100-mph tornado confirmed in North Carolina city, National Weather Service says
A tornado with peak 100-mph winds damaged homes, businesses and a hospital in the Eastern North Carolina city of Kinston Thursday afternoon, a National Weather Service storm-damage survey team confirmed.
The EF-1 tornado briefly touched down in the northern part of the city while embedded in a large line of severe thunderstorms, according to the NWS Newport/Morehead City office.
EF-1 tornadoes are second weakest on the NWS Enhanced Fujita Scale that ranks tornadoes 0-5 based on wind speed and the damage.
No one was reported hurt as the 100-yard-wide tornado carved a 0.7-mile path just after 1 p.m., NWS meteorologists said.
The tornado started along Plaza Boulevard at Furniture Fair, smashing at least six large windows and blowing a large AC unit off the top of the store, according to the NWS report.
The tornado snapped a wood power pole in half and damaged the entire eastern side of The Salvation Army store on nearby Boy Scout Boulevard, the team said.
Some homes along Darby Avenue were damaged before the tornado tore a sign at the hospital entrance to UNC Lenoir Health Care and ripped the roof of a medical building across from the hospital, according to the NWS.
The tornado dissipated near the intersection of North Heritage and North Queen streets, the team reported.
Lenoir County Emergency Services assisted with the survey.