GREENSBORO -- One person was killed, three others were injured, and the power was knocked out for more than 12,400 people late Thursday night as severe thunderstorms and a powerful tornado ripped through the Triad.
Donald Ray Needham, 51, died while asleep in his small truck in a parking lot near Triad Park, the sole victim of an F2 tornado that swept through a number of Triad counties.
None of the other injuries Thursday night or Friday morning appeared to be life-threatening, according to Alan Perdue, a spokesman for the Guilford County Emergency Services.
Experts with the National Weather Service determined the F2 tornado was a quarter-mile wide with sustained winds of 130 mph and a path length of three miles long. Given the strength of the unexpected storm, officials said they felt very lucky.
"The injury side as Chief Douglas said, we're very fortunate,” Perdue explained. “It's a tragedy that we had any life lost, but considering the magnitude of the storm, when you look at the aerial shots of this area and the damage that's been here, it's significant."
Davie - 7,934
Forsyth - 3,500
Guilford - 1,072
Rockingham - 4
Yadkin - 2
Emergency dispatchers also said high winds ripped down numerous trees and power lines, knocking out power to 12,512 Duke Energy residents across five Triad counties as of noon on Friday. Duke Energy crews restored power to more than 2,000 of those people by 1 p.m. and hoped to have power restored in Guilford County by midnight and power restored in Davie and Forsyth counties by early Saturday morning.
The strong storms marked a path through the Triad, forcing homes off their foundations and even throwing parked airplanes off of the tarmac at Piedmont Triad International Airport.
Gov. Mike Easley’s office said it has already dispatched damage assessment teams to Davie, Forsyth and Guilford counties.
"Sending these damage assessment teams is a vital step in the recovery process, and one that will help get life back to normal," Easley said. "I ask people to take caution so as not to put themselves or others at risk by avoiding downed power lines, flooded roads and rain-swollen waterways."
Officials said the storms moved quickly across the state and caught many people off guard.
Workers at one Greensboro business near Interstate 40 said they are lucky no one was hurt when high winds brought down the roof of the shipping company they work for.
Reporter Stephanie Stillwell covered the story Thursday night as storms killed one person and tore the roof off of one company while workers were inside.
News 14 Carolina's Adrianne Flores has more on the tornado and the respone from emergency crews.
Watch additional ground video that shows a FedEx jet blown off the PTI tarmac.
Reporter Bob Costner is on the scene in Clemmons. View the damage there.
News 14 Carolina's Jonathan Lowe has even more storm coverage, this report from Advance, N.C.
News 14 Carolina's Ed Scannell is in western Guilford County with more on the storms and the clean-up effort.
Reporter Stephanie Stilwell has more from Guilford County about how business owners are handling the destruction.
“I was on the fork lift loading the truck and the next thing I know the roof started peeling up and heavy winds started coming in and it started raining real hard,” worker Tyson Marshall said.
“I kind of assumed that it was going to be a tornado. I go to run through the bay area and see the roof fly off, and I ran to the bathroom and I didn't know where everybody went,” added Zack Henderson.
No one was injured though as the storm tore through the building, but that was not the case in other areas of Guilford County. The Highway Patrol said three tractor-trailer rigs overturned.
Meanwhile, those at the shipping plant said they just count themselves among the fortunate ones.
“It's a big relief, I mean the building is destroyed,” Henderson said. “Several people could have gotten injured worse. Everybody got lucky tonight.”
“Well the roof was caved in,” Marshall said. “There's debris everywhere and if you go down to the bay, it's like water comes up to your knees.”
One of the biggest challenges emergency teams faced was getting an accurate assessment of the damage as they worked through the overnight hours. Perdue said National Weather Service officials waited for daylight to get a better view of the damage and to determine the severity of the tornado.
Water and sewer services also went down for some residents in Greensboro. If you notice a problem with your services, you are asked to call (336) 373-2489. If you notice downed power lines in the Triad or the power is out in your home, you can call Duke Energy at 1-800-POWERON.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Photos of the damage submitted by viewers