Monday, May 25, 2020

Two People Killed by Falling Trees as Charlotte Area Pounded by Severe Storms; Tornado Confirmed in South Carolina

Sean Breslin and Jan Wesner Childs
Published: May 23,2020




Powerful storms hammered the Charlotte area Friday afternoon, killing two people and leaving behind widespread tree and power line damage.

Charlotte Fire officials said one person was killed and another suffered life threatening injuries when a tree fell on a home in south Charlotte Friday afternoon, WBTV reported.

Another person was killed about 50 miles south in Lancaster, South Carolina, when a tree and a power pole were blown over and fell on a vehicle. The Lancaster County Coroner identified the victim as 57-year-old Joe Dale Humphries of Lancaster, according to The Herald newspaper.

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Falling trees caused damage to buildings, homes and power lines across the region.

While much of the damage was caused by straight-line winds, the National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down in Cherokee County, South Carolina. Trees fell on a building during the storms at Limestone College, which is in Gaffney in Cherokee County.

Shortly before 4 p.m. EDT Friday, Charlotte was placed under a tornado warning, and though no tornadoes were reported, strong straight-line winds and torrential rain made travel difficult. The storms brought down large trees – some onto structures – and knocked out power to more than 120,000 homes and businesses in the Carolinas, according to PowerOutage.us. About 53,000 were still without power Saturday morning.

Here's how the storms looked as they blew through the Queen City, as well as some of the damage spotted after the severe weather passed.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.


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