Early morning storms Thursday hit isolated areas, knock down trees and power lines
Published 12:10 am Friday, June 27, 2025
By Elisabeth Strillacci
SALISBURY — A brief but intense storm hit several pockets in Salisbury early Thursday morning between 2 and 3 a.m., bringing down trees and power lines, closing roads and knocking out power to several limited areas.
Severe storms were predicted to hit across Rowan County after 6 p.m. Wednesday, but as the evening wore on, the weather seemed to skirt the area.
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But about 1:30 a.m. Thursday, the storm closed in, and by 2:30 a.m., a number of streets were being closed because of down trees, downed power lines or both.
Sells Road between West Innes Street and Eagle Drive was closed at that time because a live power line came down across the road. The 400 block of Mahaley Avenue was closed by a large tree across the road and a car reportedly hit the tree in the dark, but no serious injuries were reported.
Overman Avenue was closed down when a falling tree pulled down or broke three utility poles in a row.
Power outages were reported in small pockets, on Bringle Ferry Road, Overman Avenue, West Bank Street, Dunns Mountain Road and South Merrit Avenue, to name quite a few.
Reports came in that Domino’s Pizza at 1601 Wet Innes lost power about 1:40 a.m. along with the intersection of South Link and Ackert avenues.
Duke Energy was not able to give estimated times of restoration because there was so much activity, but residents reported that in most cases, power was restored before sunrise and the heat of the day, although Thursday was cooler than the day before.
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A separate incident on Bringle Ferry and Goodman Lake Road knocked out power in that area about 9 p.m. when a transformer blew out. One resident, Betty Honeycutt, commented that she “thought my house was on fire, between the loud booms and red lights coming in the kitchen windows. Everything shut down but was back on by 1:20 a.m.” She said a Duke Energy representative said a tree had fallen on the pole, causing the damage.
Overman Avenue expected to have power restored by Thursday night, perhaps the longest outage.
The sound of the wind in the short, isolated but intense storm bursts was what seemed to distress residents most.
“It sounded like a rain-wrapped tornado,” said Kristin Stauffer. “I thought the roof was going to go at one point.”
Others said the sound of the wind was so strong that they grabbed pets and headed for safe spots in the house.
One couple, Erica and Grayland Watson, who live in the 100 block of Mahaley Avenue, had more than the sound of the wind to contend with when two of their cars were damaged by a pine tree falling on their carport.
“My husband had already gone to bed and I was sitting up watching television with the dog when I hear a loud, I mean loud, boom, around 2 a.m.,” said Erica. “We got up and looked out and saw that the tree had fallen, and we could see that another tree next door had fallen as well, but it was dark and the storm was still happening, so we came back in, planning to check for the full impact when the sun came up.” About 6 a.m. the couple went outside and discovered not only the damage to their cars, but that a tree had crushed part of their next door neighbor’s house.
“I went and banged on the door, but no one answered,” said Grayland, “except the dog.” Unsure if his neighbors were home and in need of help, Grayland called 911, and Salisbury firefighters arrived to help. They discovered an American Pit Bull Terrier in the home along, uninjured but understandably scared. Animal control was called to take the dog into care, and firefighters made their way into the home. The roof had been crushed in the bedroom area and firefighters had to clear debris in order to check for anyone home, but no one was. There were no injuries in either incident.
And yet, people across the area, from Cleveland to Faith and Faith Road, from Spencer to East Spencer and throughout the majority of Salisbury were surprised to hear there had even been rain, let alone storms.
The National Weather Service had noted there was a possibility for microbursts overnight, but it has not yet been confirmed that is what blew through.
Residents largely praised Duke Energy for their response, as well as the city’s Public Works department, which helped clear downed trees in roadways.
For the next week to 10 days, the weather forecast calls for high 80s to low 90s, a change from the record temperatures of Monday and Tuesday and a reduction in the risk of severe weather until Monday, June 30, when a chance for thunderstorms is back in the mix.
