United States Severe Weather Triggers Thunderstorm Warnings Across Central North Carolina
United States severe weather produced multiple alerts early Wednesday across central North Carolina while a tornado warning remained active Sunday in east-central Florida and left nearly 30,000 customers without power for nearly two weeks in Gary, Indiana. The National Weather Service in Raleigh issued Severe Thunderstorm Warnings for portions of Cumberland, Moore, Harnett, Hoke, Scotland, Richmond, and Sampson counties in central North Carolina, with storms producing 60 mph wind gusts, quarter-size hail, and moving northeast at 25-30 mph. [1] A tornado warning was issued for southeastern St. Lucie County and northeastern Martin County in east-central Florida until 7 p.m. EDT Sunday, based on radar-indicated rotation from a severe thunderstorm near Walton that was nearly stationary. [3] Videos shared on social media from the Port St. Lucie and Jensen Beach areas appeared to show a possible funnel cloud, though no independent confirmation of a tornado touchdown was reported. [3] A damaging storm on August 11 brought wind gusts up to 99 mph to Gary, Indiana, causing widespread power outages that left nearly 30,000 customers without electricity after 12 days, prompting a class-action lawsuit against the utility and criticism from the governor. [4] Residents in Gary reported difficulties accessing food, maintaining hygiene, refrigerating medication, and coping without air conditioning or lighting, with restoration projected by Wednesday. [4]
Active Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Central North Carolina
The National Weather Service in Raleigh issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for southeastern Moore County in central North Carolina, southwestern Harnett County in central North Carolina, western Cumberland County in central North Carolina, and Hoke County in central North Carolina until 630 AM EDT. [1] At 537 AM EDT, severe thunderstorms were located along a line extending from 7 miles east of Aberdeen to near Raeford to Antioch, moving northeast at 30 mph. [1] The National Weather Service in Raleigh issued a separate Severe Thunderstorm Warning for south central Moore County in central North Carolina, Scotland County in central North Carolina, southeastern Richmond County in central North Carolina, and Hoke County in central North Carolina until 545 AM EDT. [2] At 505 AM EDT, severe thunderstorms were located along a line extending from near Hoffman to near Laurinburg, moving northeast at 25 mph. [2] The National Weather Service in Raleigh issued another Severe Thunderstorm Warning for northwestern Sampson County in central North Carolina and central Cumberland County in central North Carolina until 530 AM EDT. [5] At 447 AM EDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 8 miles south of Fayetteville, moving east at 25 mph. [5] Hazards listed across the alerts included 60 mph wind gusts and quarter-size hail, with radar indicated as the source for some impacts. [2] Locations impacted include Fayetteville, Hope Mills, and Easto. [5] These alerts formed part of United States severe weather activity that also affected other regions.
Tornado Warning and Funnel Cloud Videos in Florida
The National Weather Service in Melbourne issued a Tornado Warning for southeastern St. Lucie County and northeastern Martin County in east-central Florida on Sunday. [3] The warning was in effect until 7 p.m. EDT. [3] At around 6:28 p.m. EDT, the National Weather Service said a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located over Walton and was nearly stationary. [3] Radar indicated rotation associated with the storm. [3] The warning identified the main hazard as a tornado and cautioned that flying debris could be dangerous. [3] The storm could also damage or destroy mobile homes and cause damage to roofs, windows, vehicles and trees. [3] Areas in the storm's path included Walton, Stuart and the St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant around 6:30 p.m. [3] Other locations mentioned included Hutchinson Island South. [3] Residents in the warned areas were urged to take shelter immediately and move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building, away from windows. [3] The warning stated, "TAKE COVER NOW! Move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris." [3] The warning was based on radar-indicated rotation, which means a tornado was not necessarily confirmed on the ground. [3] Videos shared on social media from the Port St. Lucie and Jensen Beach areas appeared to show a possible funnel cloud. [3] One resident wrote on X, "Make sure you’re all safe!! Had a Tornado starting behind my house." [3] Another added, "We just got a lil afternoon tornado where I live. Just a typical Florida thunderstorm lol." [3] There has been no independent confirmation of a tornado touchdown in the area at this time. [3]
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Prolonged Power Outages in Gary, Indiana After August Storm
