Cleanup begins after strong storms topple trees in Charlotte, Albemarle

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Strong storms that rolled through the Charlotte area overnight moved quickly off to the east by Friday morning, but not before leaving thousands in the dark and causing widespread damage across the region.

[LINK: INTERACTIVE RADAR]

The National Weather Service had a Tornado Watch in effect for 43 counties in central and eastern North Carolina until late Friday morning. No serious injuries were reported.

[IMAGES: Strong storms topple trees, knock out power across region]

There was a Tornado Warning issued overnight for Anson, Stanly, Union and Richmond counties, but the threat has moved out and the advisory was dropped before dawn.

(Click PLAY for Steve Udelson's forecast update)

A power outage in Alexander County was causing an issue for students Friday morning. Sugar Loaf Elementary had to operate on a 2-hour delay to give crews time to fix the outages.

[READ MORE: SC families devastated after storms rip through mobile homes]

Duke Energy reported more than 17,000 customers without service Friday morning. The biggest problems were reported in Durham, Guilford, Johnston and Rockingham counties.

[CLICK HERE FOR DUKE ENERGY OUTAGE MAP]

In Stanly County, the storm knocked down dozens of trees, which also brought down power lines. The storm rolled through Albemarle around 2:20 a.m. At that time, there was a Severe Thunderstorm Warning, but no Tornado Warning.

(Click PLAY to watch Keith Monday explains the wind speeds in Albemarle)

The Tornado Warning that was eventually issued for Stanly County was actually south of Albemarle, and winds were estimated at around 60 mph.

A large tree crashed through a home on New Castle Court overnight. The homeowner said there were three children sleeping in the house and that the tree smashed into a 6-year-old girl’s bedroom.

Fortunately, she was sleeping in her mother’s room at the time.

Others said the heavy wind caused a tree to crash into the middle of his roadway.

"I saw that tree was laying across the street and into my yard. The wind was horrific out here at the time,” said  David Treece.

At another home, Dennis McClure woke up to this damage early Friday morning. A massive tree barely hit the side of his house.

"When you look out the window and see that, a tree that size, 4 feet, beside your babies’ window, you understand how grateful you can possibly be," McClure said.

The damage to the house was minor.

About 4,000 people lost power and it was restored early Friday.

Along Main Street, Channel 9 saw extensive damage, with trees dangling precariously across power lines.

The damage was so bad that residents have created a public Facebook group to report what they've seen.

Work crews were scattered across the county all morning, helping cut up fallen trees and remove debris from the roads.

Albemarle police were urging people to stay off the roads due to localized flooding and downed lines.

(Click PLAY to see damage over Albemarle from Chopper 9)

Severe weather happens more often in the Albemarle area than in Charlotte.

Storms cross the mountains and typically lose steam as the elevation drops, protecting Charlotte.

The storms move east, farther from the mountains, and hit the Uwharrie Forest, where elevation rises again.

That is when the storms fire back up.

In Charlotte, crews had to shut down the ramp from 12th Street to the Brookshire Freeway in uptown because of water covering the road. It was finally reopened around 8 a.m.

The storms knocked down more trees in Charlotte, including one that crashed down on a car on Eaves Lane in east Charlotte. Nobody was in the car.

A few blocks away, crews were working throughout the night to restore power in the NoDa and Plaza Midwood areas.

At the height of the storm, there were nearly 3,000 without power in the area. As of noon, only a few hundred remained in the dark.

LOOKING AHEAD: Conditions will remain mostly cloudy all day, breezy and much cooler, with highs in the mid-to-upper 60s. A few small showers could return later Friday, but won't add up to much.

It will be the same story for Charlotte on Saturday, with a small chance of light showers in the afternoon. The sunshine returns by Sunday as we stay in the 60s.

Weather Resources:

• Track the rain with WSOC-TV weather app
• Explore the interactive radar

Cox Media Group