Tornado with 115-mph winds rips through area north of Charlotte, injuring 1 person

A 115-mph tornado snapped trees, tore roofs and hurt a person in northern Iredell County as fierce storms raced through the Charlotte region Thursday night, the National Weather Service said.

The twister near the replica Wild West town of Love Valley was the third in the Charlotte area this week.

The EF-2 tornado touched down near Tuckers Grove Road just before 7 p.m. and snapped and uprooted trees as it moved northeast, according to the NWS office in Greer, S.C.

EF-2 is the third strongest of six tornado ratings on the Enhanced Fujita Scale for damage and wind intensity.

The tornado next moved to Bruce Farm Road, where it injured a person, damaged the roofs of a mobile home and barn and snapped trees, investigators said. An NWS report said the person suffered minor injuries but didn’t say how the person was hurt.

Extensive tree damage was reported on Friendship Road and a damaged building roof on Indian Hill Road before the twister lifted from the ground, according to the report.

The tornado carved a nearly 6-mile path and lasted 12 minutes before dissipating a mile west of Union Grove, according to the NWS.

The NWS also confirmed an EF-0 tornado that hit Cleveland County on Thursday afternoon.

The tornado had peak winds of 65 mph. It touched down around 4:45 p.m. just southeast of Lattimore near Towery Road, about 50 miles west of Charlotte. It moved northeast for nearly a quarter mile and lifted before reaching Artee Road, the NWS said. Only a shed was reported damaged.

Tornado in Charlotte this week

An EF-1 tornado with peak winds of about 100 mph hit parts of Charlotte on Monday, downing trees onto homes and power lines, according to the NWS.

The tornado touched down near Burnt Umber Drive, just south of Reedy Creek Park, in east Charlotte, around 1:37 p.m., according to a preliminary report Tuesday. It headed northeast along a 10-mile path toward the Camelot neighborhood in the Cabarrus County town of Harrisburg, the report said.

The tornado “lifted” near Rocky River Elementary School in Concord around 1:51 p.m., the report said.

The NWS also confirmed an EF-0 tornado touched down in Chester County, near Great Falls High School, on Monday evening. The tornado was on the ground for about four-tenths of a mile near Dewitt Road between the school and Interstate 77, the NWS reported Thursday. The tornado was just 25 yards wide.