Tornadoes · United States · North Carolina · 2024

EF0 tornado, Hillirdston, North Carolina, August 8, 2024

This EF0 tornado ran 0.2 miles across Nash County on August 8, 2024, touching down at 10:35 AM EDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $10,000 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
August 8, 2024
Touchdown
10:35 AM EDT (14:35 UTC)
Lifted
10:36 AM EDT (14:36 UTC)
On the ground
1 minutes
Path length
0.2 miles (0.4 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$10,000
County
Nash County
Touchdown point
36.100, -77.940
Lift-off point
36.100, -77.940
Record number
2408080835-01

What the Weather Service recorded

Tropical Depression Debby slowly made its way through Florida, off the South Carolina coast, then back inland through the western Piedmont of North Carolina during the evening hours of 8 August 2024. Ahead of the storm, numerous feeder bands brought periods of heavy rain to central North Carolina, resulting in widespread 4-6 inch rainfall amounts across the western Piedmont, with higher amounts to the east. In addition, numerous tornadoes occurred with this event, with one on 7 August and an additional 6 on 8 August including a rare EF-3 tropical cyclone tornado.

An EF-0 tornado, with wind speeds of 85 mph, briefly touched down in a field near the intersection of Cooper Rd and W Hilliardson Rd, near the Hilliardson community of Nash County. Several hardwood trees were uprooted. A tornado debris signature was noted|on radar at the time.

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

The warnings

3 minutes of warning. NWS RAH issued a tornado warning for this county at 14:32 UTC, 3 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 15:00 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 06:49 UTC and running to 16:55 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
06:49 UTC16:55 UTCTornado WatchRAH
06:51 UTC07:15 UTCTornado WarningRAH
07:09 UTC13:15 UTCFlash Flood WarningRAH
07:12 UTC07:45 UTCTornado WarningRAH
10:55 UTC22:00 UTCFlash Flood WarningRAH
11:11 UTC11:24 UTCTornado WarningRAH
11:48 UTC12:03 UTCTornado WarningRAH
11:53 UTC12:13 UTCTornado WarningRAH
11:58 UTC12:20 UTCTornado WarningRAH
12:11 UTC12:34 UTCTornado WarningRAH
14:32 UTC15:00 UTCTornado WarningRAH
16:15 UTC16:45 UTCTornado WarningRAH
16:55 UTC22:40 UTCTornado WatchRAH
20:00 UTC20:10 UTCTornado WarningRAH
20:12 UTC20:45 UTCTornado WarningRAH
21:03 UTC21:30 UTCTornado WarningRAH
21:59 UTC12:00 UTCFlood WarningRAH
22:40 UTC07:52 UTCTornado WatchRAH

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 12:42 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

2.6 hours before the tornado, 175 km from the path. August 8, 2024.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Newport, NC at 12:00Z on 2024-08-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 906 joules per kilogram, CIN -10, lifted condensation level 572 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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 2024-08-08The 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 322 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 38 knots.193958Sfc1 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
906 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-10 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1021 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
572 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
322 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
313 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.6
Supercell composite
8.6
0-3 km lapse rate
4.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Newport, NC (KMHX), 00:00Z

9.4 hours after it, 175 km from the path. August 9, 2024.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Newport, NC at 00:00Z on 2024-08-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1137 joules per kilogram, CIN -3, lifted condensation level 726 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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 2024-08-09The 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 148 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 27 knots.193958Sfc1 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
1137 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Surface CAPE
3696 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
726 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
148 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
169 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.6
Supercell composite
8.3
0-3 km lapse rate
5.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 69 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 14:38 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
12:00 UTCFLASH FLOODFountainPitt, NCPitt County EM reports temporary lane closure on HWY 258 near Fountain. Time based on radar.
12:00 UTCFLASH FLOOD4 E YoungsvilleFranklin, NCFlooding just started on Moores Pond Road at Rock Church Road near Youngsville.
12:10 UTCFLASH FLOODYoungsvilleFranklin, NCNumerous reports of flooding including Ransdell Road, N Cross and E Winston Streets, Long Mill Roads in Youngsville.
12:11 UTCTORNADO5 E LouisburgFranklin, NCDamage to trees and homes near White Level Road and Hickory Rock Road caused by tornado.
12:15 UTCFLASH FLOOD2 Ese PurnellWake, NCIntersection of Purnell Road and Jackson Road flooded due to Horse Creek flowing out of its bank.
13:06 UTCFLASH FLOOD2 Sw FranklintonFranklin, NCSeveral roads flooded in the area with one lane of U.S. 1 flooded.
14:25 UTCFLASH FLOOD2 Wnw PurnellWake, NCSeveral reports of flooded creeks and streams along with flooded roads. Flooding on Mangum Dairy Road and Pleasant Forest Road.
14:35 UTCTORNADO3 S AventonNash, NCAn EF-0 tornado, with wind speeds of 85 mph, briefly touched down in a field near the intersection of Cooper Rd and W Hilliardson Rd, near the Hilliardston community of Nash County. Several hardwood trees were uprooted.
17:30 UTCFLASH FLOOD3 Ne RolesvilleWake, NCMany streams and creeks continue to flood and several roads remain flooded in northern Wake county. Water was across NC 98 between NC 96 and Moores Pond Road.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2024 tornado in North CarolinaEvery tornado in North Carolina since 1950Warnings in force in North Carolina nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of August 8, 2024

11 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 82:08 AM EDTEF2Greene, NC9.5400
August 82:45 AM EDTEF3Wilson, NC6.52001$2.0 million
August 88:07 AM EDTEF1Franklin, NC2.9125$25,000
August 83:29 PM EDTEF0Franklin, NC1.075$15,000
August 85:04 PM EDTEF0Edgecombe, NC0.250$5,000
August 86:54 PM EDTEF1Caroline, VA1.7700$200,000
August 87:00 PM EDTEF1Vance, NC1.6100$120,000
August 87:11 PM EDTEF1New Castle, DE1.1150
August 87:49 PM EDTEF1Stafford, VA6.9150$250,000
August 89:19 PM EDTEF1Clarke, VA4.8100$275,000
August 811:50 PM EDTEF0Berkeley, WV0.5150$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.