Quote:
Originally Posted by Francois
There was also a big one in the Clinton area in March of 1984. March and November are the months to most worry about (change of weather patterns).
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That night there were 22 tornadoes across the southeastern part of the state!!! It struck near our house about 8pm on March 28, 1984. I was in 7th grade and remember it very well! It destroyed some of my dad's hog houses & chicken houses, and all of our neighbors' homes just down the road from our house.
March 28, 1984 Carolina's Tornado Outbreak
The largest and most devastating tornado outbreak to affect North and South Carolina during the last century occurred on March 28, 1984. The outbreak produced 22 tornadoes that killed 57 people, including 42 in North Carolina with 15 in South Carolina, and injured another 800. Roughly a third of the victims were in mobile homes.
Research by Dr. Theodore Fujita indicated the tornadoes that occurred from Newberry and Kershaw South Carolina, east northeast across the Laurinburg/Maxton, North Carolina region, and northeast to just east of Greenville, North Carolina, consisted of a single family of tornadoes that covered a distance of nearly 250 miles. The long paths of damage, combined with the fact that the tornadoes occurred near the center of a large-scale low pressure area, lead several researchers to compare this outbreak to the 1925 tri-state Tornado. Research showed that the Tri-state Tornado had a similar path length and occurred near the center of a large-scale low pressure area. However, the intensity and nearly continuous path of damage associated with the Carolina’s Tornado Outbreak were not nearly as devastating as that of the Tri-state Tornado. Regardless of the comparisons, the Carolina’s Outbreak went down in North Carolina history as the strongest and deadliest since records have been kept.
Time line of the Carolina's Tornado Outbreak
A time sequence of events that occurred is as follows, courtesy of National Weather Service Local Storm Data, and Dr. T. Fujita.
The first tornado to strike North Carolina produced F4 damage as it moved northeast into Scotland County from Marlboro County, SC. around 1915 local standard time (LST). Seven people were killed in Marlboro County, SC.
A second tornado produced F4 damage and formed just to the east of the previous tornado around 1925 LST. Both tornadoes moved in a tandem for several minutes to near Maxton before the first tornado lifted. The second tornado killed one person in Scotland County before moving into northwestern Robeson County. Between 1925 LST and 1945 LST, the second F4 tornado produced a 1500 yard wide path of destruction as it passed northeast through northwest Robeson County, killing one and injuring 280. It passed directly through the communities of John’s, Maxton, and Red Springs. Every substantial building in Red Springs sustained F1 or F2 damage. This tornado finally lifted as it approached Hope Mills and Fayetteville, in Cumberland County.
The third tornado touched down at approximately 1945 LST about 5 miles northeast of Tobermory, in Bladen County. It then passed through Beaver Dam and entered west-central Sampson County. Two people were killed and a large forest was destroyed in this part of Sampson County. The tornado produced a nearly continuous path of F3 damage from Beaver Dam through Salemburg, Roseboro, and Clinton. One person was killed in Salemburg, two in Roseboro, and six near Clinton. The tornado moved northeast at 60 MPH, before lifting just 2 miles west of Clinton. A total of 101 people were injured with this tornado.
Just a few moments after the Clinton tornado lifted, the fourth major tornado to affect North Carolina touched down at 2015 LST, 5 miles northeast of Clinton. This storm produced a direct hit on Faison, Calypso, and portions of Mount Olive in southeastern Wayne county. The tornado produced F3 damage, killing 3, and injuring 149.
After a brief lull just northeast of Mount Olive in Wayne county, another F3 tornado touched down just southeast of Goldsboro and passed southeast of La Grange in Lenoir county, where 81 were injured around 2030 local time. As this tornado lifted, another even stronger tornado touched down just a few miles to the northeast of La Grange. This tornado was likely the most deadly and devastating of the day, as it ripped across northern Lenoir, central Greene, and into Pitt county between 2045 LST and 2055 LST. Six people lost their lives at Snow Hill in Greene county, two in Ayden, one in Winterville, and six on the east side of Greenville. In addition, the F4 tornado injured 153 and destroyed more than 300 homes as it’s path of destruction occasionally reached to more than 1200 yards wide.
Just as the family of tornadoes that devastated the southern and central coastal plain region diminished around 2100 LST, another family of tornadoes began their damage paths across the northern coastal area. The first touchdown was in Bertie county, just west of Lewiston at 2055 LST. The F3 tornado tore through a mobile home park there, killing 6, 5 in one family. Nineteen others were injured.
The tornadoes continued to touch down in sequence across Bertie, Hertford, and Gates county between 2110 LST and 2130 LST. Two people were killed, and 17 injured as tornadoes passed just southeast of Ahoskie and over the Chowan River into Gates county. The final tornado moved ashore from the Albemarle Sound, crossed the southern part of Chowan county and moved into Perquimans county near Elizabeth City around 2215 local time. The last of the fatalities occurred in Perquimans county as a tree crushed a mobile home.
1984 Carolinas tornado outbreak - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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