‘The whole house was shaking.’ 80-mph tornado crossed I-77 at Lake Norman, NWS says.
An 80-mph tornado formed over Lake Norman Saturday morning, crossed Interstate 77 and narrowly missed Mooresville Middle School as it snapped trees along a nearly 8-mile path, according to the National Weather Service.
The EF-0 tornado emerged at 7:27 a.m. in a line of severe thunderstorms with hail that smacked Gaston, Lincoln, northern Mecklenburg and southern Iredell counties, meteorologists in the NWS office in Greer, South Carolina, told The Charlotte Observer.
EF-0 is the weakest of six tornado classifications on NOAA’s Enhanced Fujita Scale for tornado intensity and damage. NOAA is short for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Lake Norman, Davidson tornado damage
After forming 3 miles northwest of Davidson in southern Iredell County, the tornado barreled onshore at the Davidson College lake campus, hurled picnic tables into the lake and downed large trees, an NWS damage survey team found Sunday.
“Numerous spots along the shore between the Lake Campus and Interstate 77 saw snapped tree trunks or large branches,” according to a report by the team. “One large poplar tree was uprooted and damaged other large trees as it fell.”
A fence and a well head also were damaged.
The tornado crossed I-77 at about 7:30 a.m. and leveled numerous large, healthy tree branches between Langtree Road and Blackwelder Farm Drive, according to the report.
Near Mooresville Middle School, a fence collapsed and a tree was uprooted, NWS meteorologists said. The team found uprooted trees between Linwood Road and Teeter Road and determined that the tornado dissipated at 7:39 a.m. in Rowan County.
The tornado traveled 7.79 miles and was 30 yards wide, according to the NWS report.
No injuries were reported from the storms.
Previously, the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for the Lake Norman area Saturday morning, including the towns of Davidson, Cornelius and Mooresville.
Storm damage reports
On Saturday, the NWS received a report of trees felled on Newbury Drive, off Faith Road, NWS meteorologist Jake Wimberley told the Observer.
That’s just east of N.C. 115 and unincorporated Mount Mourne at the lake and along the path of the tornado confirmed Sunday.
About eight and a half miles to the northwest, the NWS received a report of a structure collapse on Preston Road, Wimberley said. That’s off Cornelius Road in Mooresville on the lake.
“The whole house was shaking, and hail was just a flying,” Mark Davis, who lives in that general area, said on NextDoor Saturday morning. “Thank the good Lord that we are safe, but I also want to say I hope all the neighbors are as well. Prayers sent to everyone around me.”
The NWS urged anyone who saw tornadic-like weather to fill out an online StormReport.
Duke Energy reported only limited outages in the Charlotte area from the storms. Charlotte Douglas International Airport say hundreds of flight delays due to the storm, which prompted a temporary ground stop.
Charlotte forecast
All sunshine was predicted Monday, according to the NWS Charlotte forecast.
Tuesday could grow cloudy, and Wednesday has a 50% chance of rain, according to the NWS. Rain is likely late Wednesday and early Thursday, with the chance at 60%, NWS forecasters said.
Rain chances fall to 40% by Friday, the forecast showed.
Highs are then expected to climb to 66 Thursday and 67 Friday.
This story was originally published April 22, 2023 at 7:45 AM.