Greensboro, NC -- As the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee moved inland, the Central Gulf States and Southeast were riddled with tornado warnings from September 3rd through the 6th.
In all, there were 42 reports of tornadoes from Louisiana to Virginia with many other reports of damage from straight lined winds. As survey crews from the National Weather Service get out and analyze the storm damage they are able actually confirm if a tornado did in fact touched down.
There have been five tornadoes confirmed across North Carolina and southern Virginia. The strongest was seen in Wilkes County at around 5:30 pm when an EF- 1 tornado touched down with winds estimated between 100-105 mph near Abshers on September 5th.
Nearly two and half hours later, another tornado touched down south of the Triad in Union County about five miles north of Monroe. This storm was a weak, non-continuous tornado that touched down several times along a narrow path of about four tenths of a mile long. The tornado was rated as an EF-0 with estimated winds of 75 mph.
A third tornado touched down just south of Richfield in Stanly County. This tornado was rated as an EF-0 with estimated winds near 80 mph. The National Weather Service in Raleigh say that the touchdown occurred immediately south of Rogers Rd where a swath of trees and power lines 100 yards across were located. The storm then continued north and continued to cause damage along the way for a little less than a mile.
Later that night another tornado touched down in southern Virginia around 10:03 pm. The tornado was rated as an EF-0 with estimated winds near 80 mph as it moved through Cana, VA in Carroll County.
A fifth and final tornado touched down the next day on September 6th at 6:40 am. At that time, a relatively strong EF-0 tornado with estimated winds of 80 mph touched down near Pinehurst in Moore County. The damage was mainly confined to several clusters of trees along a narrow path that was about 1.3 miles long in the Country Club of North Carolina Resort.
WFMY News 2