Insurance adjustors are facing a busy day, in the wake of a severe thunderstorm Sunday that was notable for the large hail it produced north of Charlotte.
Baseball-sized hail fell in some areas as the compact but potent storm carved out a 90-mile path from western Lincoln County to western Montgomery County. The storm produced at least one tornado and numerous reports of funnel clouds.
No injuries and little significant property damage were reported, though. The biggest problems were dented vehicles and possible damage to roofs from the large hail.
The storm's intensity and speed startled residents throughout its track, from Lincoln County east through Mecklenburg and into Cabarrus and Stanly counties.
Kevin Vanover was driving back to his Cabarrus County home from Charlotte about 6:10 p.m. His wife had called him about the storm approaching from the west, so he was looking for funnel clouds.
At Derita and Poplar Tent roads, he saw one. It was the first funnel cloud he'd ever seen in person.
"Luckily, it wasn't on the ground or destroying anything," he said afterward. "Just freaking people out."
The storm arrived in Lincoln County about 4:15 p.m., moving quickly -- at about 30 mph -- toward the Lake Norman area of Mecklenburg County, according to the National Weather Service. It was a branch of the same weather system responsible for tornadoes that killed more than 20 people Saturday and Sunday in the Midwest and Southeast.
The weather service said a tornado touched down in a field near the Cat Square community in western Lincoln County, although it caused no damage. Hail, some of it baseball-sized, damaged Emergency Management Director Susan Spake's county-issued car. "There was so much of it, I had to stop," Spake said.
It was an unusually isolated storm, moving alone rather than as part of a larger storm system. The sun shone 20 miles south of where the hail fell. Strong winds blowing aloft in the atmosphere created strong updrafts in the thunderstorm -- a recipe for tornadoes and hail as the storm moved east.
Robert Monto, another Cabarrus County resident, and his wife, children and parents had just gotten home from dinner when strong rain, then hail, fell. Most of it was marble-sized, Monto said.
Monto's mother and children took shelter in a downstairs bathroom while he and his father watched the storm from the garage.
"I honestly thought we were going to see a funnel cloud come down," Monto said. The hail lasted for 20 minutes. Then the sun came out.
The weather service issued tornado watches for the central and eastern parts of North Carolina as the storm pushed toward the ocean.
Six people received minor injuries and thousands lost power as the storm moved through the eastern part of the state. And authorities in Charleston County in South Carolina investigated a report of a possible tornado that downed trees and damaged some homes.
That wasn't the only severe weather in the Carolinas on Sunday.
The weather service issued a high wind warning for the mountains and a lake wind advisory for the Piedmont -- both unrelated to the other storm.
But while breezy conditions will persist into today, severe weather won't. In the Charlotte area, forecasters expect sunshine and highs in the low 70s. -- wcnc-tv and the associated press contributed.
-- Greg Lacour: 704-358-5067; Steve Lyttle: 704-358-5006
Insured? Most auto and homeowner's policies cover hail damage. Check with your company for details.
