Multiple damaging tornadoes tear through Southeast

AccuWeather radar imagery of the tornadic storm as it hit Mebane, North Carolina, on the evening of May 6, 2022.

The National Weather Service (NWS) reported major damage a few miles west of Durham, North Carolina, following a confirmed tornado on Friday evening, including damage to one building where at least 30 people were taking shelter.

A strong line of storms entered Orange County just before 5 p.m., local time, on Friday. The severe weather came from a cold front that was moving east over the state, which also brought hail and damaging wind gusts to North Carolina and the surrounding states.

The majority of the damage occurred around Mebane, a city roughly 20 miles from Durham. In addition, several structures were damaged in the East Washington Street area in Mebane, according to the Orange County government.

The Gildan Distribution Center on East Washington Street in Mebane was impacted by possible tornado damage as a result of the storm. As the tornadic storm struck the plant, large chunks of the wall were ripped off. Pieces of the building could be seen dangling to the side and the interior of the building was exposed in some places, according to photos posted by WRAL.

Thirty people were working inside the distribution center as the storm tore through, but no injuries were reported, according to WRAL.

The damage report is located just off an area of US-70 that is less than a mile north of Interstate 40 and Interstate 85.

Five minutes following the report in Mebane, another tornado damage report surfaced about four miles northeast of the city. Structural damage occurred in a neighborhood about two miles northeast of where major damage was reported earlier.

At 5:24 p.m., local time, law enforcement confirmed a tornado located west of Schley, North Carolina, moving northeast, according to the NWS. The tornado was then seen 7 miles west of Rougemont, North Carolina, and it continued its northeast track just after 5:30 p.m., local time.

On Saturday afternoon, the National Weather Service released the results of their preliminary survey on the tornado in Mebane, rating it an EF1. The path of the tornado started just south of US-70 in eastern Mebane and went northeast, carving an over 3 mile long path.

Later on Friday, another tornado was located in North Carolina near the Virginia border. The National Weather Service issued a warning just before 7:30 p.m. stating a confirmed tornado was located over Madison, North Carolina and moving northeast. A confirmed tornado was also located near Wentworth, North Carolina, from the same cell.

A particularly dangerous situation tornado warning was issued for central Rockingham county as the large and extremely dangerous tornado moved through the county. A strong tornado debris signature was visible on radar as the tornado moved through the county, which suggested debris were being lofted into the air, according to WFMY.

About 20 minutes after the tornado warning was issued for the county, Rockingham County Emergency Communications received multiple reports of damaged structures, possibly from the tornado. Widespread property damage, blocked roads and power outages were among the reports, according to McDowell News. The county declared a state of emergency on Saturday.

On Saturday, the National Weather Service confirmed the area was hit by an EF-1 tornado, which carved a 7.9 mile long path in the county. The tornado had an estimated max wind speed of 110 mph and crossed North Carolina State Highway 14 before dissipating near US-29.

The storm system that brought multiple tornadoes to the area also brought large hail to other parts of the Southeast, with several areas reporting 1.75 inch (golf ball sized) or larger hail. In central Tennessee, 2.25 inch hail (egg sized) was reported. Georgia and South Carolina also had hail reports exceeding 2 inches (egg sized).

Hail in Course, North Carolina on May 6, 2022. (Twitter/@SplendaDad1)

Severe thunderstorm reports stretched from Florida to Virginia on Friday, with several involving large hail and strong wind gusts. A 70 mph wind gust occurred in Treadway, Tennessee, and Pitt-Greenville Air, North Carolina, on Friday.

With many rounds of heavy rain, reports of flooding were widespread across much of the Appalachians and eastward into the mid-Atlantic. Flooding was particularly intense in Huntington, West Virginia, where up to 3 inches of rain led to rapidly rising waters in the area. According to West Virginia emergency management, a fatality was reported on Friday as a man was swept away in rapidly rising floodwaters.

Several power outages have been reported in states impacted by the severe weather, according to PowerOutage.us. On Saturday morning, Virginia and North Carolina combined for over 26,000 outages, and an additional 14,000 outages were reported in Pennsylvania.

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