Severe storms ripped through the parts of the Carolinas on Friday, killing at least two people and causing widespread damage.
Heavy rains and strong winds knocked down trees and power lines, leaving over 45,000 homes and businesses without power on Saturday morning.
Let our news meet your inbox. The news and stories that matters, delivered weekday mornings.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, a man was killed when a tree crashed into a home. Another person was rushed to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Emergency workers also responded to a deadly crash in Lancaster County, South Carolina, where strong winds uprooted a tree and utility pole that fell onto a pickup truck, killing the driver. Authorities identified the deceased driver as 57-year-old Joe Dale Humphries.
At least one electrical transformer went up in flames in front a woman’s house in Charlotte during the storm.
“This is like nothing I’ve ever experienced,” the resident told NBC affiliate WCNC.
Residents said the winds were so strong they “could see things flying through the air.” Others said the sound of trees falling was so loud “the ground shook a little.”
“I’ve never seen a tree just snapped in half before,” a man who went out to survey the storm’s damage told WCNC.
The storms moved away from the area on Friday evening, but lingering showers could still bring heavy rains during Memorial Day weekend.
