22 counties are now under advisories, watches, or severe weather warnings.
Tornado Warning Issued For Harnett, Wake Counties
Storms strike across N.C., funnel clouds reported
5/14/2006 7:09 PM
By: Associated Press
(RALEIGH) - Fierce storms tore across North Carolina from the western foothills to the Outer Banks on Sunday, bringing hail and funnel clouds the central part of the state from the afternoon into the evening.
No injuries or major damage were reported as of early evening, though tornado and storm warnings and watches remained active as the storms moved east.
One tornado touchdown was reported during the midafternoon in a rural area of Cabarrus County. Sheriff's deputy J.H. Johnson said a barn was knocked down and trees and power lines were damaged, but no one was injured.
There was "minor damage to some homes, but nobody was displaced," he said.
Straight-line winds caused the partial collapse of a warehouse in Newton, according to Patty McQuillen, spokeswoman for the state Department of Crime Control and Public Safety.
Tornado warnings were issued for counties surrounding the Raleigh-Durham area in the early evening, but there was no immediate word on whether funnel clouds had been sighted or touched down.
Progress Energy reported about 3,150 customers without power in North Carolina and 1,606 in the area of Florence, S.C., as of 6:30 p.m. Utility spokesman David Martinez said the number of outages reached 12,000 in the Carolinas shortly before 4 p.m. and was steadily decreasing as the evening continued.
About 4,000 Duke Power customers in North Carolina were without power due to stormy weather at about 6:30 p.m., spokeswoman Tina Worley said. About 2,100 were in the Durham-Chapel Hill area and another 1,650 were in Charlotte and surrounding counties, while the rest were scattered across the service area, she said.
Only about 150 outages in South Carolina were due to the storm; another 1,100 in the Clemson area were caused by an equipment failure, Worley said.
Significant amounts of hail were reported in spots across the Piedmont, damaging windows and cars.
The State Highway Patrol reported numerous traffic accidents across the affected area, but no major injuries or deaths.