Thousands lose power in severe weather
The National Weather Service posted a tornado warning in
Cumberland County after a funnel cloud was spotted on radar, but
later canceled it.
Flash flood warnings also were issued. Earlier,
a funnel cloud was spotted in Lee and Harnett counties, but the
warnings there were canceled.
The weather service said more than 2 inches of rain fell between
7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. in Fayetteville and the city's airport
reported more than 1 1/2 inches in a 45-minute period.
On Tuesday just before 9:30 p.m., Duke Energy reported 2,558 customers were without power in Durham County and over 1,100 in Orange County.
Progress Energy also reported 2,600 outages in Cumberland County and almost 3,000 residents were without power in Moore County.
The energy company also said about 550 homes in Wake County and 300 in Harnett County were without electricity.
More than 10,000 customers without electricity in the
Charlotte area and about 1,600 in northwestern South Carolina.
The Charlotte Observer reported that three house fires
apparently were started by lightning in the city and a tree was
blown onto a city bus. The Observer said fire Capt. Mark Basnight
said 106 calls for assistance were received, but no injuries were
reported.
