Storm of inches: Tornado shifts Harnett County family's home

By Keenan Willard, WRAL eastern North Carolina reporter

Coats, N.C. — A Harnett County family is grateful for their safety after Monday’s storm literally moved their house while they were inside.

The National Weather Service said on Tuesday that an EF-0 Tornado hit Buies Creek in Harnett County on Monday,

The tornado “briefly touched down” for 2 miles, according to the NWS.

The Rivera family was asleep on Monday morning in their home off Cottle Lake Drive, when they heard what seemed like the entire house crashing around 7 a.m. After the dust settled, they found the back porch had collapsed and a backyard fence was ripped down.

It was a harrowing experience for Adbeel Rivera, who has lived at the home with his wife and young son for three years.

After being awakened by the storm, the wind howled, but nothing beyond a usual windy day, Rivera said.

But Monday’s storm was so intense, it literally had them on the move. A contractor told them their house ‘shifted’ around an inch/

“It started getting harder and harder and suddenly, the house started shaking,” Rivera said. “It really lasted a few seconds. But it was enough to do what it did.”

The tornado brought wind gusts up to 45-to-50 miles per hour.

Vinyl siding was chopped into small shards and parts were found in a grill in the backyard. There was some structural damage and a window was broken. Fortunately, the home is still structurally sound enough for them to live in.

“If there were somebody outside, this would have been very bad,” Rivera said.

After all that, a wintry mix was falling at 1 p.m., in an eventful day for the family and North Carolina weather. On the positive side, no one was hurt and neighbors brought the family coffee and a meal for lunch.

“Hopefully. the kid can sleep, my wife can sleep,” Rivera said. “I don’t think it’s going to be that easy for them.”