Tornado with 90 mph winds hit popular NC mountain tourist town before Helene, NWS says
A tornado packing 90 mph winds hit the N.C. mountain tourist town of Blowing Rock ahead of Hurricane Helene, a National Weather Service team confirmed Thursday.
A separate severe weather system spawned the EF-1 tornado that uprooted and snapped trees for just over a half-mile before dissipating, investigators said.
No injuries were reported, according to a report by the team from the NWS office in Blacksburg, Virginia.
The tornado touched down at 6:38 p.m. Wednesday near the intersection of Birch Drive and Hill Street and raced northeast before lifting near Chetola Lake Drive, the team found.
A few tents near Bass Lake Drive and Chetola Lake Drive also were blown down, according to the NWS report.
This story was originally published September 27, 2024 at 10:35 AM.