Worst of storm passes Mecklenburg

Tornado watch extended until 2 p.m.

STEVE LYTTLE
Staff Writer

Forecasters say the threat of flooding rains and tornadoes will lessen later this morning and this afternoon, but not before a few more hours of misery.

The remnants of Hurricane Frances, which have caused more than 45 tornadoes in the Carolinas since Tuesday morning, are continuing to move northward today.

Meanwhile, severe flooding continues in the Carolinas mountains and foothills, and a number of school systems will open on a delayed basis or will be closed today.

Authorities in McDowell County report Interstate-40 is closed due to what officials describe as "a massive landslide."

Minor flooding also is reported on portions of Interstates 77 and 85.

A band of heavy showers and thunderstorms raced through the Charlotte area shortly after 6 a.m., prompting the National Weather Service to issue a tornado warning for Mecklenburg County. Weather service radar indicated a possible tornado on Charlotte’s east side, but no touchdown was reported.

The storm causing that tornado warning later moved northward, into Cabarrus County. There, the storm dumped more than an inch of rain, prompting a flash flood warning to be posted after the Rocky River went over its banks in the Stallings Road area.

The early-morning storm caused flooding on a number of Charlotte-area streets, although the waters are expected to recede after 8 a.m. Weather radar indicates the coverage of heavy showers or thunderstorms heading for the Charlotte area is decreasing rapidly.

A tornado watch, which was to have expired at 7 a.m. today, has been extended until 2 p.m. for most of the area. That watch has been in effect since around noon Tuesday. Forecasters cannot remember the last time the Charlotte area has been under a tornado watch for such a long time.

A flood watch will remain in effect until 6 p.m. tonight. Meteorologists say a few heavy showers and thunderstorms might develop this afternoon in the humid air left behind.

"Any of those storms could aggravate the flooding conditions already in place," said Steve Burrus, of the National Weather Service office in Greer, S.C.

And a flood warning is in effect this morning for a number of counties around Charlotte, although Mecklenburg County is not included.

Counties under the flood warning include Anson and Stanly, to the east of Charlotte; Gaston, Cleveland, York and Chester, to the west and southwest; and Alexander, Burke, Caldwell and Catawba, to the northwest.

The National Weather Service estimated that between 3 and 6 inches of rain has fallen over most of the Piedmont and Sandhills of the Carolinas since Tuesday morning. Amounts are much higher in the Foothills and mountains, approaching or exceeding 10 inches in some places.

In the immediate Charlotte area, four school systems have altered their schedules today. The Chesterfield County (S.C.) Schools are closed, after at least a half-dozen tornadoes raked that county on Tuesday.

The Cabarrus County Schools will open on a one-hour delay, and the Union and Anson county systems are opening on a two-hour delay.

In the mountains, the Ashe, Burke, Caldwell and Yancey county systems are closed. The Watauga County Schools will open an hour late, and the Avery and Rutherford county systems are opening two hours late.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools are operating on a normal schedule today.

"Our schools are a safe place to be, in weather like this," said CMS spokesperson Jerri Haigler. "All of our schools have weather radios and emergency plans for bad weather."

Several schools put their emergency weather plans into operation Tuesday, when a tornado hit the Steele Creek area shortly before noon. That twister touched down within a mile of Lake Wylie Elementary School.

North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley has activated the National Guard, and dozens of evacuations and rescues have taken place overnight in flooded mountain areas.

The tornado outbreak associated with the remnants of Frances has been historic.

The National Weather Service reports more than 80 tornadoes have been spawned since Frances made landfall Saturday in Florida. That total includes about 40 twisters Tuesday in South Carolina and 10 more in North Carolina.

It is the second-highest total of tornadoes ever caused by a tropical weather system. Only Hurricane Bertha, which hit Texas in 1996, caused more tornadoes – 107.

The number of twisters caused by Frances is expected to climb today, as the storm's remnants move into Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky.

So far, no deaths have been reported from the tornadoes and flooding. Several people were injured in the South Carolina storms on Tuesday, and dozens of homes have been badly damaged or destroyed.

Several homes in the Steele Creek area of southwest Mecklenburg County were damaged by the tornado late Tuesday morning.

Flooding also has been a big problem.

A number of bridges have been washed out in the mountains, and evacuations were widespread Tuesday night in the Lake Lure area.

The weather service's Burrus said motorists need to follow simple advice today. "Do not drive your vehicle into areas where water covers the roadway," he said.

The biggest road closing is Interstate-40, in McDowell County.

The Highway Patrol reports a landslide has closed the road between mile markers 67 and 72, about 20 miles east of Asheville. Crews from the N.C. Department of Transportation are working to clear the roadway.

In Union County, severe flooding has been reported on Ansonville Road, northeast of Monroe.

Major flooding also has been reported on dozens of roads in counties across the foothills and mountains.

 

How much rain have you gotten so far????

 

Not sure....can't touch bottom anymore!!

A Lot!!

 

My neighbor here north of Greensboro has a rain gauge and it read 5 1/2" - I think that was since midnight last night. Rotary golf outing for Thursday in Asheboro has been rained out because they got a bunch too.