Tornadoes · United States · North Carolina · 2021

EF0 tornado, Henrietta, North Carolina, April 10, 2021

This EF0 tornado ran 0.1 miles across Rutherford County on April 10, 2021, touching down at 7:21 PM EDT and reaching 20 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $5,000 of property damage.

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 10, 2021
Touchdown
7:21 PM EDT (23:21 UTC)
Lifted
7:22 PM EDT (23:22 UTC)
On the ground
1 minutes
Path length
0.1 miles (0.1 km)
Path width
20 yards (18 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$5,000
County
Rutherford County
Touchdown point
35.242, -81.823
Lift-off point
35.243, -81.823
Record number
2104101721-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A line of heavy rain showers and thunderstorms moved over the North Carolina foothills during the late afternoon and evening in advance of a cold front. A couple of areas of isolated damaging winds along with weak tornadoes were reported as the line swept across the area.

NWS storm survey found damage associated with a very brief, weak tornado along Scruggs Rd. Damage was primarily limited to one home and the adjacent land, with minor damage to the home as well as downed trees around the home.

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

The warnings

23 minutes of warning. NWS GSP issued a tornado warning for this county at 22:58 UTC, 23 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:30 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
22:58 UTC23:30 UTCTornado WarningGSP
23:37 UTC00:04 UTCTornado WarningGSP
23:40 UTC00:08 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSP

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 Marginal Risk, with a 0.02 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.

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

11.4 hours before the tornado, 197 km from the path. April 10, 2021.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 12:00Z on 2021-04-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1 joules per kilogram, CIN -58, lifted condensation level 706 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 2021-04-10The 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 69 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 10 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
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-58 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
706 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
10 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
69 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
34 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

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

0.6 hours after it, 197 km from the path. April 11, 2021.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 00:00Z on 2021-04-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 205 joules per kilogram, CIN -20, lifted condensation level 741 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 2021-04-11The 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 261 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 35 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
205 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-20 J/kg
Surface CAPE
307 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
741 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
261 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
347 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
1.6
0-3 km lapse rate
6.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Shelby_muni_arpt (EHO), 20 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
21:35 UTC69.862130° 7 kt1005.1
21:55 UTC6962.8120° 5 kt1004.4-RA
22:15 UTC68.563.5100° 5 kt1003.7
22:55 UTC6764.2110° 7 kt1003-RA
23:15 UTC65.764120° 6 kt191002.4-RA
23:35 UTC6564.4210° 11 kt151003.4RA
23:55 UTC64.462.2220° 19 kt231004.1+RA
00:15 UTC6461.2210° 11 kt191004.1-RA
00:35 UTC63.560.8210° 11 kt171004.4
00:55 UTC6361200° 9 kt141004.4
01:15 UTC62.660.8210° 9 kt1004.7

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

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 54 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:22 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
23:10 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Ese HarrisRutherford, NC911 CALL CENTER REPORTED TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN ON GOODES CREEK CHURCH RD.
23:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Nw EllenboroRutherford, NC911 CALL CENTER REPORTED TREE FELL ON BARN AND TRAPPED A HORSE.
23:21 UTCTORNADO6 Se Forest CityRutherford, NCNWS STORM SURVEY REPORTED AN EF-0 TORNADO WITH ESTIMATED PEAK WIND SPEEDS OF 75 MPH SOUTHEAST OF FOREST CITY.
23:30 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Ne Forest CityRutherford, NC911 CALL CENTER REPORTED TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN ON BOSTIC SUNSHINE HWY
23:30 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Wnw EllenboroRutherford, NCTRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED TOP OF LARGE TREE RIPPED OF ON THE INTERSECTION OF PINEHURST RD AND BUSINESS 74
23:40 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 Se Thermal CityRutherford, NC911 CALL CENTER REPORTED TREE BLOCKING THE ROADWAY ON CENTENNIAL RD
23:45 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 Ese Thermal CityRutherford, NC911 CALL CENTER REPORTED TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN ON FROG CREEK RD
00:05 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Ene MorgantonBurke, NCBROADCAST MEDIA REPORTED TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN ON US-64 N OF MORGANTON
00:09 UTCTSTM WND GST 652 Nnw DysartsvilleMcdowell, NCMEASURED BY WX STATION AT DYSARTSVILLE FD
00:11 UTCTORNADO5 Se NeboMcdowell, NCA TORNADO RIPPED THE FLAT ROOF OFF OF A SHED AT A HOME ON MUDDY CREEK RD NEAR DYSARTSVILLE, AND CAUSED NUMEROUS TREES TO FALL ALONG ABOUT 0.6 MILE OF THE ROAD. EF0 RATING, 80 MPH MAX WIND.
00:15 UTCTSTM WND DMGNeboMcdowell, NCBROADCAST MEDIA REPORTED DAMAGE TO METAL ROOF AND BROKEN CHIMNEY ON HOME IN THE MUD CREEK AREA.
00:36 UTCTSTM WND DMGDysartsvilleMcdowell, NCEMERGENCY MNGR REPORTED TREE DOWN ON PINNACLE CHURCH RD

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2021 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 10, 2021

12 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 101:26 AM CDTEF1Saint Landry Parish, LA3.6187$20,000
April 102:06 AM CDTEF3Saint Landry Parish, LA8.720017$1.0 million
April 106:23 AM CDTEF1Walton, FL15.8100$10,000
April 108:42 AM CDTEF2Bay, FL0.5100$500,000
April 108:45 AM CDTEF0Bay, FL0.525
April 109:00 AM CDTEF1Bay, FL0.330$100,000
April 1011:28 AM EDTEF0Leon, FL2.425
April 104:18 PM EDTEF0Kent, MI0.665$75,000
April 105:45 PM EDTEF1Manatee, FL0.5501$1.0 million
April 105:50 PM EDTEF0Oconee, SC1.220$30,000
April 106:38 PM EDTEF0Spartanburg, SC1.120
April 108:10 PM EDTEF0McDowell, NC0.620$1,000

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.