Raleigh, North Carolina

:Raleigh redirects here. For the bicycle manufacturer, see Raleigh (bicycle). For the English explorer, see Sir Walter Raleigh.

History

Raleigh was established in 1792 as both the new county seat and the new state capital. It was named for Sir Walter Raleigh, sponsor of the Colony of Roanoke, known as the "Lost Colony." The site was chosen as being within ten miles of Isaac Hunter's Tavern, a tavern popular with the legislators of the time. No city or town existed on the site before it was chosen to house the capital.

Related Topics:
1792 - Sir Walter Raleigh - Colony of Roanoke - Isaac Hunter's Tavern

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The F4 tornado of November 28, 1988

On November 28, 1988, at about 1 am, a tornado with wind speeds exceeding 200 mph suddenly touched down in west Raleigh. The supercell thunderstorm that generated the tornado formed in an unusual situation; the early morning hours of late November were believed to not be conducive to the development of such storms. As a result, the National Weather Service issued no watches or warnings before the storm developed http://www2.ncsu.edu/eos/service/pams/meas/www/foamv/ERPWEB/erp30.html.

Related Topics:
November 28 - 1988 - Tornado - Mph - Supercell thunderstorm - National Weather Service

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The tornado blasted an unusually drawn out length for tornadoes in the region. The twister first touched down in Umstead State Park, before moving on to destroy a motel and then a USD 7-million K-Mart store on Glenwood Avenue. Damage and casualties included 400-500 destroyed or heavily damaged homes and two fatalities; both of them children, and claimed two more additional victims. A series of tornadoes would continue across eight other North Carolinia counties. In all 150-200 people were injured, the majority in Raleigh.

Related Topics:
Umstead State Park - USD - K-Mart

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The intensity of the tornado, as gauged by speed, rests around the F3-F4 dividing point on the Fujita scale, with some F4 level damage observed in Raleigh.

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