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Strong pop-up storms cause 14K power outages, downed trees in Mecklenburg County

CHARLOTTE — A line of severe thunderstorms developed over the Charlotte area Thursday and lingered through the evening, leaving many neighbors starting their Fridays with cleanup.

The storms brought lightning, strong winds, hail and heavy showers. They left a path of downed trees in their wake.

In east Charlotte, a tree fell across Sharon Lane near Malvern Road, and in south Charlotte, another tree was knocked down across Glenfall Avenue.

The storms and downed trees caused more headaches for neighbors across the Queen City.

Bob Beach’s Volvo was crushed by a downed tree on Cumberland Avenue in south Charlotte.

“I just had it serviced on Wednesday,” Beach said about his 18-year-old car.

Beach has experienced major storms in Charlotte, including Hurricane Hugo.

He understands trees come down during storms in the area and keeps a positive attitude.

“Oh well,” he told Channel 9. “It’s time to get another car.”

The storms caused power outages concentrated mostly in Mecklenburg County.

At 10 p.m. Thursday, about 14,000 Duke Energy customers were without power.

A few thousand still had no power the next morning.

By Friday afternoon, only a few hundred power outages were reported by Duke Energy.

More strong-to-severe thunderstorms are in the forecast Friday and Saturday.

You can share your weather pictures with us at this link.

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