American Legion hall crumbles during storm on NC coast. Experts seek exact cause

UPDATE: A National Weather Service survey team found evidence “a brief EF-0 tornado” with peak 85 mph winds hit the American Legion building in Jacksonville on March 12. It lasted one minute, and had a maximum path that was 0.15 yards long and 20-yards wide, officials say.

The original story is below.

An American Legion hall that has withstood many a coastal storm mysteriously collapsed as a volatile cold front crossed North Carolina, and the National Weather Service is trying to pinpoint a cause.

It happened Thursday, March 12, in Jacksonville and “witnesses said they heard an explosion,” a local radio station reported.

Onslow County Emergency Services is working with the NWS on the investigation, and the agency says the collapse could have been caused by a microburst, a straight line wind gust, or a tornado.

“A man who works in the area ... watched the debris from the storm spinning above the American Legion Building,” the Raeford Brown Show reported.

It happened during a storm that generated intense wind gusts, ranging from 63 mph on the Outer Banks to 68 mph in Jacksonville, the NWS reports. The storm is also blamed for downed trees, stripped home siding and damaged roofs across the region, officials said.

“No one was in the building when this happened,” American Legion Post 265 wrote on Facebook.

“We must wait for the insurance company to evaluate the building and access the damages. We will collectively gather after this and determine how to proceed forward with the recovery efforts. ... We will rebuild in due time.”

News of American Legion building collapse prompted hundreds of people to post offers of help on social media.

Jacksonville is about a 120-mile drive southeast from downtown Raleigh and is located near Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base and the Marine Corps Air Station at New River.

This story was originally published March 13, 2026 at 6:41 AM.