Early storms knock out power for more than 2,000 customers across Charlotte area
A line of strong thunderstorms moved through the Charlotte area early Friday, knocking out power for more than 2,000 Duke Energy customers.
At 8:40 a.m., about 1,650 customers were without electricity in north Charlotte, along Statesville Road, from Interstate 485 to about Stumptown Road, according to Duke Energy’s outage map. Power was restored to that area around 12:30 p.m.
Nearly 500 along Ardrey Kell Road near Tom Short Road in south Charlotte also are affected. Those customers saw their power back around 10:30 a.m.
About 300 customers in northwest Charlotte and about 600 in along Unity Church Road on Lake Norman in Denver, N.C., are also without power. Service resumed between 9:45 a.m. and 10:30 a.m, according to Duke Energy.
Another batch of scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms could cross the region Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service said in an alert at 4 a.m. The chances of storms are greatest along and east of the Interstate 77 corridor, the NWS said.
The Charlotte area could see some sun and a high near 81, according to the NWS forecast. Wind gusts could reach 21 mph.
Tornado warnings were issued for much of the Charlotte region Thursday night as strong storms swept through Western North Carolina. The Charlotte metro area saw a severe thunderstorm warning expire at 9:45 p.m.
Tornado warnings were issued early Thursday evening for areas around Mecklenburg County, including Iredell, Alexander, Catawba, Cleveland and Gaston counties.
NWS meteorologists issued a total of 11 tornado warnings, nine flash flood warnings and eight severe thunderstorm warnings across the Charlotte area, Upstate SC and parts of the NC foothills and mountains on Thursday, the NWS office in Greer, S.C., said on Twitter Friday.
Cherryville resident Austin Edwards filmed a funnel cloud above Mooresboro in Cleveland County, which WCNC chief meterologist Brad Panovich and the NWS Greer office retweeted Thursday afternoon.
And WBTV chief meteorologist Al Conklin tweeted hail video recorded by Shelby resident Sharina Byers.
Iredell-Statesville Schools announced schools would be on a one-hour delay Friday due to reports of “significant damage and trees down impacting our campuses.”
The delay will allow school system crews “to assess any damage or obstacles impacting our bus routes,” according to an Iredell-Statesville news release. “Upon daylight, our team will reevaluate the situation and make an additional call if needed.”
Tornado in Charlotte this week
An EF-1 tornado with peak winds of about 100 mph hit parts of the Charlotte area Monday, downing trees onto homes and power lines, according to the NWS.
The tornado touched down near Burnt Umber Drive, just south of Reedy Creek Park, in east Charlotte, around 1:37 p.m., according to a preliminary report Tuesday. It headed northeast along a 10-mile path toward the Camelot neighborhood in the Cabarrus County town of Harrisburg, the report said.
The tornado “lifted” near Rocky River Elementary School in Concord around 1:51 p.m., the report said.
EF-1 is the second least-intense of six tornado rankings based on the Enhanced Fujita Scale for potential damage caused.
The NWS also confirmed an EF-0 tornado touched down in Chester County, near Great Falls High School, on Monday evening. The tornado was on the ground for about four-tenths of a mile near Dewitt Road between the school and Interstate 77, the weather service reported Wednesday. The tornado was just 25 yards wide.
Memorial Day Weekend outlook
Friday night should be partly cloudy with a low around 61.
Sunshine is in the forecast for Memorial Day Weekend, with respective highs of 82 Saturday, 87 Sunday, 89 on Monday and the low 90s on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the NWS.
This story was originally published May 26, 2022 at 11:33 AM.