NC Tornadoes
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North Carolina is not likely to be on the top ten list for tornadoes, but it does get its fair share. In 1998 the southern state was hit by 66 tornadoes. Hi, I'm Bryan Yeaton and this is The Weather Notebook. As correspondent Lita Hartman reports today forecasters in the tar-heel state have long paid attention to this devastating weather.

HERE'S A TRIED-AND-TRUE RECIPE FOR CREATING A TORNADO: TAKE SOME VERY STRONG WINDS, AN UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE AND CONTRASTING HOT AND COLD AIR MASSES, AND YOU'LL HAVE ONE HECK OF A THUNDERSTORM. WHEN THE CORE OF THAT STORM STARTS TO ROTATE, YOU'VE GOT A TORNADO. AND...SAYS GEORGE LEMONS OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA...YOU'VE ALSO GOT TROUBLE.

THE REASON THEY'RE SO DANGEROUS IS THAT ONCE THEY FORM, THEY HAVE A TENDENCY TO LAST A LONG TIME. (E) HERE IN THE CAROLINAS, IT'S NOTHING UNUSUAL FOR ONE OF THESE THINGS TO FORM IN SOUTH CAROLINA, MOVE THROUGH NORTH CAROLINA AND INTO VIRGINIA, WHILE IT IS STILL ALL IN ONE PIECE.

THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS IN THE WESTERN PART OF THE STATE DO A GOOD JOB OF BREAKING UP STORMS FROM TORNADO ALLEY. BUT 1998...A YEAR OF STRONG WINDS CAUSED BY EL NINO...WAS DIFFERENT. THAT YEAR, SAYS LEMONS, NORTH CAROLINA EXPERIENCED A RECORD 66 TORNADOS...ONE OF WHICH WAS CLASSIFIED AS AN F-3, PACKING WINDS OF UP TO 200 MILES PER HOUR.

YOU CAN HAVE ROOFS AND WALLS TORN COMPLETELY OFF WELL-CONSTRUCTED HOUSES. YOU CAN TURN OVER TREES, YOU CAN PICK UP AUTOMOBILES, THROW THEM AROUND, THAT SORT OF THING.

AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED IN THE SMALL NORTH CAROLINA TOWN OF STONEVILLE, WHERE THAT F-3 TORNADO HIT. THE STORM WAS SO FEROCIOUS AND SUDDEN THERE WAS LITTLE THE TOWN COULD DO TO PREPARE FOR IT. BUT ANYTIME YOU DO HEAR A TORNADO WARNING, LEMONS SAYS, YOU SHOULD FIND A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING.

The Weather Notebook is a production of the Mount Washington Observatory and is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.