2021 Charlotte, North Carolina Tornado

The 2021 Charlotte, North Carolina Tornado is a significant tornado that hit Charlotte, North Carolina on April 17th. The tornado killed 14 and injured 102. On 4:12 PM, Doppler Radar indicated a severe storm approaching Charlotte. The storm was gaining strength as it crossed the border between South Carolina and North Carolina. Around 4:17 PM, the storm formed a hook echo. The National Weather Service in Union, NC issued a tornado watch for Mecklenburg county in south-west North Carolina. The hook echo then formed a wall cloud that hung over South Carolina until it reached Charlotte. At that time, the wall cloud formed into a funnel over a field in Charlotte. It touched down around 4:21, 6 miles southwest of Charlotte. Once it hit the ground, it immediately started ripping up farms. It reached EF1 strength 3 miles away from Charlotte, around 4:24. At 1 mile away it reached EF2 strength. Around that time, the National Weather Service in Union issued a Tornado Emergency. The now EF2 reached Charlotte around 4:28 PM. It started destroying houses and uprooting trees. Small cars and other vehicles were picked up as soon as it turned into an EF3.

The tornado then left Charlotte and continued to Cabarrus county. It killed 3 in Charlotte. It reached Iredell around 4:37. It continued through Iredell, destroying 2 towns along the way. No persons were harmed in the towns. It reached EF4 strength around 4:48, same time it reached Davie county. It threw cars in Rowan county, causing 2 deaths. In Davie county, a village was destroyed, killing 2 others and reaching EF5 strength. It hit Forsyth county at 4:54 PM. It reached Winston-Salem at 4:59 PM. Several buildings on 12th avenue were destroyed.

The tornado then continued to destroy Winston-Salem until 5:02 PM, when it shifted westward. It reached EF3 strength 5:03 and then continued down until it died at 5:06 PM. 5 people died in Winston-Salem. The tornado left many dead and injured, as well as 10,000 homeless. Even though it was one of the worst disasters in North Carolina, NC still recovered 3 weeks afterward. The president was involved with helping NC rebuild.