CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Storms in the Carolinas Wednesday afternoon and early Thursday morning left downed trees and widespread outages across the Charlotte area. Many flights out of Charlotte Douglas International Airport have been delayed or canceled due to the storms.
As of 8:45 a.m. Thursday, 84 flights were delayed and another 22 flights were canceled out of Charlotte Douglas.
Over 700 flights were delayed at the airport and 54 flights were canceled Wednesday.
Multiple severe thunderstorm watches and warnings were issued for parts of the Charlotte area as a line of strong storms moved across the Carolinas Wednesday afternoon, followed by more storms early Thursday morning.
A tornado warning was issued around 3 p.m. Wednesday for Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties and expired at 3:45 p.m. The National Weather Service reported widespread wind damage including downed trees and power lines in Gaston County around western Gastonia, Kings Mountain and Bessemer City after that storm cell passed. There are reports of quarter-sized hail in Bessemer City, too.
WCNC Charlotte Chief Meteorologist Brad Panovich said Thursday morning storms could impact the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club. The good news is things should clear out by the middle of the day, and we're looking at much nicer weather through the weekend.