CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Widespread power outages have been reported in the Charlotte area Thursday morning in the wake of severe storms in the Carolinas.
Around 5 p.m. on Thursday, roughly 18,000 Duke Energy customers in Gaston County were without power and over 12,000 customers in Mecklenburg County were without power. Most of the power company's customers in Lincoln and Cleveland counties had had their power restored.
Power outages prompted the closure of schools in Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties class on Thursday.
Several schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area were also closed on Thursday due to the outages, the district announced. The following CMS schools were closed:
- Albemarle Road ES
- Briarwood Academy
- Cochrane Collegiate
- Devonshire ES
- Garinger HS
- Harding University HS
- Hidden Valley ES
- Independence High School
- Lincoln Heights Montessori
- Merry Oaks International Academy
- Montclaire ES
- Oaklawn Language Academy
- Paw Creek ES
- Phillip O. Berry HS
- Rocky River HS
- Steele Creek Elementary School
- Thomasboro Academy
- Villa Heights ES
- Westerly Hills ES
- Wilson STEM Academy
District officials issued the following statement regarding the closures:
There will be no school and no remote learning for students. There will be no ASEP, no extracurricular activities or sports. Any national or state testing that students were scheduled for today will be rescheduled. Teachers will have a remote workday. The National Weather Service is calling for steady rain with thunderstorms through 7 AM. and then showers during the day. As always, the safety and well-being of our students and staff are of the utmost importance. We appreciate your cooperation and patience.
North Brook Elementary School and Union Elementary School in Lincoln County will also be closed on Thursday due to outages in the area, the Lincoln County Schools district said.
Gaston County Schools confirmed Thursday that all schools would be closed Friday, with the day becoming an optional teacher workday. The district said there are still power and internet outages at schools and central department locations, with no guarantee power would be restored Friday morning.
A tornado warning was issued around 3 p.m. on 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 were reports of quarter-sized hail in Bessemer City, too.
On Thursday, the National Weather Service determined two separate tornadoes had impacted the region. Damage consistent with an EF1 tornado was found in Cleveland and Gaston counties. A second EF1 tornado caused damage near Gastonia and Belmont, the National Weather Service concluded.
On Wednesday, extensive severe thunderstorm warnings were issued Wednesday for Cabarrus, Cleveland, Gaston, Lincoln, Union, and Mecklenburg in North Carolina as well as Chester and York counties in South Carolina. Wind damage associated with those storms were responsible for countless downed trees and power lines.
WCNC Charlotte will continue to monitor and update the power outages as storms continue to move through the area.
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