High winds cause minor damage

Published 10:33 am Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Early Thursday morning winds clocking nearly 60 miles per hour from a strong cold front cause some damage in the Roanoke-Chowan area.

According to Bertie County Emergency Management Coordinator Mitch Cooper, there was one report of structural damage to a mobile home on 323 Pine St., Lewiston.

The entire roof was lifted from the structure and landed in the yard of the residence.

Several trees were also reported down and were cleared by sunrise Thursday morning by the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

Power outages for the county consisted of 825 customers for Roanoke Electric. Dominion reported 44 customers lost power during the storm.

The National Weather Service in Wakefield Va. said the wind gauge for Bertie County had a peak wind gust of 56 mph around 2:45 a.m. Thursday morning, according to Cooper.

While no structural damage was reported in Hertford County, the North Carolina Highway Patrol reported an accident early Thursday due to a downed tree.

According to a spokesperson, a tractor trailer headed south bound on US 258 just north of Como struck a tree that had fallen into the roadway causing the truck to cross the center line and hit a passenger vehicle and pushing it off the roadway and into a creek.

The driver of the passenger car was able to escape the vehicle before it was submerged in the water. That person was transported to Vidant Roanoke-Chowan Hospital. The truck driver received minor injuries, but was not transported to the hospital.

Northampton County Emergency Management Director Brian Parnell said no structural damage was reported in the county.