A wave of sudden, severe storms brought flooding and tornadoes to the US Midwest on 11 August, including to Chicago and Indiana, where seven people were killed. [4] The former industrial town of Gary, which runs along the southern shore of Lake Michigan, was hit particularly hard. [4] Wind gusts peaked at 99 mph, according to the National Weather Service. [4] The worst of the storm only lasted five to 10 minutes, but the impacts are lingering 12 days later. [4] Power has been restored to more than 345,000 customers since the storm struck, but almost 30,000 were still without power as of Sunday morning, according to the area's electrical company Northern Indiana Public Service Company (Nipsco). [4] In the first few days after the storm, petrol stations, supermarkets and pharmacies were without power, leaving people to survive on what they had. [4] As the outage stretched into a second week, global food charity World Central Kitchen arrived to help people without access to food. [4] One third of its roughly 70,000 residents live in poverty, according to US Census data. [4] As well as dealing with storm-damaged properties, residents of the former industrial town have struggled to source food and maintain good hygiene. [4] There have also been reports of people unable to refrigerate medication and a wheelchair user crawling down their stairs in the absence of working lifts. [4] At night, some roads have been "pitch black" without working street lights, Gary resident Kyle Allen tells the BBC. [4] Allen has experienced shorter power outages before, but this time has been different because he has started caring for his 95-year-old father. [4] As a result, he bought a generator which has been sustaining him and his father since the power failed. [4] Demond Pompy, who has been grilling food in Gary during the power outage, told Reuters earlier this week that taking a shower and flushing the toilet are things people take for granted, but defiantly added: "One thing about us, we're going to adapt to any situation." [4] Shatiya Hardin said the situation has been "absolutely horrible." [4] "At night we're sweating, we're irritable, we have children to look out for, elderly people who need electricity for oxygen tanks," she told the BBC's US partner CBS. [4] "It's not OK for us to continually be in survival mode." [4] Nipsco said on Sunday it was restoring power to everyone as soon as possible, and estimated Gary would have its electricity restored by Wednesday. [4]
Community Response and Legal Action in Indiana
Amid mounting frustration, local residents have launched a class-action lawsuit, accusing the utility company Nipsco of failing to manage the trees which brought down the power lines in the storm. [4] In the lawsuit, resident Jack Tipold said he was in the middle of dental surgery when the power failed. [4] He said he was forced to abandon the procedure and was discharged without adequate pain medication. [4] "I had all my teeth removed, and no medication for 48 hours. Let me tell you something, it was a struggle," he told CBS. [4] Nipsco has denied wrongdoing and said it would "vigorously" defend itself in court. [4] Faith leaders alarmed by the ongoing outage held a press conference on Saturday outside a local church. [4] "We come together today with one voice, asking those who have the power... to release the resources to our brothers and our sisters, our mothers and our fathers, because 12 days is long enough," he said, according to the Indianapolis Star. [4] People have used ice to cool off in Gary. [4] Nipsco said on Sunday it was restoring power to everyone as soon as possible, and estimated Gary would have its electricity restored by Wednesday. [4] "We recognise how frustrating and difficult it is to be without power for an extended period," the company said in a statement. [4] Indiana's governor Mike Braun said on Sunday there was "no excuse for these delays." [4] He has requested a quicker major disaster declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), which would unlock further help. [4] Braun has pushed Nipsco to bring in more crews to get those without power back online: "Put every available resource into the field. Get creative." [4]
Broader Context of Recent Severe Weather Across the US
United States severe weather continued with active thunderstorm warnings in North Carolina, a tornado warning and funnel cloud videos in Florida, and prolonged outages in storm-hit Gary, Indiana. The National Weather Service in Raleigh issued Severe Thunderstorm Warnings for portions of Cumberland, Moore, Harnett, Hoke, Scotland, Richmond, and Sampson counties. [1] A tornado warning was issued for southeastern St. Lucie County and northeastern Martin County. [3] A damaging storm on August 11 brought wind gusts up to 99 mph to Gary, Indiana. [4] With climate change making extreme weather more severe and frequent, such power outages are likely to become a more common problem. [4] Power outages are not out of the ordinary for this part of the US, but outages that last more than a week are uncommon. [4]
What to watch next: Nipsco estimated Gary would have its electricity restored by Wednesday while the governor requested a quicker major disaster declaration from FEMA.
