Forecasters say that conditions that produced tornadoes in North Carolina earlier this month have dissipated, but residents should remain vigilant because tornadoes can occur anytime.

Phil Hysell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Blacksburg, Va., said that tornadoes that occurred in Alleghany, Johnston, Wilson and Robeson counties in recent weeks were caused by a stationary front over North Carolina that combined with moisture from the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico and a low-pressure system in the atmosphere.

Those conditions spawned severe thunderstorms that formed the tornadoes, Hysell said. May and June are the peak months for tornadoes.

At least 33 tornadoes had been reported in North Carolina this year, according to the weather service's storm prediction center.

On May 5, tornadoes were reported in Johnston and Wilson counties in Eastern North Carolina. One person was injured in Johnston County.

In Northwest North Carolina on May 8, two tornadoes touched down in Alleghany County, injuring six people.

Those tornadoes were first to touch down in Alleghany since 1973, weather service officials said.

The most damaging tornado in Alleghany had winds between 110 to 120 mph, lifted a mobile home and threw it across Osee Road. It occurred 21/2 miles northwest of Ennice community. Four people - Crystal Ward Smith, her husband, John, and their two daughters, Taylor and Patience, were injured.

Rex Tolliver, a supervisor and paramedic with the Alleghany County Emergency Medical Service, said that the Smith family was fortunate to survive the tornado.

"It is a miracle that any of them survived," Tolliver said. "To see the remains of the trailer and what they went through, it could have been a lot worse."

Two people in a house also were injured when a second tornado with winds up to 95 mph touched down near Jarvis Road.

Last Monday in Robeson County in the southeastern corner of the state, strong winds up to 125 mph injured one person as it knocked down several trees and power lines. The wind storm caused $813 million in damage to seven houses and 11 mobile homes.

The conditions that produced that severe weather, have dissipated as the stationery front moved north, Hysell said.

By July and August, stationary fronts and the jet stream will stay north of North Carolina, further reducing the risk of tornado-producing storms, Hysell said. However, residents must stay aware of the weather and approaching storms because tornadoes can happen in any month.

Many tornadoes that occur in the United States happen in the region between Texas and Nebraska, know as "Tornado Alley." Texas has had 61 reported tornadoes this year.

Jeff Orrock, a meteorologist with the weather service in Raleigh, said that most deadly tornadoes occur in March, May and November. Many tornadoes that have occurred in central and Eastern North Carolina this year happened during daytime hours.

"People were awake and heard the warnings," Orrock said. "These storms were strong enough to cause fatalities, but people were aware that severe weather was coming through and they took shelter."

Deaths typically occur in tornadoes when they happen at night when people are sleeping in their homes, Orrock said.

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