By: Jordan Meadows
Staff Writer
Residents in North Carolina spent Monday assessing damage, clearing debris and working to restore normal operations after a powerful round of storms swept across the state Sunday, producing at least five confirmed tornadoes.
The storms from Hurricane Isaias brought torrential rain, intense winds and tornado warnings across the region for roughly five hours. Emergency crews responded to overturned vehicles, damaged buildings, downed trees and power lines, and natural gas leaks.
City officials reported one injury in Fayetteville.
The National Weather Service office in Raleigh said it was reasonably confident that close to half a dozen tornadoes touched down in the area, with another three to six possible touchdowns elsewhere. Several dozen buildings were damaged or destroyed by the tornadoes.
Raleigh, Fayetteville and Clayton were among the hardest-hit communities. In northeast Raleigh, residents reported downed trees and damage to homes in neighborhoods along the Neuse River.
In Fayetteville, high winds overturned vehicles along the Skibo Road commercial corridor and damaged the roof of a four-story hotel. In Clayton, trees fell across neighborhoods and streets, damaging fences and other property. Despite the damage, local officials reported relatively limited power outages and said many affected businesses and roads were returning to operation by Monday.
The National Weather Service identified at least three tornadoes in Wake County: one on the western side of the county near Jordan Lake, another in northeast Raleigh, and a third that crossed into Johnston County. A tornado that developed near the Wake-Johnston County line struck Clayton near the Clayton Village Shopping Center along Clayton Boulevard.
The first confirmed tornado of the day in the Fayetteville area struck the Yadkin Acres neighborhood in northwest Fayetteville. Winds in the area were strong enough to move and overturn vehicles. Cumberland County emergency services, local fire departments, and emergency personnel from Fort Bragg also assisted while responding to storm damage in their respective areas.
Fayetteville Fire Chief Kevin Dove said the storm struck an area that was likely among the city's busiest and most heavily occupied at noon on a Sunday. He said the incident could have resulted in more serious consequences given the number of people and businesses in the affected area.
Additional damage was reported in Franklin County, west of Louisburg, where trees were knocked down along N.C. 56 near Peach Orchard Road.
A possible tornado was also indicated by radar near the Wake-Durham county line in the vicinity of Raleigh-Durham International Airport. No damage was reported in that area, but RDU initiated a ground stop while the radar-indicated tornado was nearby. Approximately 78 flight delays were reported across Sunday and Monday.
As communities across North Carolina work to recover from the latest round of severe weather, western North Carolina continues to face the longer-term consequences of Hurricane Helene, which devastated the region in September 2024. According to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, the storm caused an estimated $60 billion in damage and recovery needs, damaged or destroyed more than 73,000 homes and affected approximately 9,000 road locations. The state reported 107 storm-related deaths.
