North Carolina tornado destroys school gym, traps residents amid southeastern US severe storm outbreak

Several confirmed tornadoes produced significant damage across North Carolina on Wednesday, as severe storms threatened areas from Florida to Ohio.

The Associated Press reported that four North Carolina residents suffered injuries as storms moved through Iredell, Davie, Yadkin, Stokes and Union counties while dozens of homes suffered damage.

A National Weather Service survey team assessed the damage on Thursday and determined that this tornado was an EF2 with winds between 111 and 135 mph.

A tornado destroyed a gymnasium at Courtney Elementary School located near Yadkinville, North Carolina, emergency officials said. No students or teachers were hurt, according to the AP.

There were also reports of vehicles flipped over and people trapped in homes in Yadkinville.

An EF1 tornado touched down just north of the North Carolina-South Carolina border around 4:20 p.m. EDT on Wednesday and caused damage to several structures near the town of Monroe, North Carolina.

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