North Carolina cleans up from twisters; Midwest, South brace for wild weather/North Carolina Tornadoes Injure 15 People, Damage Hundreds of Homes

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/26/us/us-midwest-south-severe-weather/

Meanwhile, much of the central United States is bracing for even more severe weather in the form of tornadoes, damaging winds and hail.

Multiple twisters touched down in an area east of Greenville, North Carolina, to Beaufort County, on Friday evening, the National Weather Service reported.

A tornado that struck Whichards Beach in Beaufort County injured 16 people and damaged or destroyed 150-200 homes, reported the Pasquotank-Camden Emergency Management, quoting the National Weather Service. The twister was rated an EF-3, with winds estimated at 150 mph. Emergency management official said that ended the streak of days without an EF-3 tornado at 158 days.

John Pack, spokesman for the Beaufort County Emergency Management, estimated more than 200 homes in that county sustained major damage, and at one point at least 2,500 homes didn't have power.

He told CNN that staffers at the National Weather Service, county volunteer fire crews and more than 100 electrical crews were working to assist residents.

In Pasquotank County, three tornadoes touched down, destroying 13 homes and causing major damage to 17 homes, the Pasquotank-Camden Emergency Management said. The weather service said those were EF-2 and EF-1 twisters.

NC Dominion Power reported 3,100 customers losing power in Pasquotank County. Elizabeth City Public Utilities said approximately 4,000 city customers lost power.

In nearby Perquimans County, the story was similar.

A spokesman for that county's emergency management agency, Tom Ponte, told CNN a preliminary assessment showed the storm damaged 38 homes and left about 1,770 residents without power.

According to Ponte, the county is opening a shelter for residents displaced by the storm and roads are being cleared by the county fire department, with assistance from the North Carolina Department of Forestry.

The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center, which monitors severe weather across the United States, said severe weather will move over other parts of the United States over the next three days. That's all due to a storm that's moving eastward from the Rockies.

CNN meteorologist Matt Daniels predicts a slight risk of severe storms Saturday evening from central Texas into southeast South Dakota. This may include damaging winds and large hail, but does not rule out a few tornadoes.

On Sunday, most of Arkansas and neighboring areas -- including Shreveport, Louisiana, and Springfield, Missouri -- face the highest chance of severe weather, though states as far north as North Dakota, and southeast to Georgia, also could be in harm's way.

The SPC said it may upgrade Sunday's threat level from moderate to "high risk." This would be the first "high risk" threat this year -- a warning that is typically issued only a few times a year.

The danger zone shifts farther east on Monday, with Memphis, Tennessee, and Tupelo, Mississippi, among the cities most likely to get hit.

There is also a slight risk of storms stretching into the Midwest, north Georgia and the western Carolinas. These storms could produce damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes (some could be strong) throughout the day.

And yet more severe weather looms for Tuesday.

The Storm Prediction Center notes that these threats come in a year that has been -- so far -- one of the quietest for tornadoes in U.S. history. Already, the country has set a record for going the longest into a new year without a tornado fatality.

http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/tornadoes-touch-down-across-no/26131954

At least 15 people were transported to the hospital on Friday evening after a tornado struck in Beaufort County, N.C., an emergency management official said Saturday.
There were also an undetermined number of "walking wounded" who went to the hospital, Beaufort County Emergency Coordinator John Pack told AccuWeather.com.
"The good news is that nobody died. That's remarkable in itself," Pack said.
The National Weather Service at Newport/Morehead City, N.C. reports that an EF-3 tornado was confirmed along Whichards Beach in Friday night's storm.
The tornado was an EF-0 when it touched down near Chocowinity but grew in strength to an EF-3 with an estimated wind speed of 150 mph by the time it reached Whichards Beach, the weather service said.
Areas affected by the Beaufort County storm were areas east of the town of Washington, N.C. A state of emergency was declared late Friday evening restricting travel in the affected areas from dusk to daylight except for residents who can prove they live there, Pack said.
At least 200 homes were severely damaged or destroyed, Pack said.

North Carolina Emergency Management assisted with damage assessments on Saturday to determine if the severe weather event will meet the threshold of a disaster declaration, Gov. Pat McCrory said.