Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Monday Morning Storms

The National Weather Service offices in Raleigh and Wilmington have confirmed Monday morning's storm damage in Scotland and Robeson Counties was not done by a tornado. Here's more from their storm reports...

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
443 PM EDT MON MAY 11 2009.

..MICROBURST (STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE) CONFIRMED 5 MILES NORTHEAST OF ORRUM NC...
LOCATION(CITY, COUNTY)...5 MILES NORTHEAST ORRUM, ROBESON COUNTY
DATE...MAY 11TH 2009
ESTIMATED TIME...858 TO 900 AM
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...125 MPH
MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...350 YARDS
PATH LENGTH...2.5 MILES
* FATALITIES...0
* INJURIES...1

* NOTE THESE NUMBERS COULD CHANGE AFTER THE ISSUANCE OF THIS PRODUCT.

...SUMMARY...

A SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORM ENTERED WESTERN ROBESON COUNTY NEAR MAXTON AROUND 815 AM MONDAY MORNING. STRONG WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE STORM TOPPLED NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES AS IT ACCELERATED TO THE EAST. THE MOST SEVERE DAMAGE OCCURRED SOON AFTER THE STORM MOVED EAST OF HIGHWAY 72 APPROXIMATELY 8-10 MILES SOUTH OF LUMBERTON. AROUND THIS TIME... A WET MICROBURST... OR LOCALIZED DOWNBURST ACCOMPANIED BY VERY HEAVY RAIN...BEGAN TO DESCEND. AS THIS ACCELERATING COLUMN OF AIR REACHED THE GROUND...IT RAPIDLY SPREAD TO THE SOUTHEAST RESULTING IN A SWATH OF STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE TO NUMEROUS TREES...POWER LINES AND HOMES.

THE MICROBURST DAMAGE BEGAN TO APPEAR IN THE VICINITY OF WILTON DRIVE NEAR GEM ROAD. SEVERAL TREES WERE UPROOTED OR SNAPPED OFF AND MINOR TO MODERATE DAMAGE TO SHINGLES AND SIDING WAS OBSERVED. THE DAMAGE BECAME MORE SIGNIFICANT AS THE STORM CROSSED HIGHWAY 72 AND APPROACHED SADIE DRIVE. NUMEROUS LARGE TREES WERE SNAPPED OFF OR UPROOTED ALONG HIGHWAY 72...AND SIGNIFICANT STRUCTURAL DAMAGE OCCURRED TO APPROXIMATELY EIGHT HOMES ON SADIE DRIVE. ONE OF THOSE HOMES WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED AND ONE LOST ITS ROOF. IN ADDITION... SEVERAL SHEDS OR OUT BUILDINGS WERE TOTALLY DEMOLISHED.

DAMAGE OF THIS NATURE IS CONSISTENT WITH STRAIGHT LINE WIND SPEEDS OF UP TO 125 MPH. ALTHOUGH THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT A TORNADO OCCURRED WITH THIS STORM... THE EXTENT OF DAMAGE IT PRODUCED IS COMPARABLE TO A RATING OF EF-2. THIS WOULD ALSO BE COMPARABLE TO WIND SPEEDS EXPERIENCED IN A CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE.

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
223 PM EDT MON MAY 11 2009

...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM SURVEY FINDS DAMAGE IN SOUTHERN SCOTLAND COUNTY DUE TO STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS...

LOCATION: SCOTCH MEADOWS COUNTRY CLUB AND IMMEDIATE VICINITY
DATE: MONDAY MAY 11, 2009
TIME: 808 AM - 811 AM EDT
STRAIGHT LINE WINDS (MICROBURST)PEAK WIND SPEED: ~90 MPH
DAMAGE LENGTH: ~2 MILES
DAMAGE WIDTH AT ENDPOINT: ~2 MILES
* INJURIES: NONE
* FATALITIES: NONE

A STORM SURVEY CONDUCTED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FOUND THAT DAMAGE IN SOUTHERN SCOTLAND COUNTY THIS MORNING WAS THE RESULT OF A MICROBURST... WITH PEAK WIND SPEEDS OF AROUND 90 MPH. THE MICROBURST BEGAN JUST WEST OF SCOTCH MEADOWS COUNTRY CLUB NEAR FAIRWAY DRIVE AT 808 AM... AND CONTINUED EAST FOR ALMOST 2 MILES BEFORE DISSIPATING NEAR HASTY ROAD BY 811 AM. BY THE TIME SEVERE WINDS HAD DISSIPATED AT HASTY ROAD... THE WIDTH OF THE MICROBURST HAD GROWN TO NEARLY 2 MILES... STRETCHING FROM THE INTERSECTION OF BARNES BRIDGE ROAD AND HASTY ROAD TO THE INTERSECTION OF CRESTLINE ROAD AND HASTY ROAD.

WHEN THE MICROBURST BEGAN NEAR FAIRWAY DRIVE IT KNOCKED DOWN NUMEROUS TREES...WHICH RESULTED IN MINOR STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO 3 HOMES JUST WEST OF THE SCOTCH MEADOWS COUNTRY CLUB. AS THE MICROBURST PROGRESSED EAST OF THE COUNTRY CLUB TOWARD HASTY ROAD IT DESTROYED TWO BARNS. MINOR TREE DAMAGE WAS NOTED AS FAR EAST AS HASTY ROAD.

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