Days before last Friday's severe weather event, I started seeing people comparing the impending weather to that of April 16, 2011.

As you know, April 16, 2011, was the date of the largest tornado outbreak in North Carolina's modern history.

Whereas there were a few similarities, the events did not compare...

First, the atmospheric set-up was not the same.

All the ingredients that produced numerous strong, long track tornadoes were not there. We did, however, have a strong storm system, an unstable atmosphere, and very strong low-level winds that lead to a perfect set up for severe thunderstorms with a damaging wind threat.

As we watched the threat level increase for severe weather from the Storm Prediction Center on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning, we meteorologists knew that we were in for an active day on Friday with two rounds of severe weather possible; one in the morning and one in the afternoon. In 2011, it was one nine hour stretch of severe weather that went from midday into the early evening.

One interesting fact was that the National Weather Service in Raleigh issued 31 Tornado Warnings during the April 2011 outbreak. Last Friday, the Raleigh NWS issued 31 Tornado Warnings as well.

There were 13 confirmed tornadoes that occurred on April 19 across North Carolina. On April 16, 2011 there were 30 confirmed tornadoes across the state. The tornadoes on April 19 were considered weak; EF-0 and 1 with the strongest being an EF-2 in Orange County. On April 16, 2011, we saw EF-1 and 2 tornadoes with two storms being rated at EF-3. Clearly, the tornadoes were stronger that day with longer tracks.

Maybe the greatest difference in the events... The injuries and fatalities. We lost 24 people on April 16 due to the storms with over 400 injuries. On April 19 there were no reports of major injuries. And that, in my opinion, is the greatest difference in the severe weather events.

We got through with damage but no one got hurt with the April 19 storms.

And that is a weather win in my book!