2 men killed by severe storms that roared through the Charlotte area
Two men died when Charlotte-area severe storms toppled trees onto homes and cars Friday, authorities said.
On Saturday, National Weather Service meteorologists confirmed two tornadoes had touched down — one in southern Gaston County and the other near Blacksburg in Cherokee County, S.C., that ended in York County.
A man died in the 2700 block of Idlewood Circle near Freedom Park in Charlotte when a tree crashed into a home, Observer news partner WBTV reported, citing Charlotte Fire Department officials. The man’s name and age have not been released.
And 57-year-old Joe Dale Humphries of Lancaster, S.C.., died when a tree and utility pole fell on his truck in Lancaster, The (Rock Hill) Herald reported, citing Lancaster County Coroner Karla Knight-Deese.
In Mecklenburg County, 23,500 Duke Energy customer remained without power Saturday morning. That number fell to 10,700 by 5 p.m.
McMullen Creek Greenway was temporarily closed Saturday morning because of storm damage to the boardwalk near the 1-mile marker.
Providence Road at Vernon Drive was closed because of a large tree on the road. Trees also fell on Vernon Drive.
In Charlotte’s Elizabeth neighborhood, 10 giant willow oaks fell on East 5th Street between Laurel Avenue and Osborne Avenue, according to Donna Bise, who has lived on East 5th Street for 40 years. Seven homes were damaged, she said, while hers was spared.
“We had a tornado warning,” Bise told The Charlotte Observer. “ The winds were swirling right down the street, and everybody took to the center of their homes. It was fast, and it was furious.”
A 100-year-old giant oak totaled neighbor Maria Cohen’s Dodge Caravan — “like a pancake,” Cohen said. The tree also claimed some of the roof above the front porch of the house where she and her husband, Arthur, have lived for 14 years.
Cohen said she received the tornado warning on her phone but still went outside to check what was happening. “Then I heard the tree start to uproot from the ground, and I immediately went inside to the back of the basement.”
She didn’t budge for 15 minutes, until someone kept banging on the door and asking if she was OK.
The storm struck just after 4:30 p.m. A tornado warning issued for Charlotte expired at about that time.
A large tree also fell on a home on East Boulevard near Freedom Park, and a tree limb knocked down a power line at South Kings Drive and East Boulevard, Observer news partner WBTV reported.
Two lanes of Park Road were blocked after a tree toppled power lines near Holy Trinity Middle School, according to the station.
The storm was among a line of severe thunderstorms barreling into Mecklenburg and surrounding counties from the west.
The storms could pack “damaging gusts (up) to 60 mph” along with heavy rainfall, NWS meteorologists warned in alerts Friday morning.
Mountain Island Lake residents in particular should stay alert to possible flooding, as levels of the Catawba River and its lakes are already high due to this week’s rains, according to one NWS alert.
Charlotte was under the tornado warning with Belmont in eastern Gaston County. A warning means radar indicated a possible tornado or an NWS spotter saw one.
Mecklenburg and surrounding counties also were under a severe thunderstorm watch until 8 p.m.
Memorial Day weekend storm prospects
Areas northwest of Charlotte, including parts of Lincoln, Cleveland and Catawba counties, saw strong thunderstorms Saturday afternoon.
The chance of storms for Charlotte rises to 50% after 9 a.m. Sunday. The day should be partly sunny with a predicted high of 86.
Memorial Day in Charlotte has a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11 a.m. The day is expected to be mostly cloudy, with an expected high of 79 degrees, NWS forecasters said.
Hail, downpours accompanied storms
Friday’s storms moved into the Charlotte region at about 3 p.m.
The storms started in Tennessee and Alabama Friday morning, NWS meteorologist Jake Wimberley told The Charlotte Observer.
Hail and heavy downpours accompanied the systems, according to the NWS.
Medic initially reported no injuries.
“So NC wants to go to Phase 2 at 5pm??? MOTHER NATURE,” former Charlotte City Council member LaWana Mayfield tweeted Friday afternoon with a photo of a downpour. That was when Phase Two of Gov. Roy Cooper’s reopening of the state began.
Gaston County tornado
The southern Gaston County tornado touched down at 3:43 p.m. and traveled 8.74 miles at a maximum 85 mph, before dissipating three miles from Gastonia, according to an NWS damage survey report. No one was hurt.
The tornado was an EF-0, the weakest on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which rates tornadoes by their speed and resulting damage.
The NWS team tracked uprooted trees and other damage that began along Crowders Creek Road near Sparrow Springs Road and continued northeast across Ferguson Ridge Road, U.S. 321 and Robinson Road. Signs of the tornado, including minor damage to buildings, ended near Gastonia Municipal Airport.
Friday’s other tornado, an EF-1 packing 95-mph winds, traveled 12.9 miles from near Blacksburg in Cherokee County to York County, S.C., an NWS team confirmed Saturday afternoon.
The tornado was embedded in a larger area of downburst winds near Kings Mountain National Military Park in northeast Cherokee and and northwest York counties, according to the team’s report.
Mountain Island Lake flood alert
The National Weather Service also issued flood warnings to Mountain Island Lake residents.
About 40 riverside families at Mountain Island Lake sued Duke Energy recently, accusing the company of mishandling a June 2019 flood, The Observer reported.
At least a foot of rain fell in some parts of the Catawba basin over three days, and on June 9, Duke released the largest amount of water ever from Lake Norman, the Observer reported.
Duke Energy manages the Catawba River basin lakes under federal license.
The combination released an up-to-8-foot surge into more than 100 homes in northwest Charlotte, many of them on Riverside Drive along Mountain Island Lake, according to the lawsuit. The flooding caused millions in damages, residents said in the lawsuit.
A Duke spokeswoman said at the time of the lawsuit filing that the company “stands by the operational decisions made in June 2019 and will vigorously defend itself against the allegations in the lawsuit.”
Staff Writer Rick Bonnell contributed.
This story was originally published May 23, 2020 at 10:37 AM.