WRAL meteorologists working on April 16, 2011 remember tornado coverage

STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO

REIMBURSE THE COSTS OF

PROTECTIVE MEASURES, DEBRIS

REMOVAL AND REPAIRS.

>>> TODAY MARKS ONE OF THE

WORST SEVERE WEATHER DAYS IN

OUR HISTORY.

10 YEARS AGO A STRING OF

TORNADOES WREAKED HAVOC ON THE

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA.

WRAL'S TRAINING 24 IS AT STONY

BROOK MOBILE HOME PARK, ONE OF

THE HARDEST HIT AREAS IN THE

TRIANGLE.

ELIZABETH, IT IS TOUGH TO GO

BACK AND LOOK AT ALL OF THIS

AGAIN.

>> THIS IS ONE OF THE HARDEST

HIT PARTS OF WAKE COUNTY.

THIS IS THE STONY BROOK NORTH

NEIGHBORHOOD.

YOU CAN SEE THE HOMES HERE.

IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THERE WAS

ANY DAMAGE WHATSOEVER DONE.

THERE WERE AT LEAST A DOZEN

HOMES THAT WERE DESTROYED AND

EVEN MORE WERE DAMAGED.

THERE WAS A LOT OF CLEANUP TO

DO.

OF COURSE, THAT WAS 10 YEARS

AGO.

UNFORTUNATELY, THERE WERE

PEOPLE WHO DIED IN I WERE NORTH

PART OF NORTH CAROLINA AND THEY

WERE CHILDREN.

YOU CAN SEE THIS MEMORIAL

DEDICATED TO THE RESIDENTS OF

STONY BROOK NORTH WHOSE LIVES

WERE LOST AND FAMILIES IMPACTED

BY THE TORNADO IN 2011.

IT IS A PEACEFUL SPOT, NICE

PLACE TO COME AND REFLECT, OF

COURSE.

TODAY IS A NICE, QUIET DAY.

I CAN REMEMBER IN THE OUR

WEATHER CENTER, AS WE WERE

WATCHING THIS SEVERAL DAYS

BEFORE THESE TORNADOES ARRIVED,

WE COULD SEE THE DEVELOPMENT.

WE COULD SEE THE DEVELOPMENT

THAT COULD SUPPORT STRONG

THUNDERSTORMS AND TORNADOES.

THE DAY OF, THE STORM

PREDICTION CENTER GAVE US THE

VERY HIGHEST LEVEL FOR RISK FOR

SEVERE STORMS.

THAT WAS CERTAINLY SOMETHING I

HAD NEVER SEEN IN AN HOUR AREA

BEFORE.

METEOROLOGIST AIMEE WILMOTH SAT

DOWN AND TALKED TO MIKE MAZE

AND NATE JOHNSON WHO WERE BOTH

COVERING THE STORM FOR US ON

THAT DAY.

>> Reporter: IT STARTED AS A

NICE, SPRING MORNING.

>> YOU NEED TO BE TAKING

SHELTER FROM THIS THUNDERSTORM.

>> Reporter: THE FORMER OUR

WEATHER EXECUTIVE PRODUCER FOR

WRAL KNEW THE DAY WOULD END ON

A VERY DIFFERENT TONE.

>> YOU COULD FEEL IT.

THERE ARE DAYS WHERE YOU COULD

JUST FEEL THE ATMOSPHERE LOADED

WITH ENERGY.

YOU KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE A

LONG DAY.

YOU KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE A

ROUGH DAY.

OUR JOB IN THAT MOMENT IS JUST

TO TRY TO GET PEOPLE THROUGH

IT.

>> Reporter: THE FIRST TORNADO

WARNING KING DOWN AT

>> Reporter: THE FORMER OUR

WEATHER EXECUTIVE PRODUCER FOR

WRAL KNEW THE DAY WOULD END ON

A VERY DIFFERENT TONE.

>> YOU COULD FEEL IT.

THERE ARE DAYS WHERE YOU COULD

JUST FEEL THE ATMOSPHERE LOADED

WITH ENERGY.

