Minor Damage Reported in North Carolina From Waterspout Turned Tornado

A waterspout briefly came ashore as a tornado in North Carolina last week, causing minor damage to houses before dissipating.

The StarNews of Wilmington reports the National Weather Service confirmed the waterspout made landfall around 11:30 a.m. July 19 as an EF0 tornado with winds up to 70 mph (113 kph). The NWS report says the winds tossed patio furniture and caused minor damage to wooden patio fencing, before causing minor roof damage to at least three houses.

The maximum width of the tornado’s path was 25 yards (23 meters), and it made landfall for less than .15 miles (.24 kilometers).

No injuries were reported.

Meteorologist Stephen Keebler said late July and August are prime times for waterspout formation, but they are nearly impossible to detect on radar because of their small sizes.