On this date: 8 tornadoes near Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s been three years since a tornado outbreak in and around Charlotte produced at least 8 tornadoes. 

The Feb. 6, 2020 severe weather outbreak twisted powerful Duke Energy transmission lines in Gaston County and toppled trees onto homes in south Charlotte.

An EF-1 tornado with winds of 110 mph traveled nearly 17 miles across south Mecklenburg, through neighbors in Pineville, south Charlotte, and Matthews.

Along the way, the tornado toppled and uprooted trees. 

“We saw mostly snapped trees in Pineville,” Trisha Palmer with the National Weather Service told WCNC Charlotte at the time. “Most of the structural damage was limited to trees falling on houses.” 

Tim Porter, City Arborist for the City of Charlotte, said so many trees fell because of the high winds combined with saturated soil.

The storm also caused damage in northern York County, South Carolina near Carowinds, and into Union County near Lawyers Road.

Four huge, high-voltage transmission lines belonging to Duke Energy were toppled by an EF-2 tornado, the National Weather Service confirmed.

The tornado’s 130 mph winds caused damage that will take approximately 150 Duke Energy workers to fix this weekend.

The tornado began near Interstate 85 in Cleveland County and continued into Gaston County and through Kings Mountain.

The tornado caused damage over 8.5 miles.

An EF-2 tornado with winds of 125 miles ripped roofs from homes in Cabarrus County, investigators determined.

The tornado was on the ground for 6 miles as it traveled through neighborhoods between Old Salisbury Concord Road and Rimer Road.

“I saw a wall of rain and wind come, so then I bolted for the cat and the closet”, one 16-year-old boy told WCNC Charlotte.

An EF-1 tornado near Albemarle caused damage to a child care center, National Weather Service storm surveyors said.

The tornado caused sporadic damage over 7.3 miles between Millingport and northern Albemarle.

In addition to damaging the child care center near Pennington Road, a manufactured home and storage building near Flint Ridge Road were damaged.

An EF-0 tornado with 85 mph winds caused damage south of Gold Hill in Rowan County, investigators determined.

A small barn was destroyed during the tornado’s 1.5 mile path.

An EF-1 tornado with estimated 100 mph maximum winds developed west of Lawndale, then tracked Northeast from there. According to the National Weather Service, the damage was mostly limited to snapped and uprooted trees, but one mobile home had minor roof damage on New Bethel Church Road.

The tornado weakened and dissipated a little after passing into Lincoln County. 

The tornado’s path was 7.54 miles long.

Teams from National Weather Service offices across the region are continuing to investigate damage.

During storm surveys, the investigators work to determine what caused the damage: a tornado, a microburst, straight-line winds, or another type of severe weather. They also work to determine the intensity of the storm.

After one day of storm surveying Friday, at least eight tornadoes were confirmed across the Carolinas, including an EF-1 in Randolph County; an EF-0 in Gates County, North Carolina.

Since 1950, North Carolina has had 70 reported tornadoes during the month of February, which averages out to around one per year. 

As for South Carolina, they have seen 57 twisters over the last 71 years during the second month of the year. None of those have ever been greater than F2 or EF2 strength. 

In the Carolinas, tornadoes are possible, all 12 months of the year.