Severe Weather, But Needed Rainfall from Friday

Friday afternoon and evening was a stormy one for parts of central North Carolina. Weather conditions became favorable for thunderstorms to rotate and a few storms did produce weak, short-lived tornadoes. The National Weather Service reproted tornadoes in Wake, Harnett, and Johnston Counties.

The Harnett County tornado was spotted in the River Bluff development off of South River Road just north of Lillington. Numerous trees were knocked down in the area.

Three tornadoes touched down in Johnston County. The first was reported around 6:15 near Clayton Middle School. The same storm that produced that tornado produced another one near the Jordan community. A third tornado was reported north of Benson from the same storm that produced a tornado in Harnett County.

Storm spotters and others also reported a tornado near Lake Benson south of Garner in Wake County. Wind damage was also reported in Fuquay-Varina, but the National Weather Service says that was likely due to straight line winds that could have been in excess of 60mph.

All the tornadoes from Friday evening were estimated to be EF-0 tornadoes on the enhanced Fujita scale with winds between 65 and 85mph.

The good side of the storms was some much needed rainfall. Here's a look at rain totals from around our area Friday night:

• Clayton: 4.78"
• Raleigh-Durham: 1.91"
• Rocky Mount-Wilson: 1.52"
• Fayetteville: 1.26"
• Goldsboro: 1.19"
• Chapel Hill: 1.02"
• Lumberton: 0.68"