Tornado with 90 mph winds hit popular NC mountain tourist town before Helene, NWS says

A tornado packing 90 mph winds hit the N.C. mountain tourist town of Blowing Rock ahead of Hurricane Helene , a National Weather Service team confirmed Thursday.

A separate severe weather system spawned the EF-1 tornado that uprooted and snapped trees for just over a half-mile before dissipating, investigators said.

No injuries were reported, according to a report by the team from the NWS office in Blacksburg, Virginia.

The tornado touched down at 6:38 p.m. Wednesday near the intersection of Birch Drive and Hill Street and raced northeast before lifting near Chetola Lake Drive, the team found.

A few tents near Bass Lake Drive and Chetola Lake Drive also were blown down, according to the NWS report.