18,000 without power as severe storms race across the Charlotte area Friday
Severe storms knocked out power to at least 18,000 Duke Energy customers in the Charlotte area and 23,500 statewide on Friday, after the region faced another day of stifling temperatures from a lingering heat dome.
At 6:15 p.m., outages included at least 9,100 in Mecklenburg County; 3,900 in Gaston County; 1,700 in Iredell County; and 1,400 in Cabarrus County, according to the company outage map.
About 7,000 customers were without power to the northeast in the Winston-Salem area.
No damage was immediately reported.
At 7 p.m., at least 537 flights were delayed at Charlotte Douglas, according to tracking site Flight Aware.com.
Storm warnings across the region
The NWS issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Lake Norman until 5:15 p.m. Forecasters warned of 60 mph gusts and pea-sized hail.
Winds and rains lashed across Mooresville, Davidson and Cornelius at the lake around 4:30 p.m.
Concord, Huntersville and Kannapolis were under the same warning until 5:45 p.m. and Charlotte’s airport and Gastonia until 6 p.m.
Forecasters earlier warned of heat index values between 100 and 105 degrees.
That’s how hot the outdoors feels combining temperature and humidity.
The good news? A drastic drop in temperatures is forecast after the nasty weather, as the dome finally lifts, according to the National Weather Service.
Charlotte forecast
Saturday has a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms as a drastic cool down is expected.
After a high of 91 on Friday, the NWS forecasts highs of 77 on Saturday, 79 on Sunday, 83 on Monday, 82 on Tuesday, 84 on Wednesday, 85 on Thursday and 87 on Friday.
The return chance of showers and thunderstorms hovers between 40% and 50% all week, the forecast showed.
This story was originally published August 1, 2025 at 9:57 AM.