CHARLOTTE — Strong winds and torrential downpours rolling through the Carolinas Wednesday morning.
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning is in effect for Anson, Richmond, and Stanly counties until 9:30 a.m.
Mecklenburg County is also under a Tornado Watch until 1 p.m.
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Channel 9 Meteorologist Keith Monday predicted rain totals could add up quickly to close to 1″.
School districts adjusted their schedules this week ahead of the severe weather.
So far, Catawba County and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools have announced they’ll be closed on Wednesday.
Schools in Cabarrus County will operate on a remote learning schedule and Fort Mill Schools will be on a two-hour delay.
Hundreds of flight cancellations were reported at Charlotte Douglas International Airport Wednesday morning.
Just after 10 a.m., FlightAware showed more than 170 cancellations and 101 delays.
You can check the status of your flight, or visit your airline’s website, on FlightAware.
Traffic Team 9′s Mark Taylor monitored impacts on highways and roads across the state Wednesday. Heavy rain was expected to overwhelm storm drains and lead to minor street flooding.
A bridge engineer from the N.C. Department of Transportation dispatched a crew from Raleigh to inspect two bridges over I-85 in Gaston County after they were struck by a vehicle around 5:30 a.m.
Both the Belmont-Mt. Holly Road overpass and a train bridge sustained damage, resulting in their closure, as well as the ramp from southbound I-85 to exit 26.
UPDATE: @NCDOT says there are 2 bridges that need to be inspected after an early morning crash on I-85 SB x26. A crew has been dispatched from Raleigh to check on #Belmont #MtHolly Rd. over I-85 as well as a train bridge. https://t.co/2o0glKYFLD
— Traffic Team 9 (@TrafficTeam9) March 5, 2025
The right lane of I-85 was also closed and expected to reopen before the afternoon rush hour. Thankfully, MEDIC said there were no injuries.
Timeline
The storm system was expected to start in the mountains around 5 a.m. and reach the metro area after 7 a.m.
Here are some time stamps for today's storm risk.
— Keith Monday (@kmondayWSOC9) March 5, 2025
High country: Now-7 am
Foothills to metro: 7-9 am
South and southeast: 9-11 am
Big rain and big wind expected to pick up during these times. Minor flooding of poor drainage areas may show up with the intense downpours. pic.twitter.com/si0UkRTJXu
Strong, damaging winds are the main threat along with the heavy rain.
There may not end up being that much lightning with the system.
All of this moves out by midday and then we just deal with the gusty winds the rest of the day.
Winds will be gusting over 30 mph through the afternoon hours but you can expect much higher gusts with the line of storms Wednesday morning.
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