Tornados Leave Path Of Destruction In The South
April 19, 2011
North Carolina Took the Brunt of the Recent Tornado Chaos in the US, But Why?
The US state of North Carolina typically sees about 20 tornadoes a year. However, over this past weekend the state was hit by more than 60 twisters, part of a larger group of 243 twisters that tore across the southern US, killing dozens of people.
Over 100 people, both employees and shoppers were spared in Sanford, N.C. on Saturday inside a Lowe’s Home Improvement Store. The front half of that large store was crushed and totally demolished. Thanks to a quick thinking store manager who was doing what he were trained to do, everyone inside was ordered to the back of the building where there were fewer windows.
The severe weather that whipped across North Carolina brought with it flash flooding, hail and numerous tornadoes from the western portion of the state to the downtown area of Raleigh. A tornado found its favorite target in Raleigh – a mobile home park, shredding most of the trailers there and killing three family members. Eleven people lost their lives in Bertie County as homes were blown to bits, cars upturned and trees were pulled out from their roots.
Compared to the “Super Tuesday” tornado outbreak in early 2008 that killed 56 people in four southern US states, this past weekend’s storm activity spawned 243 tornadoes stretching from Oklahoma to Virginia. Of the 45 people who were killed, 22 of them were in North Carolina. Rescue teams are still searching for victims so that number may very well rise.
It is rare for the state of North Carolina to see such severe storm activity. Tornado-alley type twisters are linked to warm air from the south meeting cold fronts dipping down from Canada. However, residents throughout the state are reporting that they clearly saw twisters in the skies overhead as the storm heavily damaged over 100 homes and totally destroyed more than 60. Some residents describe seeing “Wizard of Oz” like scenes as heavy debris was flying through the air seemingly effortlessly. One couple in Balden County told the AP that it took them a few minutes after a twister passed by to realize that their home had been completely turned around on its foundation. Their house is now sitting in what used to be their backyard.
Tornado experts think that the deep dips of cold air into the south have chilled the region over the past two winters. They believe that this unusually cold air reaching south is what played a major role in this past weekend’s super storm cell that slammed North Carolina
