| Tornado outbreak of March 28–29, 2010 | |
| Type: | Tornado outbreak |
| Active: | March 28–29, 2010 |
| Tornadoes: | 13 |
| Fujitascale: | EF3 |
| Tornado Duration: | ~19 hours |
| Fatalities: | 3 fatalities, 13 injuries |
| Damages: | >$15.5 million (2010 USD)[1] |
| Enhanced: | yes |
The tornado outbreak of March 28–29, 2010 affected the Southeast United States and The Bahamas on March 28-29, 2010.
A low pressure system pushed northward through the Ohio Valley on March 28. Several tornadoes were reported in the warm sector stretching from Virginia south to Florida. The Piedmont Triad was hardest hit. A tornado emergency was declared for parts of Forsyth, Randolph, Davidson, and Guilford counties.[2] Damage was also reported near Charlotte.[3] An EF3 tornado struck High Point, NC. An EF2 tornado hit Linwood in Davidson County, NC,[4] [5] and two more EF2 tornadoes struck south-central South Carolina. An unrated tornado also struck Freepoint in the Bahamas on March 29.
| Location | County / Parish | State | Start Coord. | Time (UTC) | Path length | Max width | Summary | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bgcolor=# | EF1 | ENE of Woodlawn to SW of Edgefield | McCormick, Edgefield | SC | 21:06–21:25 | 13.35abbr=onNaNabbr=on | 110abbr=onNaNabbr=on | A tornado took down numerous trees along its path, including in the Sumter National Forest.[6] [7] | |
| bgcolor=# | EF1 | Belmont | Gaston | NC | 21:37–21:38 | 0.13abbr=onNaNabbr=on | 100abbr=onNaNabbr=on | A brief tornado touched down and damaged a mill before moving into a mobile home park, damaging several homes and downing numerous trees.[8] | |
| bgcolor=# | EF0 | West Eau Gallie | Brevard | FL | 22:00–22:04 | 2.31abbr=onNaNabbr=on | 200abbr=onNaNabbr=on | A weak tornado crossed I-95 into West Eau Gallie, snapping tree branches and palm fronds. Minor damage also occurred to two structures.[9] | |
| bgcolor=# | EF2 | Spencer to ENE of Lakeview | Rowan, Davidson | NC | 22:46–22:55 | 5abbr=onNaNabbr=on | 200abbr=onNaNabbr=on | A tornado touched down in Spencer, just east of the town center. When it touched down, the facade and roof of a shopping center was damaged. The tornado moved northeast through town, causing minor roof damage to several homes and blowing the awning off a business. A brick chimney was blown off a home as well. A shed and boat awning were destroyed as well The tornado exited Spencer and crossed I-85 and then crossed the Yadkin River into Davidson County. As soon as it made landfall again, the tornado sheared off or uprooted numerous trees. A carport was ripped from a home and two outbuildings were destroyed. Continuing northeast, the tornado damaged a vacant flea market building, twisting the debris around several trees and high tension power lines. The tornado then reached peak intensity and completely destroyed three mobile homes before severely damaging an additional three more. The tornado then dissipated in a wooded area shortly after reaching peak intensity. Five injuries occurred.[10] [11] | |
| bgcolor=# | EF1 | W of High Point | Davidson | NC | 23:15–23:20 | 0.83abbr=onNaNabbr=on | 50abbr=onNaNabbr=on | A tornado touched down in a wooded area cursing extensive tree damage. It then moved northeast and ripped a carport off of a home. The tornado struck Valley Mobile Home Park, completely destroying or damaging approximately twenty mobile homes. One of the mobile homes and an SUV were thrown into a nearby lake.[12] | |
| bgcolor=# | EF3 | High Point | Guilford | NC | 23:30–23:40 | 3.46abbr=onNaNabbr=on | 250abbr=onNaNabbr=on | See section on this tornado[13] | |
| bgcolor=# | EF0 | NNW of Alton | Halifax | VA | 02:02–02:03 | 0.23abbr=onNaNabbr=on | 100abbr=onNaNabbr=on | Several old farm buildings and outbuildings had minor roof and siding damage. One large trees was snapped.[14] | |
