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  • A storm with wind gust up to 70 mph caused a tree to fall on this house on Temperance Hall Road. Edgecombe County Emergency Manager Butch Beach said, "It hit this area pretty hard."

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  • Fleet Temple takes a walk on a big oak that was up-rooted in the Town Common Sunday after the storm.

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July 2, 2012

Strong storm slashes across county

The Daily Southerner Calvin Adkins and John H. Walker

TARBORO — An afternoon storm, fueled by record-setting temperatures, damaged homes, knocked down numerous trees and left thousands of residents without power for at least six hours in Edgecombe County Sunday.

According to emergency personnel, no one was injured. That was not the case throughout the region, however, as one person was killed in Pitt County when a barn collapsed on him and a couple was killed in Beaufort County when a tree fell on their golf cart. An estimated 40 people were injured in Beaufort County.

The area along Temperance Hall Road appeared to be the hardest hit.

Edgecombe County Emergency Manager Butch Beach reported that 12 homes were damaged, including one that was completely destroyed when a tree fell on it. A tree also crashed through the roof and into the middle of a house on Highway 43.

"It hit this area pretty hard," Beach said. "With the broad area that it covered, it looks like it was a tornado, but right now we think that it was a straight line wind that produced winds up to 60 or 70 mph. Right now, there is no way we can confirm this. The most important thing is that nobody was hurt."

While there were no reported funnels clouds, there were a number of large pine trees fell along Temperance Hall Road that appeared to be twisted off instead of blown down.

 Louise Braswell said she and her husband, Wesley, were taking a nap Sunday afternoon.

"When we woke, it was all dark and stormy looking," he said.

Louise Braswell said that even through the hurricanes that have hit the area, this was the strongest wind she can remember. She said she and her husband fell the winds were more straight line, rather than tornadic in nature.

In addition to high winds and heavy rain, Wesley Minchew observed hail from the size of M&M's to gumballs.

The Braswell's lost a large tree, but their neighbor, Sandy Minchew, had to deal with a heartbroken toddler, Brooke, who watched out a window as the winds blew her playhouse and swing set apart.

Minchew said it was about 2:30 when the storms first hit the area.

There were no reports of structural damage in Tarboro, although trees on and around the Town Common were heavily damaged — knocking down at least one oak and taking out large limbs.

The last storm that snapped trees like twigs on the Town Common was Hurricane Irene last August. That storm knocked down at least eight big oaks and several large limbs leaving a gapping whole in the historic grounds. However, none of the three statues were damaged.

After Irene had passed, members of the Temple family walked to the Common to see the damage. On Sunday, they found themselves in that spot once again. The youngest of the family, 8-year-old Fleet, noticed the statues had once again been spared.

"We walked up and said, 'Here we go again. But it was not as bad," said Laura Temple. "But we did notice that the statues were not damaged again. Fleet walked up and said, 'How cool is it mom that every time the trees fall, that they don't touch the statue?'"  

Tarboro resident Bruce Webb agreed. He was also assessing the damage to the Common.

"You can always find good out of bad if you look hard enough," he said. "The good in this was it didn't kill anybody, it didn't damage any of the statues. So, I'm looking at it as a positive thing."

N.C. Meteorologist Scott Sharpe said the storm was created by the extreme hot temperature.

"It is kinda warm for this time of the year," he said. "And with this type of heat it produces unstable air. It looks like the heat will be here for a while. Monday and Tuesday looks like we could see temperatures reaching the 100 degree mark and we could have another round of storms."





 

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    Edgecombe Events should be submitted by noon the day before publication. Items eligible include notices of local meetings and activities of non-profit organizations, clubs, schools and civic groups in the community. Information should be brief and typewritten, neatly printed or via e-mail. Questions? 823-3106 or e-mail: events@dailysoutherner.com. Leave  a daytime contact phone number.

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