YOU KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE A

LONG DAY.

YOU KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE A

ROUGH DAY.

OUR JOB IN THAT MOMENT IS JUST

TO TRY TO GET PEOPLE THROUGH

IT.

>> Reporter: THE FIRST TORNADO

WARNING KING DOWN AT 2:30 PM.

THAT IS WHERE IT ALL GOT

STARTED.

METEOROLOGIST MIKE MAZE SAYS HE

KNEW IT WAS COMING.

>> OH YEAH.

WE WERE REALLY BARELY ON THE

AIR AND READY TO GO AND WE WERE

WALL-TO-WALL I THINK CLEAR

THROUGH 11:30 THAT NIGHT.

>> I THINK WE HAVE 30

TORNADOES, THE GREATEST ONE AND

EIGHT TOUCHED DOWN IN OUR AREA.

IT WAS A CRAZY DAY.

WE HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING LIKE

IT SINCE.

DID ANYTHING JUMP OUT AT YOU?

THIS WAS NOT LOOKING GOOD.

>> IT DEFINITELY HAD A HOOK.

METEOROLOGICALLY SPEAKING, IT

WAS THE CLASSIC COOK YOU WOULD

SEE THAT WOULD PRODUCE A

TORNADO.

>> Reporter: THEN CAME THE

VIDEO FOOTAGE.

>> WE SAW THE DAMAGE AND YOU

KNEW WHAT YOU WERE DEALING WITH

. YOU KNEW THESE WERE NOT JUST

SIGNATURES ON THE RADAR BUT

THESE WERE TORNADOES THAT WERE

DOING DAMAGE AND POTENTIALLY

CAUSING INJURIES AND KILLING

PEOPLE.

THAT HIT HOME FOR ME HOW

SERIOUS, REALLY, TRULY SERIOUS

THIS EVENT WAS GOING TO BE WHEN

IT WAS DONE.

>> Reporter: A DAY OF FIRSTS

FOR MANY NORTH CAROLINIANS, THE

FIRST TIME FOR OUR VIEWERS TO

LEARN ABOUT DEBRIS SIGNATURES

ON THE RADAR, HOW INCREDIBLE

THE RADAR CAN NOW SHARE WITH US

WHERE DEBRIS FROM A TORNADO IS

BEING LOFTED INTO THE SKY.

>> WE HAD NEVER SEEN THAT WHAT

DUAL DOPPLER 5000, WHICH WAS

ONE OF THE FIRST TIMES WE HAD

EVER SEEN THAT.

WE SAW THAT MULTIPLE TIMES THAT

AFTERNOON.

>> Reporter: HOW DID YOU FEEL

AT THE END OF THE DAY?

HE SAW THE DAMAGE.

YOU GUYS WERE ON FOR HOURS, YOU

HAD TO HAVE BEEN EXHAUSTED.

>> WE WERE EXHAUSTED.

YOU ARE ALWAYS SAD WHEN THERE

ARE FATALITIES IN YOUR

MARKETING WHEN TORNADOES COME

BY AND WONDER IF YOU COULD HAVE

DONE BETTER AND IF YOU MISSED

ANYTHING.

>> THE STORY THAT HAUNTS ME

FROM THAT DAY, THE FAMILY IN

NORTH RALEIGH, THEY WERE IN

THEIR HOME AND DOING EVERYTHING

RIGHT.

THE TORNADO JUST FELL IN THE

ABSOLUTE WRONG PLACE.

THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT LITERALLY

DID EVERYTHING RIGHT AND YET WE

STILL LOST THEM.

>> AFTER THE EVENT WAS DONE,

THIS WAS THE BENCHMARK, THIS

WAS PROBABLY THE WORST TORNADO

OUTBREAK I WILL EVER EXPERIENCE

OF MY CAREER.

I AM HOPING THAT IS STILL THE

CASE.

>> INCREDIBLE TO HEAR THOSE

STORIES.

IF YOU WERE HERE DURING THAT

EVENT, IT WAS REALLY SOMETHING,