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Update: Severe thunderstorm and tornado watch for WNC

National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for a region spanning from Virginia through Western North Carolina on Monday afternoon.
Courtesy of National Weather Service
National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for a region spanning from Virginia through Western North Carolina on Monday afternoon.

Update:
Thousands lost power in Western North Carolina on Monday evening, according to Duke Energy. Most residences power was restored in less than a few hours.

The storm hit central North Carolina harder with over more than 80,000 homes losing power in Wake County and injuries from debris, according to WRAL.

National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for Avery, Buncombe, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Madison, Mitchell, Swain and Yancey Counties until 7p.m. on Monday, August 8.

Storms west of the Appalachian Mountains are expected to develop eastward on Monday afternoon. There is a possibility that the storms are capable of creating tornados in northwest North Carolina and Virginia. The National Weather Service said widespread damaging winds are also expected.

The tornado watch covers an area that includes the region 15 miles southwest of Hickory, North Carolina to 45 miles northwest of Lynchburg, Virginia.

Jackson County EMS explains the difference between a tornado warning and a tornado watch in this Facebook post.
Courtesy of Jackson County EMS
Jackson County EMS explains the difference between a tornado warning and a tornado watch in this Facebook post.

Here is how Duke Energy advised what to do to report a power outage:

- Visit the company’s interactive outage map to find up-to-date information on power outages, including the total number of outages systemwide and estimated times of restoration:https://bit.ly/3Kx4Y4j

- Visit the company’s Storm Center on a desktop computer or mobile device to report an outage:https://bit.ly/3Ky537T

- You can also report an outage on the Duke Energy mobile app or text OUT to 57801

- Call the automated outage-reporting system, at 800.POWERON (800.769.3766)

At 4 p.m. on Monday fewer than 1,000 people in the Western North Carolina region are without power, according toDuke Energy website.

Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Lilly Knoepp is Senior Regional Reporter for Blue Ridge Public Radio. She has served as BPR’s first fulltime reporter covering Western North Carolina since 2018. She is from Franklin, NC. She returns to WNC after serving as the assistant editor of Women@Forbes and digital producer of the Forbes podcast network. She holds a master’s degree in international journalism from the City University of New York and earned a double major from UNC-Chapel Hill in religious studies and political science.