Extensive damage near Rocky Mount, Nash County, Edgecombe - ABC11 Raleigh-Durham
DORTCHES, N.C. (WTVD) -- A tornado touched down in Nash County on Wednesday afternoon, causing extensive damage and closing down a stretch of Interstate 95.
The tornadoes path started just west of Nashville, traveling northeast through Red Oak, crossing I-95 north of US 64 before running out of energy just before Scotland Neck.
ABC11 Chief Meteorologist Don "Big Weather" Schwenneker estimates the path of the tornado was around 20 miles or more and it lasted for about 1 hour (most tornadoes are on the ground for less than 20 minutes).
The National Weather Service will send a team out to get the official measurements. That team will also determine how strong the tornado was. North Carolina has never had an EF-5, the strongest classification, of tornado. Big Weather said he does not expect this one to end that streak; he expects it will register as an EF-3.
Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone confirmed that trees were down, houses were damaged and power had been knocked out in the areas between Castalia, Whitakers and Leggett.
At this time, there are no reports of serious injuries or deaths associated with this tornado.
The Pfizer facility in Rocky Mount sustained major damage. Part of the roof was torn off.
"We can confirm that the Pfizer Rocky Mount facility was damaged by the tornado," a Pfizer spokesman told ABC11. "At this point, there are no reports of serious injuries. We are assessing the situation to determine the impact on production. Our thoughts are with our colleagues, our patients, and the community as we rebuild from this weather incident."
All lanes of I-95 were closed near Rocky Mount between Exits 138 (US 64) and 141 (NC 43) because of obstructions. NCDOT said the interstate may reopen between 4:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. Drivers should avoid the area.
Gov. Roy Cooper said he has spoken with the sheriffs of Nash and Edgecombe counties about the tornado damage. The governor said state personnel are helping get roads open and providing other assistance as needed.
Damage reports are still coming in. ABC11 crews on working to gather more information at the scene.
Stone said sheriff's units and other public safety crews are responding to parts of the Red Oak/Dortches area to check on reports of downed power lines and trees.
According to Duke Energy, there are more than 1,000 power outages in and around Dortches and south of Red Oak.
Trees crashed into a home's swimming pool in Nash County.
It's not yet known whether there have been injuries.
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Greenhills Road is shut down because of trees blocking the road. Stone said other roads are likely affected as well.
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NCDOT said the rest area is closed on I-95 South in Nash County at Mile Marker 142 in Dortches and won't reopen for hours.
The tornado spawned relatively quickly, but it did come after a warning from the National Weather Service.
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Source: WTVD-TV
