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STORM DAMAGE: Cleaning up after severe weather slams Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Severe thunderstorms fired up Tuesday afternoon and into the evening around the Charlotte area. Those storms prompted severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings throughout the Carolinas.

[PHOTOS: Storms sweep across area Tuesday]

Winds and heavy rain toppled trees onto homes and vehicles.

A massive tree crushed a home on Yadkin Avenue in NoDa, near Amelie's French Bakery, causing so much damage that firefighters said the structure is unsafe.

The home has been deemed a total loss.

That tree was just one of dozens that fell across the area, as well as power lines, as severe weather rolled through Tuesday night.

[RESCUED: Two saved from submerged SUV along flooded road outside uptown]

Crews were busy overnight as they began cleaning up from the storms and restoring power to hundreds.

[CLICK HERE to see Duke Energy's outage map]

As of 9 a.m., about 800 Duke Energy customers were without power in Mecklenburg County, many of them in Plaza Midwood, NoDa and the Belmont neighborhoods.

At the peak of the storm, outages were close to 3,000.

[PHOTOS: Severe storms knock down trees across Charlotte]

More than 300 were in the dark in Cabarrus County and a little over 200 in Gaston County, as well as a handful in Cleveland and York counties.

The root system of the tree that toppled onto the home on Yadkin Avenue is so big that you could barely see the house behind it.

Channel 9 could see extensive damage to the house, where the right side was crushed and some large branches were sticking out of the side.

Thankfully, nobody was home when the tree fell.

[FORECAST: After storms clear out, temperatures set to climb]

Several power lines were also down along Yadkin Avenue.

Neighbors told Channel 9 that the tree's dry roots, combined with the strong winds, are what caused the tree to come down.

“It does make me more comfortable no one was here. No one was hurt,” said neighbor Larry White. “The house can be rebuilt, people can't.”

Caution tape and a sign that read “unsafe” were placed around the home.

Duke Energy and an inspector are expected to arrive sometime Wednesday morning to look at the damage.

Downed power lines were also a problem on Parson Street at Grace Street, where they were blocking the road. That was taking place just a block from Union Street, where power lines were also down.

Channel 9 also saw a huge tree that crashed down in the yard of an in-home day care in west Charlotte on Fourth Street and Victoria Avenue.

A tree limb fell on part of the roof, damaging the bathroom and the day care center.

There were several people home at the time, but no one was injured.

Channel 9 meteorologist Vicki Graf went inside the home and saw the damage firsthand. The ceiling of the bathroom fell in, leaving debris scattered everywhere.

Winds blew at an estimated 60 miles an hour.

With all that, homeowner Angie Patterson is thankful no one was hurt.

“So, it's just a blessing,” Patterson said. “This is just materialistic, it can be repaired. We're just thanking God that we are OK."

In the day care center, part of the ceiling was torn up and heavy rain fell inside that room, leaving water damage.

Earlier Tuesday night, two men were trapped inside a submerged SUV on North Tryon Street near East 16th Street after heavy rains battered the area.

[IMAGES: Two saved from submerged SUV along flooded road outside uptown]

They managed to climb out of the SUV in the flooded street and firefighters brought them to safety.

(Click PLAY to watch the dramatic rescue)

Weather resources:

Cox Media Group

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