*Perilous Times and Climate Change

8 tornadoes reported by North Carolina  residents*

By the CNN Wire Staff
March 29, 2010 12:44 p.m. EDT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

     * NEW: No fatalities reported, injuries were minor after severe
weather Sunday
     * Tornado touched down Monday morning in Oakland Park, Florida; no
injuries reported
     * Eight unconfirmed tornadoes spotted along North Carolina's
Interstate 85 corridor
     * Roofing ripped off building west of Charlotte; 3 hurt, homes
damaged outside Lexington

(CNN) -- Severe storms hammered North Carolina on Sunday evening, but no
fatalities had been reported as of Monday morning, and injuries were
minor, officials said.

Residents reported as many as eight tornadoes touching down --
overturning mobile homes, ripping out trees and plunging neighborhoods
into darkness.

Survey crews were meeting with local officials throughout the state to
get a clearer picture of the storm damage, said Ernie Seneca, spokesman
for the North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety.

There were reports of damaged houses and downed trees, but injuries were
limited, he said.

"It looks like people heeded the warning to seek shelter when the storm
came," he said.

"It really did sound like a train. It was pure noise," said William
Schlaeppi, who lives on a farm in High Point, North Carolina, where the
National Weather Service reported damage to at least 20 homes. "I
literally watched my fields disappear in front of me under a wall of
water -- circular, spinning water."

A broad band of severe thunderstorms Sunday brought heavy rain and hail,
and prompted tornado warnings from Florida to Virginia, the weather
service said.

A tornado touched down in Oakland Park, Florida, just north of Fort
Lauderdale, between 8 and 8:30 a.m. Monday, said Tyrone Mosley, a
weather service specialist. There was debris but no immediate report of
injuries, he said.

In North Carolina, at least eight unconfirmed tornadoes were spotted
along the Interstate 85 corridor between Charlotte and Greensboro on
Sunday evening.

Metal roofing was ripped off an industrial building in Belmont, west of
Charlotte, littering nearby trees with clumps of yellow insulation.

News14: Spencer residents survey damage after storm

Multiple mobile homes were overturned in Linwood, outside of Lexington,
and at least three people were reported injured.

And what looked like a huge funnel cloud loomed over High Point, near
Greensboro.

"It's been a very active evening for most of central North Carolina,"
said Julia Jarema, spokeswoman for the state's Division of Emergency
Management.

The storms caused power outages throughout the state, but because of the
multiple bands of storms, "things are changing so rapidly, we haven't
been able to confirm numbers," Jarema said Sunday night.

Is severe weather happening near you? Send photos, video

Local law enforcement reported another tornado north of Greensboro, the
weather service said.

The storm also produced 70-mph winds and hail as large as baseballs.

Late Sunday, High Point emergency management officials were going house
to house to check for injuries.

Schlaeppi said he spent much of the night in his darkened house, going
out with his neighbors to clear downed trees whenever the rain let up.

CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras contributed to this report.