North Carolina Tornado Outbreak

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.