At least 5 tornadoes strike Central NC, uprooting trees and damaging homes in northeast Raleigh :: WRAL.com

People in parts of Raleigh and Fayetteville are assessing damage after at least five confirmed tornadoes struck Central North Carolina on Sunday.

The severe storms that hit the area Sunday morning and afternoon were part of the remnants of Isaias.

Numerous tornado warnings began coming in around noon as the system moved through the area.

The National Weather Service in Raleigh said it is “reasonably confident” there were close to half a dozen tornados that touched down in the area that caused damage, and another three to six more possible touchdowns.

Several dozen buildings were damaged or destroyed by at least four of the tornadoes.

Only a few widespread power outages have been reported. Duke Energy’s power outage map reported roughly 2,000 outages across the area after the storms moved out, and the majority of those were in Vance and Cumberland counties.

►Photos: Storms in NC cause crashes, damage, possible tornadoes

Parts of northeast Raleigh and Fayetteville reported damage from the storms. WRAL News has reached out to county agencies across the area to determine how much damage the storms caused.

As of 4 p.m., damage was confirmed in parts of northeast Raleigh and Fayetteville from two of the confirmed tornadoes that hit. No injuries have been reported so far.

North Carolina emergency management officials said state and local teams are in response mode, but will soon shift to assessing damage and working with federal partners to determine how to support impacted communities.

The NWS said it was planning to have teams checking two of the suspected tornado touchdown sites Sunday, and three more survey teams will head out Monday to check the rest.

Raleigh/Wake County

Wake County had at least three confirmed tornadoes: One on the western side of the county near Jordan Lake just after noon, one in northeast Raleigh around 1:20 p.m., and another that went into Johnston County.

Of the areas that were hit, northeast Raleigh appears to have been the hardest hit. People living in neighborhoods along the Neuse River, particularly in the 5401 North and Neuse Crossing neighborhoods, shared photos and videos of downed trees, damaged homes and sudden, intense winds blowing debris down the street.

“It only lasted like 60 seconds, really. Then we went outside and saw trampolines in our backyard, fences down. Yeah, it was crazy. There’s trees on cars and stuff,” Will Johnson, whose home was damaged in the storm, said.

One person in the neighborhood shared video from inside their home after the storm caved in part of their roof. Insulation covered the floor and furniture in their living room.

Homeowner Eric Grubbs said alerts he received about the storm saved his life. He was enjoying his Sunday sitting on the couch and watching football when he got an alert on his phone and heard a noise that sounded like a freight train coming.

He immediately took shelter in a different room away from windows, and was thankful he did. Not moments after closing the door he heard a living room window blow out and glass hitting the back of the door.

“I would have been sitting right there when that roof was collapsing,” he said. “It definitely makes you pause and think for a second, certainly made me realize what’s important today.”

Other people shared photos of trees ripped from the ground and homes with exterior damage.

The Wake County Public School System said River Bend Elementary in northeast Raleigh did not suffer any damage. The middle school had a small tree downed that the school said would be removed Monday morning.

Clayton/Johnston County

A tornado that formed near the edge of Wake County at the Johnston County line around 1:24 p.m. struck Clayton near the Clayton Village Shopping Center along U.S. 70/Clayton Boulevard.

The tornado ripped apart trees in nearby neighborhoods, toppling some across roads.

“Everything was spinning. So I looked, and it was raining real hard, and I just told everyone, ‘Get in the hallway and squat down and let it pass,'” Lisa MacDougall, whose home was damaged in the storm, said. “It only lasted like a minute or so.”

Fayetteville/Cumberland County

The first confirmed tornado of Sunday struck northwest Fayetteville in the Yadkin Acres area around noon, and the winds were strong enough to move and flip vehicles.

A viewer sent in photos of damage in the parking lot of a Sam’s Club in Fayetteville. Cars were pushed into other vehicles and on top of shopping carts. A nearby Marriot hotel also suffered damage after part of its roof was ripped off.

Timeline of confirmed tornadoes

The first confirmed tornado came at 12:05 p.m. in northwest Fayetteville, where a debris pattern was spotted on radar.

A minute later, a second confirmed tornado was picked up west of Apex over Jordan Lake.

A third tornado was picked up in northeast Raleigh and Wake County around 1:19 p.m.

The forth confirmed tornado was spotted near southeast Wake County and Johnston County near Clayton around 1:24 p.m.

A fifth tornado was spotted near Louisburg around 1:48 p.m.

According to the National Weather Service in Raleigh, it’s possible three to six other tornadoes touched down during Sunday’s storms that are still awaiting confirmation.

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