Over 100,000 outages reported in the Charlotte area

Widespread power outages have been reported in the Charlotte area Wednesday afternoon as severe storms move through the Carolinas.
As of 5:30 p.m., more than 25,000 customers in Gaston County were without power and over 70,000 customers in Mecklenburg County were without power. Around 2,000 customers in Cabarrus County and Lincoln County are also without power, over 6,000 customers in Cleveland County are experiencing power outages. In York County, there are around 4,500 power outages.
A tornado warning was issued around 3 p.m. for Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties and expired at 3:45 p.m. The National Weather Service reported widespread wind damage including downed trees and power lines in Gaston County around western Gastonia, Kings Mountain and Bessemer City after that storm cell passed. There are reports of quarter-sized hail in Bessemer City, too.
RELATED: Weather Aware: Strong severe storms move through Charlotte area
A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Cabarrus, Cleveland, Gaston, Lincoln and Mecklenburg counties through 4:45 p.m. In Chester and York counties in South Carolina, a severe thunderstorm warning was issued through 5 p.m. A severe thunderstorm warning will remain until 5:45 p.m. for Union County.
A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for Anson, Richmond and Stanly counties through 10 p.m. Wednesday.
READ MORE: www.wcnc.com/article/weather/...

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Power outages since 4:15 pm yesterday. No status for restoration. #eastCharlotte