Powerful thunderstorms ripped across the Charlotte region this afternoon, causing widespread damage and knocking out electricity to over 43,000 Duke Energy customers.
The storms brought wind gusts of up to 60 mph, torrential rainfall, and penny-sized hail, prompting severe thunderstorm warnings across much of the region.
As of 5:30pm, Duke Energy is reporting:
- 43,027 customers without power
- 1,031 active outages
Utility crews immediately began restoring power while assessing damage across the affected areas.
The National Weather Service warned that the storms were capable of producing damaging wind gusts strong enough to down trees and power lines, along with hail and intense rainfall that reduced visibility for drivers.
Duke Energy crews continue working to restore service as quickly as possible, and residents are encouraged to avoid downed power lines and report outages through the company’s website or mobile app.
