Storm Damage Report from Wednesday's Storms in Franklin County

Here's the National Weather Service's statement on Wednesday's storm damage in Franklin County --

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
345 PM EDT THU OCT 25 2007

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SURVEYED STORM DAMAGE WHICH OCCURRED WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON...BETWEEN 315 PM AND 330 PM...ABOUT 6 MILES EAST OF LOUISBURG IN FRANKLIN COUNTY. THE DAMAGE WAS DISCONTINUOUS ALONG A TRACK ABOUT 1.7 MILES LONG ROUGHLY PARALLEL TO EDWARD BEST ROAD. THERE WAS VERY LITTLE OR NO DAMAGE TO WELL-BUILT STRUCTURES ALONG THE TRACK...AND THAT DAMAGE WAS MAINLY TO ROOF SHINGLES. THE TRAILER THAT HAD BEEN FLIPPED (THERE WAS ONE MINOR INJURY THAT WAS INCURRED WHEN THE TRAILER FLIPPED) ONTO ITS SIDE WAS MERELY PARKED AND JACKED UP LEVEL IN THE YARD...WITH NO UNDERPINNING OR ANCHORS ATTACHED. A PORTION OF CONCRETE BLOCK WALL ON A CAR WASH WAS TOPPLED...BUT THIS CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE FREE-STANDING NATURE OF THE WALLS WHICH ENCLOSE THE STALLS...AS EVEN THE ROOF SUSTAINED NO DAMAGE.

THERE WAS ONE VERY LARGE TREE UPROOTED AND SOME DAMAGE TO LARGER HARDWOODS... BUT THE HEAVIER DAMAGE WAS TO VERY LARGE MATURE OAK TREES THAT HAD BEEN WEAKENED BY NATURAL HOLLOWING AND FURTHER WEAKENED BY BEETLE LARVAE. THERE WERE A NUMBER OF BRADFORD PEAR TREES WHICH INCURRED DAMAGE AS WELL.

THE TREES THAT HAD BEEN TOPPLED HAD FALLEN PARALLEL TO THE STORM TRACK...AND THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT EVIDENCE OF ROTATION IN THE VERY LIMITED DEBRIS FIELD. AS SUCH...THE DAMAGE IS ATTRIBUTED TO STRAIGHT LINE WINDS...WHICH ARE ESTIMATED TO HAVE REACHED 75 MPH.