EF3 Tornado Sends Several People to Hospital

Posted: July 21, 2023 9:00 am

A far-reaching EF3 tornado tore through North Carolina while Kentucky grappled with flash flooding. These are just two of the extreme weather events that impacted the U.S. on Wednesday as Mother Nature turns up the heat and the severe storms.

EF3 Tornado Rips Through North Carolina

An EF3 tornado injured several people, sending them to the hospital after it touched down at about 12:30 pm in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Officials were forced to close a section of the busy Interstate 95 after the twister moved over this thoroughfare.

The powerful tornado was on the ground for 16.5 miles in an area about 44 miles northeast of Raleigh. According to the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Raleigh, the tornado packed winds of at least 150 mph.

Fortunately, there were no fatalities reported. The NWS confirmed that this was the first EF3 twister observed in central North Carolina during the month of July.

While there were no deaths as a result of the storm, the tornado significantly damaged the Pfizer manufacturing facility in Rocky Mountain. A large section of the roof caved into the building.

The wedge-shaped tornado moved to the northeast on its path of destruction, crossing many roads in the region. This included passing over Interstate 95, bringing vehicles to a halt. A portion of the highway was closed in both directions for a few hours in order to clear out the debris that littered the road.

The Edgecomb County Sheriff’s Office detailed that many power lines and trees were down in the region, asking people to stay away from the damage.

State of Emergency Declared in Kentucky Due to Flooding

A slow-moving line of thunderstorms dropped up to six inches of rain across several counties in western Kentucky on Wednesday morning, creating a flash flooding emergency. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency on Wednesday afternoon just hours after the rain began to fall in droves.

While there have been no confirmed fatalities, several families were forced to evacuate their homes in a hurry as the flood waters rushed through.

The NWS office in Paducah, Kentucky said that the damage could be catastrophic with the counties of Graves, Carlisle, Ballard, and Hickman experiencing the worst of the damage. This region is located in the western portion of the Bluegrass State north of the border with Tennessee.

The town of Wingo recorded 4.86 inches of rain in a period of just over two hours starting at midnight. Wingo is located about 10 miles to the north of the Tennessee and Kentucky border. Water levels reached as high as the wheels of many large trucks in Wingo, demonstrating the scope of the rainfall.

Officials dispatched several crews to conduct water rescues in Wingo by early Wednesday.

The town of Mayfield was also impacted by Wednesday’s flooding event. This is the same area that was hit by an EF4 tornado in December of 2021. Graves County Sheriff said that a shelter was set up for displaced residents at the His House Ministries.

A section of Highway 80 was also closed on Wednesday due to the large amount of water on the major thoroughfare. In addition, Oak Grove Road in Graves County was also completely washed out.

This part of western Kentucky has been under the designation of a moderate drought as defined by the U.S. Drought Monitor. This means that the dry ground was not as prepared to take on rain of this magnitude, worsening the flooding situation.

Potential Record Set in Mayfield

The statewide weather network Kentucky State Mesonet reported that Mayfield saw 11.28 inches of rain in a time period of 24 hours. Should this measurement be confirmed by the NWS, it would be a new state record for the most amount of rain over 24 hours. The current record of 10.48 inches was measured in March of 1997 in Louisville.

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