Severe storms sweep across North Carolina, bringing strong winds and possible tornadoes
A line of strong storms barreled across North Carolina on Thursday, moving faster than forecasters had predicted as it dumped rain and spawned possible tornadoes.
Western North Carolina was hit with the storm first, with strong winds roaring through the Charlotte region late in the morning.
The National Weather Services tweeted around noon Thursday that a tornado was spotted in Rowan County, north of Charlotte, The Charlotte Observer reported. A tornado was seen in Kannapolis, city spokeswoman Annette Privette Keller told the Observer.
A driver reportedly died when his truck hydroplaned and overturned in a creek in Gaston County during the storm, according to the Observer.
Another driver, south of Charlotte in York County, S.C., died when a tree fell on his car, multiple media outlets reported.
In the Triangle, the National Weather Service issued severe storm warnings and tornado warnings and watches. Heavy rain and strong winds pounded the area earlier than expected.
“The eastward arrival and progression of the line of severe storms has sped up quite a bit,” the Raleigh office of the National Weather Service said on Twitter about 1:35 p.m.
Threats from the storm lingered Friday, as the National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for central North Carolina. The Triangle is expected to see wind gusts of up to 30 mph.
Power outages
More than 100,000 people were without power by Thursday afternoon, with the most outages in Wake and Mecklenburg counties. In Wake, more than 43,000 were without power at 4 p.m., shortly after the worst of the storm moved through, according to the N.C. Department of Public Safety.
Triangle schools dismissed students two hours early because of the storms.
After the storms blew through, some school districts announced delays and cancellations for Friday. Wake, Durham and Johnston schools will have a two-hour delay. Franklin County has canceled all classes.
Durham schools also canceled before-school care programs.
A flash flood warning was issued for Wake County until 7 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.
A flood watch was still in effect through late Thursday for several counties, including Chatham, Durham and Orange.
Durham and Wake counties also are under a tornado watch until 7 p.m., forecasters say. A watch means “conditions are favorable for the development of tornadoes” while a warning means a tornado is “imminent.”
This story was originally published February 6, 2020 at 6:58 AM with the headline "Severe storms sweep across North Carolina, bringing strong winds and possible tornadoes."
