SPC Stats

Path length: 5.5 miles

Width:  1200 yards

Fatalities:  2

Injuries:  10

Rating:  F3

County:  Orange

The Widespread Outbreak of November 21-23, 1992 was still ongoing during the early AM of Monday, November 23. There were two F3 tornadoes reported in NC during this time. This summary looks at one of those that rolled through parts of Orange County.

The tornado developed three miles west of Hillsborough. It moved 5.5 miles through the western and northern sections of town ending NE of the community. Per the NWS Storm Data entry, the tornado reached its greatest intensity with a nearly 3/4 mile width west of Hillsborough along Highway 70. A home was hit and 2-year-old Josh Hall was killed. Nearby, the double-wide mobile home of Joe Terrell was demolished. Mr. Terrell was killed. In an article from the November 24, 1992 Asheville Citizen-Times, Joe Terrell’s brother-in-law was interviewed. He was quoted as saying, “It looks like some giant machine has come through her and chewed everything up.” A total of 53 homes and nine businesses were destroyed during this tornado event. Ten people were injured.  

Tornado Path

 SPC coordinates:  Start: 36.08 / -79.18      End: 36.12 / -79.07

Corrected Coordinates based on storm data:

Start: 36.069605/-79.145873    End: 36.114718/-79.060477

Note:  Exact tornado path may not be straight and/or continuous.

Images via Storm Data

Newspaper Clippings

Discrepancies:

We gathered information for this event from the SPC & NCDC Databases, the November 1992 Storm Data Publication and Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes and found the following differences:

Path Length:

  • Grazulis has a 6 miles path length.
  • Remaining sources have a length at 5.5 miles.

      Sources:

      The Storm Prediction Center

      NCDC Storm Events Database

      November 1992 Storm Data Publication

      NWS Raleigh Event Summary

      newspapers.com

      Grazulis, Thomas P. (1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, VT: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. Page 1344.

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