| bgcolor=# | EF2 | NNE of Morgana to SSW of Ropers Crossroads | Edgefield | SC | 02:24–02:39 | 2.39abbr=onNaNabbr=on | 440abbr=onNaNabbr=on | A strong tornado occurred in the southern area of the Sumter National Forest near Stevens Creek. Numerous trees and powerlines were downed, two homes suffered moderate damage and a mobile home had half of its roof torn off. A RV was crushed from a tree falling on it.[15] | |
| bgcolor=# | EF2 | WSW of Ridge Road Crossroads to Lake Murray | Lexington | SC | 03:25–03:37 | 5.01abbr=onNaNabbr=on | 440abbr=onNaNabbr=on | Approximately forty homes were damaged along with several trees and power lines downed. Several vehicles were also damaged, with one injury occurring from that. A horse was also killed when a portion of a barn collapsed.[16] | |
| bgcolor=# | EF1 | S of Mount Tirzah to SW of Peeds Store | Person | NC | 03:55–04:05 | 4.05abbr=onNaNabbr=on | 75abbr=onNaNabbr=on | A tornado touched down, initially snapping multiple trees before striking a subdivision. Several trees were uprooted in the subdivision, along with two modular homes having trees fall onto them. The tornado reached peak intensity exiting the subdivision, snapping numerous pine and hardwood trees and moving a modular home off its foundation. The tornado then moved into a wooded area, producing minor damage to an old barn before dissipating.[17] | |
| bgcolor=# | EF0 | SW of Rion | Fairfield | SC | 04:03–04:07 | 2abbr=onNaNabbr=on | 60abbr=onNaNabbr=on | The SCDOT reported trees downed by a tornado.[18] | |
| Location | County / Parish | State | Start Coord. | Time (UTC) | Path length | Max width | Summary | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bgcolor=# | EF0 | Oakland Park | Broward | FL | 12:26–12:37 | 2.43abbr=onNaNabbr=on | 100abbr=onNaNabbr=on | A tornado touched down in the Royal Palm Isles neighborhood of Oakland Park and quickly crossed I-95 and moving through town, damaging trailers, cars, trees and some roofs. The tornado lifted in the Coral Heights neighborhood.[19] | ||
| bgcolor=# | EF? | Freeport | Grand Bahama | Bahamas | ~19:30 | unknown | unknown | 3 deaths – See section on this tornado – A rare tornado tornado occurred in the Bahamas. 4 people were injured.[20] |
| High Point, North Carolina | |
| Fujitascale: | EF3 |
| Fatalities: | 3 injuries |
| Damages: | $9.95 million (2010 USD) |
An EF3 tornado struck High Point, North Carolina, causing 3 injuries and destroying or damaging many structures. The tornado touched down as a 100-mph EF1 in southwest Guilford County, severely damaging a daycare center and flipping an unoccupied school bus. The tornado moved north across Highway 311 and gained intensity, becoming an EF2 that caused significant damage to structures in the area, including blowing a bedroom off of a single-story home.
It briefly reached EF3 in intensity when it entered a residential area, removing the second story off of a 2-story home and damaging or destroying 50-60 homes in the neighborhood. The tornado weakened to an EF2 and moved into a highly urbanized area, causing minor to moderate damage, and again removing the 2nd story off of a 2-story home.
The storm finally weakened to an EF1 and finally lifted just north of Oak Hollow Lake.[21] [22]
This was the first EF3 tornado to strike the Piedmont Triad region since May 8, 2008, when an EF3 tornado struck Clemmons, just outside Winston-Salem. The tornado caused $9.95 million in property damage, destroying 40 homes and businesses and damaging another 609 structures.[23] The mayor of High Point declared a state of emergency.[24]
| Freeport, Bahamas | |
| Fujitascale: | EF? |
| Fatalities: | 3 fatalities, 4 injuries |
| Damages: | unknown |
A tornado struck the Freeport port, toppling a crane and killing 3 workers and injuring 4 more. Roofs were torn off of multiple buildings as well.
Concerns have been raised within the Bahamian government that there was no tornado warning issued by the Bahamas Department of Meteorology.[25]