.2
0-3 km lapse rate
4.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Goldsboro-Wayne_muni_arpt (GWW), 6 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
17:40 UTC80.662.6220° 16 kt221006.1
18:00 UTC80.662.6230° 15 kt221005.4
18:20 UTC80.662.6220° 14 kt231005.1
18:40 UTC80.662.6210° 13 kt241004.4
19:00 UTC78.862.6220° 11 kt221004.4
19:40 UTC64.462.6270° 11 kt221006.1+RA
20:00 UTC6864.4270° 3 kt1005.8
20:20 UTC6866.2220° 5 kt1004.7
20:40 UTC69.866.2230° 8 kt1005.1
21:00 UTC69.866.2240° 9 kt1005.1-RA
21:20 UTC69.866.2240° 11 kt1005.1-RA

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

The radar

The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 50 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 19:23 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
18:47 UTCHAIL 1.751 S Four OaksJohnston, NCGOLF BALL SIZE HAIL REPORTED BY THE PUBLIC ONE MILE SOUTH OF FOUR OAKS.
19:12 UTCTORNADO 02 Nne RaefordWayne, NCAT 312 PM EDT...A BRIEF EF-0 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN WEST OF PRINCETON ROAD...JUST NORTH OF OLD SMITHFIELD ROAD. A GARAGE DOOR WAS BLOWN IN ON A BRICK HOUSE. THE ROOF OF ONE MOBILE HOME WAS BLOWN OFF...AND ANOTHER MOBILE HO
19:12 UTCTORNADO 03 Sse PrincetonWayne, NCAT 312 PM EDT...A BRIEF EF-0 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN WEST OF PRINCETON ROAD...JUST NORTH OF OLD SMITHFIELD ROAD. A GARAGE DOOR WAS BLOWN IN ON A BRICK HOUSE. THE ROOF OF ONE MOBILE HOME WAS BLOWN OFF...AND ANOTHER MOBILE HO
19:12 UTCTORNADO2 Nne Raynor TownWayne, NCROOF OFF OF A DOUBLE WIDE MOBILE HOME IN THE OAKLAND COMMUNITY ON PRINCETON ROAD.
19:22 UTCTORNADO4 S PikevilleWayne, NCLAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED A TORNADO ON THE GROUND NEAR I-795... FOUR MILES TO THE SOUTH OF PIKESVILLE... MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST.
19:23 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 S FremontWayne, NCNUMEROUS TREES WERE BLOWN DOWN IN THE PIKEVILLE AREA. TWO LARGE OAK TREES FELL ONTO A HOUSE JUST NORTH OF PIKEVILLE RESULTING IN ROOF DAMAGE.
19:24 UTCTORNADO5 N GoldsboroWayne, NCNUMEROUS TREES DOWN AT THE INTERSECTION OF BELFAST AND HIGHWAY 117.
19:25 UTCTORNADO5 N RosewoodWayne, NCNUMEROUS TREES DOWN AT THE INTERSECTION OF WILLIAMS ROAD AND HIGHWAY 581.
19:33 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 Sw WalstonburgGreene, NCSIDING AND SHINGLES BLOWN OF A HOUSE.
19:33 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD5 Ene GoldsboroWayne, NCFUNNEL CLOUD REPORTED AT THE INTERSECTION OF HOOD SWAMP ROAD AND HIGHWAY 13...SOUTHEAST OF EUREKA.
19:57 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Ne FarmvillePitt, NCPOWER POLE SNAPPED ON WESLEY CHURCH ROAD

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2008 tornado in North CarolinaEvery tornado in North Carolina since 1950Warnings in force in North Carolina nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 12, 2008

2 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 123:12 PM EDTEF0Wayne, NC0.420$200,000
April 123:59 PM EDTEF0Pitt, NC0.120

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.