RALEIGH, N.C. — Friday marks a decade since North Carolina's largest tornado outbreak.

Thirty tornadoes touched down in our state on April 16, 2011. One of those ripped through Shaw University in downtown Raleigh. 

"A lot of them had not seen snow, let alone a tornado and at that time," said Agnes Baxter, director of judicial services at Shaw. "I don't think Raleigh had seen many tornadoes in the time I'd been here."

Baxter had been at a program at Tupper Memorial Baptist Church just down the street when the tornado hit. She went immediately to campus to survey the damage and lend a helping hand.  

"There was definitely no loss of life, which was miraculous because we had students. It happened during the dining hour on a Saturday afternoon so we had students in the dining hall," Baxter said. "They were all safe."

Damage was done to the women's dorms, as well as the student center. Even all these years later, the storm taught Baxter the lesson of being weather aware. 

"On a personal note, I don't play," Baxter said. "Get home, find your little spot, get your water, and hunker down because it could come right to your front door."

 

April 16th this year marks 10 years since the largest tornado outbreak on record in North Carolina. On that day a decade...

Posted by Justin Quesinberry on Thursday, April 15, 2021