03/28/2024
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Thunderstorms swept through portions of Bladen County late Tuesday afternoon and into the evening, bringing hail and gusty winds.

Some large hail was spotted along N.C. 20 near the intersection with N.C. 87, around Tar Heel and in White Oak.

“It’s the worst I’ve seen,” said White Oak resident Philip VanDoren, who posted a picture on Bladen Online’s Facebook page. “It lasted about 15 minutes.”

Gary Turlington reported seeing tennis ball-sized hail along N.C. 20 between St. Pauls and Tar Heel, and pictures submitted by Marinda Anderson Underwood and Justin Burney, along with Bladen Online photos, showed golf ball-sized hail.

Thick, dark storm clouds were seen over Elizabethtown in photographs submitted by @deeva_xoxo99 via Twitter, and Brandon Gee and Diane White Vitale via Facebook. Heather Cain captured the storm clouds working their way across the skies near Jones Lakes. Storm clouds also were seen above West Bladen High School by Jeff Gee.

The National Weather Service began issuing severe thunderstorm warnings for southwestern Bladen about 3 p.m. Tuesday with possible wind gusts of up to 40 mph and half-inch sized hail. Heavy rains fell around Bladenboro and Clarkton late Tuesday afternoon.

At 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, radar showed a severe thunderstorm near Council with wind gusts up to 60 mph in some areas.

At 5:29 p.m., radar showed a storm over Whiteville and headed for southeastern Bladen County. Matthew Batten submitted a photo showing the storm headed toward Bladen from north Whiteville.

Meanwhile, at 7:11 p.m., a strong thunderstorm was over St. Pauls and warnings went out for Tobermory and Duart. The storm reached Tobermory about 7:23 p.m., according to radar, en route to Ammon, White Oak and Tar Heel. By 8:13 p.m., the storm was near Ammon, moving at 35 mph.

The National Weather Service cancelled all warnings for Bladen County at 9 p.m. Tuesday.

There were no early reports of major damage, although some trees may have fallen. There was a report of a pickup truck overturned off Bladen Springs Road near N.C. 87, but it wasn’t clear if the accident was weather related.

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