What the record says
On 16 April 2011, a tornado touched down near Fayetteville, North Carolina. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 52.9 miles long and up to 800 yards wide, rated EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale. It killed 2 people and injured 176.
- EF3Enhanced Fujita rating
- 2deaths
- 176injuries
- 52.9 mipath length
- 800 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it was rated 3 and killed at least one person.
This page gives the official record's figures. Numbers of deaths and injuries are sometimes revised after a survey, and they cannot convey what the day was like for the people who lived through it.
Counties it crossed
- Cumberland County, North Carolina
- Harnett County, North Carolina
- Hoke County, North Carolina
- Johnston County, North Carolina
The start point was at 35.02, -79.13 and the end point at 35.49, -78.36 (latitude, longitude).
How to read this path
The Storm Prediction Center records most tornadoes as a straight line from the point where they touched down to the point where they lifted. The real path usually curved and was not the same width all the way along. The width given is the widest part. Older records are less precise, and the record starts in 1950.
Source: the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database, public domain.
Other notable tornadoes in North Carolina
- Greenville, North Carolina tornado28 March 1984, F4, 16 deaths, 153 injuries, 28 miles long
- St. Pauls, North Carolina tornado28 March 1984, F3, 12 deaths, 101 injuries, 40 miles long
- Askewville, North Carolina tornado16 April 2011, EF3, 12 deaths, 58 injuries, 17.9 miles long
- Sandyfield, North Carolina tornado16 November 2006, F3, 8 deaths, 20 injuries, 2.2 miles long
- Laurinburg, North Carolina tornado28 March 1984, F4, 7 deaths, 100 injuries, 17 miles long
- Raleigh, North Carolina tornado16 April 2011, EF3, 6 deaths, 103 injuries, 65.2 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 2011
- Joplin, Missouri tornado22 May 2011, EF5, 158 deaths, 1,150 injuries, 21.6 miles long
- Athens, Alabama tornado27 April 2011, EF5, 72 deaths, 145 injuries, 132 miles long
- Tuscaloosa, Alabama tornado27 April 2011, EF4, 64 deaths, 1,500 injuries, 80.7 miles long
- Lakeview, Alabama tornado27 April 2011, EF5, 25 deaths, 33.7 miles long
- Smithville, Mississippi tornado27 April 2011, EF5, 23 deaths, 137 injuries, 37.3 miles long
All tornadoes of 2011 · North Carolina tornado history · All notable tornadoes