CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- A string of strong thunderstorms producing wind gusts up to 70 mph rumbled across North Carolina on Tuesday, downing trees, damaging buildings and knocking out power to tens of thousands of customers.
The storm also brought a late-season snowfall that closed schools or delayed openings in several mountain counties.
There were no serious injuries reported from the thunderstorms, which moved into Charlotte at the height of the morning rush hour. Scores of trees were knocked down and traffic lights were disabled.
At the peak, more than 34,000 Duke Power customers were without power. By afternoon, Duke had reduced the number of outages to 7,500 in North Carolina.
Of that total, 4,000 were in the greater Charlotte area, said Duke Power's Tim Pettit. The Charlotte-based utility was projecting that most customers would have their power restored by midnight, he said.
Power was out at some Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools, but most still held classes. Charlotte Catholic High School sent students home early after a fallen tree knocked out power.
A large oak tree fell and broke windows in four classrooms at Cochrane Middle School. No students were in the school when the damage took place, officials said.
In the Cabarrus County town of Midland, wind gusts damaged the roof of the volunteer fire department. Several businesses in north Charlotte also sustained damaged to their roofs.
Later Tuesday, the thunderstorms had moved east, causing similar problems in the northeastern part of the state. The Raleigh area was hit by drenching rain and strong winds.
Stormy weather in the Triangle kept Gov. Mike Easley, House Speaker Jim Black, Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand and other legislators from traveling to Bath to celebrate the Beaufort County town's 300th anniversary.
A pair of state-owned planes carrying Easley and the legislators remained on the tarmac at Raleigh-Durham International Airport due to storms and high winds.
''They couldn't get off the ground,'' said Easley, adding he was told the winds were 75 mph up to more than 2,000 feet off the ground around the airport.
The General Assembly's special commemorative session in Bath was held despite the coastal storms - and a short power outage during the event.
In Cumberland County, an estimated 23,000 chickens died when high winds blew the roofs off a pair of chicken houses, WRAL-TV in Raleigh reported.
While the skies had cleared in the Piedmont by noon, the cold front that spawned the storms produced gusts of up to 40 mph.
Snowfall early Tuesday shut down schools in Madison, Mitchell and Yancey counties in the North Carolina mountains.
Schools in Haywood, Graham and Swain counties operated on a two-hour delay because of an inch of snow and near whiteout conditions at higher elevations along the Tennessee border, the National Weather Service reported.
A snow advisory for northern mountain counties was to remain in effect until 6 p.m, with up to three inches of snow forecast.
A wind advisory also was issued most of western North Carolina, where forecasters warned of winds reaching 25 mph to 35 mph, with gusts approaching 55 mph, through late afternoon.
