A fierce spring storm that included spectacular lightning and sightings of a funnel cloud
in Cabarrus County left thousands in the Piedmont without power Saturday night.Jody Johnson, a dispatcher with the Cabarrus County
Sheriff’s Department, said Deputy Danny DeGrace tracked a tornado in his car as it
passed over Poplar Tent Road and Interstate 85 and moved to the Coddle Creek Reservoir
along N.C. 73 West.
No injuries were reported, but fallen trees
had knocked out power to much of Concord and southern Cabarrus County, including the
sheriff’s department, which relied on a backup generator.
Trees also had blocked at least two roads,
falling in the 9500 block of Poplar Tent Road and N.C. 73 East at Gold Hill Road.
“I think we got about 200 people who
can’t get out of the Moose Lodge (on N.C. 73),” Johnson said about 10:30
Saturday night. Trees reportedly were blocking the exit from the lodge.
Johnson said a tree fell on a house about
8:35 p.m. on Poplar Woods Drive off Poplar Tent Road. No one was living at the residence.
A family recently moved out of the house, and it was being listed for sale by a real
estate agency, Johnson said.
Reports indicated that the storm was
strongest in Cabarrus County around N.C. 73.
Duke Power reported 4,100 customers in
Charlotte were without power at one point Saturday night; 4,400 in Gaston County; and
1,000 in Kannapolis. No figures were available for Cabarrus County as a whole at press
time. Rowan County escaped the brunt of the storm, according to police dispatchers.
The severe thunderstorms cut short the
Piedmont Boll Weevils game in Kannapolis, where a large crowd was on hand to see the
fireworks planned for after the game. The game was called after five innings.
Rain also postponed the racing events at
Concord Motorsport Park.
Some areas reported that hail was mixed in
with the rain, Johnson said. |
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