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Live updates: Tornado damages Pfizer building and homes in Nash County, injuries reported
RALEIGH, N.C. — After 12:30 p.m. a tornado touched down north of Rocky Mount, near the Battleboro and Dortches communities, and WRAL News is getting reports of storm damage and injured people in Nash County. The tornado warning expired at 1:30 p.m., but a severe thunderstorm warning is in effect for Halifax and Northampton counties.
The roof was torn off the Pfizer building in Rocky Mount, and Interstate 95 was closed between Dortches and U.S. 64 due to downed trees in the roadway. People were driving in the median on I-95 and were traveling in the wrong direction. There were reports of injuries, damaged homes and cars with windshields blown out across Nash County.
The best place to be during a tornado warning in your area is in a basement or lower interior room without windows, such as a closet or bathroom. People in mobile homes or cars should move into sturdier buildings before the tornado is in their area.
Live tornado updates
1:50 p.m.: WRAL reporter Keenan Willard was live outside a destroyed home on Town Hall Road Dortches. He reported multiple trees had fallen in a wooded area due to the tornado that touched down.
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1:30 p.m.: Nash County EMS is setting up two triage centers to help people, one at the damaged Pfizer building and one in a mobile home community. Nash General Hospital is accepting patients, and the sheriff confirmed injuries, but there has been no official count.
Large hail is falling in Scotland Neck. There were 1,575 power outages reported in Nash County.
1:22 p.m.: Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone said is he seeing the most storm damage in the Dortches community, where the tornado touched down, and in the areas of N.C. Highway 43 and the Red Oak community. People should not be out driving around to survey damage, he said, as crews need space to help people. The sheriff also reported power lines were down and homes were damaged. Most people become injured after a tornado, he said, and the situation is not safe until clean up is complete.
“Stay away from the area” and stay in your homes, he said.
There were reports of damage to the Pfizer building in Rocky Mount. An employee sent a photo of the damage to WRAL News.
1:15 p.m.: A WRAL News photojournalist said I-95 is a mess between Dortches and U.S. 64, with cars in the medians and going in the wrong direction. A photo showed people out of their cars.
1:06 p.m.: Edgecombe County is in the clear, according to WRAL meteorologist Kat Campbell. Halifax County residents need to be alert. The tornado’s rotation appears to be weakening, but Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone reported one person was injured in the storm. The storm is moving into the eastern portion of Halifax County and may end up clipping Northampton County.
Nash County Schools are holding all buses for summer school students.
12:58 p.m.: Multiple trees are down across I-95 and homes have been damaged in the Rocky Mount in area. The tornado is 10 miles west of Scotland Neck and 12 miles north of Tarboro. The National Weather Service in Raleigh is sending a team out to survey the damage.
12:52 p.m.: The tornado is moving from Nash County into northern Edgecombe County, nearing Scotland Neck. The storm could be impacting Scotland Neck around 1:23 p.m. “This has not let up at all,” said WRAL meteorologist Kat Campbell. Someone got a photo of the tornado in Rocky Mount on Twitter.
12:45 p.m.: Interstate 95 is closed in both directions in Nash County at Mile Marker 140, near Dortches and U.S. Highway 64, due to a downed tree. People in Gethsemane, Draughn and Scotland Neck communities need to get in a safe space, preferably the lowest level of your home without windows.
The National Weather Service is calling for up to 1 inch of hail possible.
Tornado warnings are in effect for Edgecombe, Halifax and Nash counties, and the entire state is under a Level 1 risk for severe storms Wednesday.
Just after 12:30 p.m., storm damage was confirmed in Dortches and a tornado was confirmed on the ground north of Rocky Mount.
Tornado began as thunderstorm warning
WRAL meteorologist Mike Maze said a tornado of this strength is more likely in the spring. It is estimated that the tornado covered at least 20 miles.
The tornado began as a thunderstorm warning in multiple counties.
WRAL News recieved reports that the tornado touched down in Battleboro at 12:43 p.m. and Dortches at 12:47 p.m.