Tornado sounded like ‘a roar’ as it ripped through North Carolina community

INDIAN TRAIL, N.C. (WBTV) – A tornado sounded like “a roar” as it passed through a Union County community on Wednesday morning, one resident said.

The twister touched down at 8:34 a.m. in the area of Friendly Baptist Church Road in Indian Trail, right near Porter Ridge High School, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

NWS officials said the tornado was only on the ground for about three minutes, but had peak winds of 90 mph, making it an EF-1 tornado. The twister was an estimated 75 yards wide and traced a path 2.24 miles long.

The tornado left about 1,000 people in the area without power and toppled trees throughout the area.

Peggy Allen had a massive tree come down in her yard, but said she felt lucky for that to have been the only damage.

“The wind was blowing real hard and all of a sudden the power went out and we heard this big noise,” Allen said. “I can’t explain it. A roar! And then it was gone.”

The NWS said nobody was hurt by the quick-moving tornado, but said that a fence and shed was damaged in addition to the downed trees and power outages. Some debris was also blown across roads.

A tornado warning had been issued just moments before the twister touched down. NWS officials said the warning was given at 8:31 a.m., which was just three minutes before it was on the ground.

Based on times given by the NWS, the tornado touched down shortly after students at Porter Ridge High went to their first class of the day. However, at the middle school — which is right next door — students do not start their day until 9:05 a.m. A soccer net at the schools’ campus was reportedly flipped into parked cars, but nobody was hurt.

Another tornado warning was issued in Chester County on Wednesday, but it expired within a half hour and nothing came of it.

Previous Coverage: EF-1 tornado likely touched down in Union County amid storms, officials say

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