Strong storms moved through North Carolina Thursday, taking down trees and power lines from the coast to the foothills. Thousands of homes and businesses across the state lost power in the storms.
Officials with the National Weather Service confirmed Friday morning that two tornadoes touched down Thursday evening — one in Wilkesboro and a second in Mount Ulla, about 35 miles north of Charlotte.
At about 6:45 p.m. Thursday, an EF1 tornado touched down in Wilkes County, in the foothills between Winston-Salem and Boone.
The tornado touched down in Wilkesboro and traveled on the ground for 2 miles, with estimated winds up to 110 mph.
"Numerous softwood and hardwood trees were damaged or blown down. One tree fell on a house. One outbuilding was destroyed. Shingles were blown off some homes," according to the weather service.
The storm tore part of a roof from a gas station in North Wilkesboro and knocked down trees. It caused minor damage to the Wilkesboro United Methodist Church.
"Our church buildings received minor damage and the important thing is the Girl Scout troop meeting at the time was safe, but we did lose some of our beautiful trees and suffered some damage to grounds," the church said on Facebook. "Please be safe and look out for your neighbors."
The tornado in Mount Ulla, in Rowan County, touched down at 7:52 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. Winds in the EF1 tornado hit a peak of 100 mph, and it traveled on the ground for 1.3 miles.
The tornado caused minor damage to Mount Ulla Elementary School and damaged another building, according to the weather service storm survey.
In nearby Concord, the storm took down trees and power lines and damaged buildings. The National Weather Service said that damage came from "a straight-line wind event with winds reaching up to 60-70 mph."
Wind gusts in Raleigh hit 54 mph. The winds were stronger along the coast, where Jacksonville recorded top gusts at 60 mph.
In parts of western North Carolina, people saw more than two inches of rain over 24 hours. Foscoe, not far from Boone, recorded 3.69 inches of rain. Seven Devils had 2.78 inches of rain and Blowing Rock recorded 2.69 inches.