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North Carolina Tornado Outbreak

Mar 28, 2010; 8:59 PM ET

UPDATE: New video added below. Check out this incredible security camera video showing trees hitting the ground from WRAL. The NWS in Greenville, SC has confirmed two EF-1 tornadoes in their coverage area in Gaston & Rowan Counties, NC. NWS-Raleigh says there was an EF-1 and EF-2 in Davidson County. An EF-1 was also confirmed in Virginia.

UPDATE: FOX8 also has some videos including this interview / raw footage from the person who filmed the tornado near High Point... and a great play-by-play of the damage from the point of view of a TV reporter on Neill McNeill's blog.

UPDATE: Here is a video showing the damage near Charlotte. A couple of articles mentioned that people thought it was the worst damage since Hurricane Hugo in 1989 (see my damage pictures).

One more tornado has been reported in Person County; below is a map of the reports from the NWS. WRAL has a photo of a funnel cloud on I-85 and says a dozen people were injured. WJZY-TV's television station building was damaged with trees coming through windows. I will keep you updated as to NWS's Storm Surveys (which will determine if damage was caused by tornadoes or straight-line winds) when that information becomes available.

As of 9 PM seven tornadoes have been reported in my home state of North Carolina this evening and Tornado Watches & Warnings are ongoing. The SPC says that tornadoes were spotted near Charlotte, High Point (20 homes damaged and 3 injuries reported), Lexington, and in Davidson and Gaston Counties. Current advisories from AccuWeather.com MapSpace™ (PREMIUM | PRO):

WBTV.com says "much of the roof of the Parkdale Fiber Distribution Center in Belmont was blown off in the storm and ended up in trees." The Salisbury Post says that a Food Lion shopping center was damaged in Spencer (thanks Brad).

Although no tornadoes have been reported in South Carolina yet, some very strong storms have been moving through the upstate; here's a radar shot of a severe thunderstorm from earlier this evening (near Gaffney, South Carolina, now headed into Charlotte and Mecklenburg County):

The Tornado Watch has been extended eastward to Raleigh and eastern Georgia is on the other end of the narrow but severe line of storms. Lightning map below.

The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of AccuWeather, Inc. or AccuWeather.com

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