85-mph tornado touched down in Charlotte, National Weather Service confirms
An 85-mph tornado peeled sheet metal from a large industrial building and snapped trees in north Charlotte during severe storms that raced through the region Monday, a National Weather Service team confirmed.
The EF-0 tornado touched down at 9:39 a.m. along North Graham Street near the intersection with Moretz Avenue, “where several small trees were snapped,” according to an NWS public information statement.
EF-0 is the weakest of six classifications on the NWS Enhanced Fujita Scale for tornado intensity and damage.
The tornado sliced large tree limbs as it sped northeast into a residential area, where more large limbs were snapped, the team reported.
The twister reached peak intensity crossing Atando Avenue, peeling the sheet metal back from the building and ripping a large section of roofing from a warehouse. Several large pine trees were snapped behind the warehouse, the NWS team observed.
“The tornado weakened and eventually dissipated as it moved into another residential area along Drury Drive, where a few small limbs were downed,” according to the report.
The tornado lifted at Derita Park, NWS meteorologist Chris Horne told The Charlotte Observer. That’s about a mile southwest of the Hidden Valley neighborhood.
The tornado traveled 1.45 miles, was 25 yards wide and lasted about three minutes, according to the NWS.
Damage also was reported in parts of Sedgefield and Freedom Park, WCNC reported.
Storms continued through the day, with strong, late-afternoon winds reported in the NoDa area and Lake Norman.
In Statesville, a driver died after he lost control of his SUV and crashed into an embankment on Interstate 40, a State Highway Patrol trooper said.
A tornado warning was issued for Charlotte between 8:45 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. Monday, as a storm front crossed the region.
The front ignited tornado warnings in multiple spots in the Carolinas, and a tornado may have ripped the roof from a building in Gaffney, South Carolina, WYFF reported.
The FAA issued a ground stop from 8:30 a.m. until 10 a.m. at Charlotte’s airport as the storm neared the area.
FlightAware reported more than 300 cancellations and 159 delays at Charlotte Douglas International.
This story was originally published March 16, 2026 at 1:22 PM with the headline "85-mph tornado touched down in Charlotte, National Weather Service confirms."