Thursday, October 1, 2026
®
The World's Local News Source®
Cherryville, NC (WNN)— On Wednesday, June 25th, 2025, a severe thunderstorm came through Cherryville, Kings Mountain, and other parts of North Carolina. This caused widespread power outages and resulted in at least one confirmed injury.
The thunderstorm began around 6 pm in the Cherryville area, bringing intense winds, heavy rain, and hail. Beyond the Cherryville area, reports from the National Weather Service indicated warnings for several regions, including Buncombe, Henderson, McDowell, and Rutherford counties. Meteorologists cautioned against wind gusts as strong as 60 mph and penny-sized hail.
Johnny Bridges of Cherryville, who was fishing at Midway Lakes II located at 141 Sellers Rd, Kings Mountain, when the storm hit, witnessed a terrifying incident as the storm worsened. “We just got our rods cast out in the lake and started raining a little bit, and then it got a little harder,” Bridges said. “Next thing I knew, the wind started picking up, and I started running around trying to gather up all of my gear. It was blowing around, and it got so bad that I really thought it was going to blow me away.”
Bridges recounted jumping into his truck as “shards” began flying across the road. He then witnessed a shocking incident unfold. Bridges says that Wendell Poole, who was sitting under an awning near a light pole, was picked up by the wind along with the structure and thrown across the road. Bridges further described one of Poole’s friends, Jason Green, seeing him face down in water on the side of the road. Green quickly lifted him from the water and carried him to his van.
Bridges noted that when he spoke to Poole shortly after, Poole appeared disoriented and unaware of his surroundings. Poole was transported to the hospital with a concussion. He has since been released after receiving stitches. Bridges noted that he called 911 immediately, and emergency services arrived quickly to assist.
Local farms also experienced the storm’s intensity, leading to immediate challenges for farming activities. Mark Leech of Leech Family Farm in Kings Mountain stated that a recently put-up fence was damaged. This led to the escape of their three goats during the storm.
“We’d just put up a fence early last week, and we just got it done. Got goats in here,” Leech explained. “And last night, when rain came through, we thought it was just going to be another normal rainstorm. And then we got up here, and we had two or three trees down over our brand new fence.”
Leech’s wife bravely searched for the missing goats during the storm. Eventually, they were found on the back side of the property. For farms like the Leech Family Farm, severe weather can bring swift and costly consequences, such as damage to crops and infrastructure, and the immediate challenge of managing displaced animals.
Cherryville City Manager Brian Dalton provided an overview of the storm’s impact on the city and the quick response from different departments. “We did have an intense storm last night with some trees down and approximately 100 power outages,” Dalton stated. He confirmed that “All the power was restored by around 10:00 pm last night by our electric department,” highlighting the effectiveness of the power teams.
City of Cherryville employees collecting limbs after the storm.
June 26th, 2025 by Mason Beam (WNN)
Dalton also highlighted the efforts to clear roadways. “City employees also cut several trees up that had fallen and blocked roadways,” he said. He specified that the majority of the power outages were in the Westgate and Crown Creek area, giving a clearer picture of the localized impact. Fortunately, the structural damage to homes appeared limited, with Dalton adding, “At this time, we only know of one home that was damaged from a fallen tree.”
Round two of the week happened on Thursday afternoon, June 26th, in the Cherryville area when another storm moved across Western Gaston County and into Lincoln County. Multiple power outages were reported; however, most were quickly restored in the area. Cleanup efforts are ongoing in Cherryville and other affected areas of North Carolina as residents and officials continue to assess the full extent of the damage. The swift action taken by emergency services and utility teams was essential in reducing the impact of the multiple storms.
For more WNN video news stories, visit YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wisenewsnetwork
For further WNN articles and news stories, visit: https://wisenewsnetwork.com
Contact WNN at newsdesk@wisenewsnetwork.com
© Copyright 2025 Wise News Network. All rights reserved.
