Tornado watch ends for most of Charlotte region

A tornado watch expired for most of the Charlotte area on Wednesday afternoon.

Most of the Charlotte region had been under the watch since morning.

A “high wind” advisory, however, remains in effect for Mecklenburg and surrounding counties until 7 p.m. and a wind advisory until midnight. Winds could be strong enough to topple more trees onto homes, roads and power lines.

Strong winds throughout the morning and early afternoon knocked numerous trees and power lines down in the region.

As of Wednesday afternoon, about 5,200 Duke Energy customers were without power in Mecklenburg County, 2,500 in Burke County, 2,000 in Rutherford County and about 1,100 each in Catawba and Cabarrus counties.

Most of the town of Spencer in Rowan County remained without power Wednesday afternoon, according to the Spencer Fire Department.

Trees were knocked onto major and minor roads throughout the region, including Interstate 277 near uptown Charlotte and South Boulevard near the Atherton Mill complex.

Numerous arrivals and departures were delayed at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, primarily because of poor weather elsewhere in the country, including the Northeast.

Conditions should improve immensely by Thursday, which is expected to be sunny with a high of 52. No wind or tornado advisories are expected.

Correspondent Steve Lyttle contributed.

This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 6:03 AM with the headline "Tornado watch ends for most of Charlotte region."