Type Tornado outbreak Tornadoes confirmed 13 known Duration of tornado outbreak ~19 hours Start date March 28, 2010 | Duration March 28, 2010 Max rating Damage Unknown Total fatalities 3 fatalities, 13 injuries | |
The March 2010 Carolinas tornado outbreak was a tornado outbreak that affected the Southeast United States and The Bahamas on March 28, 2010.
Contents
A low pressure system pushed northward through the Ohio Valley on March 28. Several tornadoes were reported in the warm sector stretching from Virginia south to Florida. The Piedmont Triad was hardest hit. A tornado emergency was declared for parts of Forsyth, Randolph, Davidson, and Guilford counties. Damage was also reported near Charlotte. An EF3 tornado struck High Point, NC. An EF2 tornado hit Linwood in Davidson County, NC, and 2 more EF2 tornadoes struck south-central South Carolina.
High Point tornado
An EF3 tornado struck High Point, North Carolina, causing 3 injuries and destroying or damaging many structures. The tornado touched down as a 100-mph EF-1 in southwest Guilford County, severely damaging a daycare center and flipping an unoccupied school bus. The tornado moved north across Highway 311 and gained intensity, becoming an EF2 that caused significant damage to structures in the area, including blowing a bedroom off of a single-story home.
It briefly reached EF3 in intensity when it entered a residential area, removing the second story off of a 2-story home and damaging or destroying 50-60 homes in the neighborhood. The tornado weakened to an EF2 and moved into a highly urbanized area, causing minor to moderate damage, and again removing the 2nd story off of a 2-story home.
The storm finally weakened to an EF1 and finally lifted just north of Oak Hollow Lake.
This was the first EF3 tornado to strike the Piedmont Triad region since May 8, 2008, when an EF3 tornado struck Clemmons, just outside Winston-Salem. The tornado caused $9.95 million in property damage, destroying 40 homes and businesses and damaging another 609 structures. The mayor of High Point declared a state of emergency.
Freeport tornado
A tornado of unknown strength hit the Freeport port, toppling a crane and killing 3 workers and injuring 4 more. Concerns have been raised within the Bahamian government that there was no tornado warning issued by the Bahamas Department of Meteorology.