Dodging a bullet
Published 9:44 am Thursday, June 20, 2013
COLERAIN – For some odd reason, tornadoes make a beeline for northeastern Bertie County.
The Colerain area, impacted over two years ago by a twister that killed a dozen local citizens, was under a tornado warning Tuesday night during a thunderstorm that moved from west to east.
Bertie County Emergency Management Director Mitch Cooper said the twister was indicated on Doppler radar by the National Weather Service office in Wakefield, VA. However, if there were twisting winds inside that thunderstorm, they never made it to the ground.
“I spoke with the Colerain Fire Chief and a (Bertie County) deputy who lives in Colerain, both said there was no damage there due to the thunderstorm,” Cooper said.
Cooper did confirm that high winds toppled a tree on the Windsor end of Wakelon Road.
“That thunderstorm cell did track over Colerain and then went across the river to Rocky Hock (Chowan County),” Cooper stated.
Cooper added that the tornado warning was issued by the National Weather Service at 9:29 p.m. However he did not receive that message until 9:32 p.m.
“I know when these storms pop up so fast and leave so fast, there isn’t any time to put out a warning,” Cooper said. “I’m planning to discuss this particular issue with the National Weather Service.”