Tornado damage locally

Only a few pictures, of many, downloaded from TV stations.


I prepared this message in long hand over a period of time Tuesday evening. I could not access my "blog" because I suspect the source of my WiFi must have shut off their computer.

Charlotte TV stations abandoned their regular evening news programming (from 5:45 until 7:30) to show details of tornado warnings for Shelby and surrounding areas. We experienced "severe thunder and lightening" per weatherman. Also about three miles away "nickel-size hail (1" wide)." In other areas hail reported as golf ball and ping-pong ball size! One viewer phoned to say he had baseball-size hail!!

The reporters warned TV viewers "Get to an interior room, stay away from windows, crouch down, cover yourself with blankets." I did not retreat to the hall closet or bathtub; I watched the TV coverage. It was so interesting to see a "graphic" of my neighborhood displayed on TV--via sophisticated satellite imagery.

We are approximately 45 miles from Charlotte but our local weather monopolized the news!! Several people phoned the TV stations to report a tornado touched down at 6:20 in Kings Mountain (about 15 miles from my apartment). Trees were blown down. A 5 foot wide old Oak tree fell and the lady reported "It looks like a war zone." Visibility was severely limited during "tornadic thunder storm" (words by weatherman).

The Southbound lane of Interstate 85 (near the North and South Carolina state line) was blocked by a fallen tree. Actually the unstable atmosphere spawned "back-to-back storms" and a second tornado warning was issued for counties south of us in South Carolina.

Our weather had calmed by 7:30; the rain had stopped. However the TV news reported that there were over 3300 power outages in our county. (Still 3000 homes without power at 8:00 AM Wednesday morning per weatherman on morning news. Specifically, 1200 homes, in Kings Mountain that suffered the most damage.)

It's 8:00 AM Wednesday as I type this into my "blog" but it was 8:00 PM Tuesday when I composed and revised this message from many scribbled notes. The air had cooled and was so fresh and clean!! It was delightfully cool after a very humid day. It is still blissfully cool! It is raining, with rumbles of thunder.

The morning local TV news showed pictures of large hail, trees down, collapsed barns and sheds, windows blown out of homes. Comments like "So much damage" and "Worse than Hurricane Hugo." One house in Shelby was struck by lightening and burned beyond repair.

I write about this experience because it is new and fascinating to me. I spent over forty years living in the desert of Southern California. Rain was rare, humidity was nil. Our only enemy was proximity to the San Andreas fault and the danger of an earthquake. Honestly, in North Carolina, I never tire of the beautiful green grass, green trees, and flowers. I have vowed to never complain about the humidity.


Tornadoes, severe storms cause major damage

08:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, June 17, 2009

By News Channel 36 Staff

KINGS MOUNTAIN, N.C. -- Severe storms ripped through the area Tuesday night causing major damage. Cleveland County was one of the areas hardest hit.

The Murray family was watching the rain from the front porch of their Kings Mountain home and ran inside when hail started covering their yard. Seconds later the porch collapsed onto the house.

“All you could hear was just boom boom glass blowing in the house,” said Melody Murray. "It happened so fast, there was nothing you could do. Things were snapping like dominoes and the roof felt like it was about to come off," said Deena Bagwell.

The porch collapsed onto the house. The home's front windows were blown in as hail rained down and the wind blew. Bagwell clung to her ten-month-old daughter the whole time.

"I was holding her and water smashing me in the side of the face," she said.

Across their community there were similar stories. Power was knocked out as power lines down and trees fell to the ground.

“It busted our windows, but we're all OK,” said Murray.

Trained storm spotters confirmed that a tornado touched down in Kings Mountain Tuesday evening as a line of severe storms moved through the area.

The Kings Mountain Fire Department chief reported large trees down and windows blown out of mobile homes.

Chief Frank Burns said at least 10-15 mobile homes were damaged. Residents also reported golf ball to baseball-sized hail.

Also in Cleveland County, multiple trees were uprooted causing one lane of Interstate 85 to be blocked between mile markers 3 and 8.

A trained spotter also reported a possible tornado with several trees down at Fallston-Waco Road and Cedar Lake Farm Road in Cherryville.

The storm then moved into York County, where Emergency Management Director Cotton Howell says it caused about 5,000 power outages and knocked down hundreds of trees as it moved across the more rural western part of the county.

At about 6:57 p.m., a public official reported a tornado on the ground near the intersection of Beersheba Road and Black Highway in York.

“I saw the funnel right as I was coming to the intersection,” Kimberly Sutton said.

She followed it along Beersheba Road and noticed it had knocked down trees in the old cemetery where her ancestors are buried. “The oldest one of my relatives—he died in 1818,” she told Newschannel 36. “I was panicked that it had hit the family because I’m the family genealogist.”

At least two large cedar trees had fallen, but the cemetery was practically untouched. “The amazing thing is of every tree that fell, not a single tombstone that is knocked down, chipped, broken or pushed over.”

Just next door, trees landed on a car, a garage, and a bar. Further up Beersheeba Road, a work shed collapsed—with Jeff Falls inside it. “It started blowing forward the roof off, and I said, ‘Well,’” he told Newschannel 36. “I stood over there to the side, thought I’d be alright, and then the building started moving so I run.”

Residents in York also reported large hail and several trees down.

No injuries were reported.


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The evening news stated that the National Weather Service confirmed two tornadoes touched down in Kings Mountain. Funny how it takes a team of experts to validate the event. Also in the news, locally over 6000 residents without power. Interesting that the number doubled since last night. ~~~ For the record, a similar weather situation played out today in the mountains north and east of us, closer to the Virginia state line.