Chapelboro.com is re-publishing some of the top stories that impacted our community in 2019. These were stories that affected Chapel Hill, Carrboro and the rest of our local area.

On April 19, a tornado touched down in Orange County and caused $1 million in damages.

The EF-2 tornado landed near White Cross and traveled northeast to Hillsborough. The National Weather Service estimated that winds were initially around 110 miles per hour when the tornado was in White Cross.

Governor Roy Cooper visited Orange County the day after the tornado struck and met with local farmers at Maple View Farm in Hillsborough.

Read our initial report from the day the tornado struck Orange County:

Meteorologists in the local area reported that a tornado touched down in Hillsborough on Friday afternoon.

According to multiple outlets, the tornado touched down west of Carrboro and moved north before crossing I-40 in Hillsborough. Orange County officials have not been able to confirm if a tornado officially touched down, but the storm-related damages were substantial.

Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood confirmed that one residence near I-40 and Old N.C. 86 – Exit 261 was destroyed due to the storm. Video provided by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department showed multiple trees downed in that area along with the building destroyed. Blackwood said that there were no injuries reported from the incident.

Friday saw many tornado warnings issued throughout North Carolina and Orange County. The Town of Chatham County reported that they had received one report of a possible touchdown of a minor tornado on the north side of Siler City with some damage to a few buildings.

In a release, the Town of Hillsborough said that power lines are down at U.S. 70-A and Meadowlands Drive. In addition, there are scattered power and traffic light outages throughout the the local area.

Orange County officials are asking residents to avoid the area near I-40 and Old N.C. 86 while first responders assess the damage.

Continue reading here.

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