IREDELL COUNTY, N.C. — Meterologists with the National Weather Service confirmed that damage done to dozens of homes was caused by an EF-2 tornado.
Channel 9 reporter Dave Faherty spoke to a member of the NWS assessment team and he said the tornado traveled 10-15 miles.
[SKYDRONE9 IMAGES: Iredell County home destroyed after powerful storms roll through]
Most of the damage was done around Mocksville Highway in Cool Springs.
Chris Summers and her husband were at the beach when they got the call that their home was in the path of the tornado. They arrived back home to find the roof gone.
"Of course, nothing can prepare you for this. It's bad. They condemned the house," Summers said.
Summers' neighbor, Maxine Mitchell, said she hid inside a closet when the tornado hit. She said an outside tree branch pierced the side of her home and knocked furniture away from a bedroom wall.
"The whole house started shaking. Oh, my God, I was afraid," Mitchell said. "Scariest I've ever been in my life."
The Red Cross said more than two dozen homes were damaged by the tornado.
Channel 9 received reports of a house collapse on Swann Road in Iredell County.
[CLICK for more photos of damage on Swann Road]
[Damage widespread after severe storms barrel through area]
Hundreds were without power on Amity Hill Road because of downed trees and power lines.
Crews also blocked off a large part of the road near Shiloh Road, as well as several other areas.
(WATCH: Wall cloud forming in Statesville)
Residents Sheryl and James Shore said the storm was so powerful, it lifted bales of hay that weighed 600 pounds and threw them across Highway 64.
"A big cloud was on the ground and it was twisting and picking up them bales of hay just like snowflakes," James Shore said.
Click Play to watch Chopper 9 over the scene.
The tornado heavily damaged some homes, but missed others just feet away. Sharon Welborn believes a higher power kept her and her husband safe as they took cover in their bathtub.
"I'm just glad we're alive. It's just, God is good," Welborn said.
Cleanup could take weeks, if not months for the area.
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