Turn Back: Roxboro, NC

Mileage: Approx. 90 miles

After a frontal system dissipated coming over the mountains, a severe squall line developed on the downslope in the Northern Foothills.  I was amazed by the compactness it displayed on radar, and knew it had to be severe. A Tornado Watch had been issued for Western NC earlier.

Sure enough! Two tornado warnings went up for areas Northwest of Winston-Salem. It was time to be on the move.

After waiting 20 minutes to get the new radar pix (the line was bowing and beginning to be not as pretty but still severe) I decided to take 70 West towards Durham then decide what to do. It was clear as a bell in Raleigh but as I drove westward the line lay itself out straeight ahead of me like a formidable wall.

Over 50mph?! I realized the storms were moving fast but didn't realize they were moving that fast! The weatheradio had alerted me to the fact. The weatheradio had so many watches and warnings to issue (several Severe Thunderstorm Warnings were also issued) that it became a steady stream.

Several times (though quite rarely for a storm of this magnitude - once every few minutes) the storm would let out a beautiful lightning display. Luckily, I had the video camera in the right place at the right time to capture one such brilliant display. (Click on the picture for more information).

The storm was very brief and as it came through I was on 501 heading north from Durham. The winds were a good 30 or 40 in gusts; light debris and dust whirled in the road prior to the rain. I was amazed at the lack of lightning, but then, there wasn't much time to see it. After hearing a report of "power lines down" in Creedmor, NC, from the scanner, I decided to take 158 east to 50 which intersects Creedmor. This brings us to the Post Storm Investigation.