Saturday, January 14, 2012

Possible tornado hits NC; Midwest faces snow

At least 15 people were injured and 60 buildings damaged when a possible tornado struck two counties in western North Carolina, the National Weather Service said Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Midwest and Northeast on Thursday braced for their first major snowstorm of the season.

It will likely be a "pretty potent storm," TODAY's weather and feature anchor Al Roker warned.

The Weather Channel said winter was making "a roaring comeback" across the country with some areas of the Northeast already seeing freezing rain and snow, causing poor driving conditions.

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"Snow, sometimes heavy, is expected today and tonight in the Upper and Middle Mississippi Valley and the western Great Lakes," according to the website.

In North Carolina, Rutherford and Burke counties were struck by the apparent tornado late Wednesday afternoon as a cold front moved through the western Carolinas, National Weather Service meteorologist Neil Dixon said.

Ten people were hurt in Ellenboro in Rutherford County, sheriff's Sgt. Dwayne Wright said. Two of the injuries were serious, but Wright did not know the extent of the injuries.

A woman in Ellenboro told WCNC-TV that a neighbor's roof ended up in her front yard.

"It felt like the whole house was shaking, and all at once you could hear stuff just breaking apart and tearing up. It was frightening," said Mary Jane Hollifield.

At least 10 buildings were damaged in a 3-square-mile residential area, but Wright said officials expected to get a better count on the damage during surveys Thursday.

Trapped in homes
Some people initially were trapped in their homes.

"Everybody's out that we know of," Wright said. "As far as we know, everybody has been accounted for."

At least five people were hurt when the storm struck a few minutes later in the Icard area of Burke County, Dixon said.

County officials initially estimated 50 buildings had been damaged, he said. Burke County officials did not immediately respond to messages left by The Associated Press early Thursday.

Wind also struck a marina in Caldwell County late Wednesday, damaging at least three boats. It was not clear if a tornado had hit the area. No injuries had been reported.

A weather service survey team planned to tour the area Thursday to confirm that the damage was caused by a tornado, as well as to determine how strong the storm was, Dixon said.

The storm cell that caused the damage had dumped some hail in northwestern South Carolina before moving into North Carolina, he said.

The Associated Press, NBC News and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45969601/ns/weather/

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