Thousands in Charlotte lose power, 584 flights delayed after strong storms Saturday

Strong storms that rumbled through the Charlotte area on Saturday afternoon caused 3,000 power outages, 584 flight delays and an order for fans attending the Charlotte FC match at Bank of America Stadium to “shelter in place.”

Gates to the stadium opened at 5:30 p.m., but the shelter in place remained in effect until it was lifted at about 6 p.m. Fans were barred from entering the bowl until an approaching storm was “at a safe distance,” officials said on Twitter.

On July 30, the team’s match against the Columbus Crew was postponed after 4 hours of lightning delays, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.

By 5:40 p.m., power outages dropped to about 1,000 in the Charlotte metro area, according to the Duke Energy outage map.

At Charlotte Douglas International Airport, at least 584 flights were delayed by 9:45 p.m., including 319 departures. An estimated 50 flights were canceled, according to FlightAware.com. The site tracks flights at the nation’s airports.

Storms across the region packed winds of 40 mph to 60 mph and dumped pea- to penny-size hail, the National Weather Service office in Greer, South Carolina, posted on Twitter.