Storms force TV newscast off the set in N.C.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Storms that left splintered homes and broken trees across Alabama and Mississippi moved east Thursday, forcing a TV newscast out of the studio for a few minutes but largely sparing the Atlantic Coast states any significant damage.
There were scary moments. In High Point, N.C., WGHP-TV meteorologist Van Denton ordered everyone off the set during the 5 p.m. broadcast and into a makeup room for a few minutes after a storm with a tornado warning moved right over the station.
“I’ve never heard the roof rattle like that. We’ve never had to leave the studio during a broadcast,” said anchor Neill McNeill, who has been with the station for 37 years.
But no serious damage or injuries were immediately reported
in North Carolina from storms near High Point and Charlotte, which both had tornado warnings.
In southwest Alabama, at least two people were hurt Wednesday when a tornado destroyed a house. Pieces of homes and twisted metal lay amid broken trees in the hardest-hit areas, but no one died and the region appeared to escape the kind of horrific
toll many feared after ominous predictions of monster twisters and huge hail.
“Overall, we have a lot to be grateful for, as it could have been much worse,” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement.
Forecasters issued a string of tornado warnings Thursday morning around the region where Alabama, Georgia and Florida intersect, but there were
no immediate reports of major damage.
Forecasters worried the storms would intensify as they moved into South Carolina and North Carolina on Thursday afternoon, but they mostly stayed below severe limits.
More than 70,000 homes and businesses were without power at one point from Texas to Alabama.