A tornado spawned by Florence touched down in North Carolina on Sept. 17, leaving damage in the Elm City area.
The tornado was reported over Elm City around 7:30 a.m., eight miles southwest of Rocky Mount, according to the National Weather Service.
Tornado warnings were also issued for Durham County and eastern Orange County around 7:30 a.m. but they were discontinued about 30 minutes later with no confirmed tornado spottings.
Damage in Elm City
Susan Pittman, who lives in Elm City, said she, her husband, and her grandchild were woken up by the tornado warning. They got up and headed to a closet just moments before a tree toppled right onto their house, where the grandson Taylor had been sleeping.“I saw it, and the roof had just collapsed in the den.”
National Weather Service meteorologist Jonathan Blaes told the Times that staff with the service planned to do a damage survey in the coming days.
There were also reports of damage inflicted by the tornado outside of Elm City limits.




