Photo courtesy Whiteville News Reporter 
Columbus County tornado path. Graphic from National Weather Service - Wilmington.
The National Weather Service in Wilmington has released their official storm report on Thursday's tornado that killed 8 people in Riegelwood, North Carolina --
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
530 PM EST FRI NOV 17 2006
...F3 TORNADO DAMAGE CONFIRMED AT RIEGELWOOD NC...
TODAY A NOAA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM SURVEY TEAM ASSESSED THE TORNADO DAMAGE AT RIEGELWOOD...IN COLUMBUS COUNTY NC. THE DAMAGE WAS RATED AT F3 ON THE FUJITA SCALE FOR NEARLY A MILE IN RIEGELWOOD... WITH WINDS APPROACHING 200 MPH. THE MAXIMUM WIDTH OF THE TORNADO WAS 300 YARDS WHERE F3 DAMAGE OCCURRED. THE REST OF THE 7 MILE DAMAGE PATH WAS NARROW...LESS THAN 100 YARDS WIDE...AND RATED AT F1...WITH WINDS LESS THAN 100 MPH EXTENDING NORTH ACROSS COLUMBUS COUNTY INTO WESTERN PENDER COUNTY.
THE TORNADO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR 8 FATALITIES AND 20 INJURIES THAT REQUIRED MEDICAL TREATMENT. THE COLUMBUS COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTED 30 HOMES DESTROYED IN THE F3 DAMAGE AREA...AND ANOTHER 3 STRUCTURES WERE DAMAGED IN PENDER COUNTY JUST WEST OF CURRIE.
THE TORNADO WAS SPAWNED FROM A LINE OF POWERFUL THUNDERSTORMS ASSOCIATED WITH A STRONG COLD FRONT THAT MOVED THROUGH THE CAROLINAS EARLY THURSDAY MORNING.
A TORNADO WARNING HAD BEEN ISSUED FOR EASTERN COLUMBUS COUNTY AT 629 AM...AND PRIOR TO THAT A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING WAS ISSUED FOR THE SAME AREA AT 621 AM. NOAA WEATHER RADIOS IN THE AREA AUTOMATICALLY ALARMED FOR BOTH WARNINGS TO ALERT PEOPLE.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ENCOURAGES EVERYONE TO SERIOUSLY CONSIDER YOUR PERSONAL SAFETY...AS WELL AS YOUR FAMILY...AND PURCHASE A WEATHER RADIO FOR THE HOME OR BUSINESS. WHEN A WARNING IS ISSUED THE RADIO WILL AUTOMATICALLY ALARM...GIVING YOU PRECIOUS TIME TO PREPARE FOR A DANGEROUS SITUATION.
NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL HAZARDS IS THE ONLY GOVERNMENT RADIO SYSTEM THERE IS...AND IT WILL AUTOMATICALLY ALARM TO ALERT YOU TO A WIDE RANGE OF HAZARDS...OTHER THAN WEATHER.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL HAZARDS...PLEASE GO TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEBSITE: HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV
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