JAMESVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) — The National Weather Service in Morehead City confirmed a rare EF-U tornado hit parts of eastern North Carolina Monday.
The "U" in the EF-U stands for unknown because there were no damage reports and no damage found from the tornado, but it was captured on video.
Late Monday afternoon, a supercell thunderstorm moved into southeast Martin County before moving northeastward through Martin and far western Washington counties. As the thunderstorm moved through Martin County, a tornado touched down in an open field southwest of Jamesville, according to the NWS.
Clik here to view.
A trained storm spotter captured the touchdown with a drone. The drone footage shows a loosely-organized funnel touch the ground, therefore becoming a tornado. The supercell thunderstorm then moved northeast through Jamesville and into far western Washington County.
Clik here to view.
There were several reports of funnel clouds relayed to the NWS via the county 911 center. It is unknown whether the tornado touched down at any additional point after the initial touchdown report.
Radar data showed strengthening low-level rotation after the initial report, suggesting a high likelihood of additional brief touchdowns. However, there isn't conclusive evidence of additional touchdowns and no damage has been reported at any point along the supercell's path.
On rare occasions, it is impossible to rate the strength of a confirmed tornado because there is little to no damage evidence, giving the tornado a rating of EF-U.
The Enhanced Fujita Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:
- EF0: 65 to 85 mph
- EF1: 86 to 110 mph
- EF2: 111 to 135 mph
- EF3: 136 to 165 mph
- EF4: 166 to 200 mph
- EF5: >200 mph
