Randolph County Emergency Management reported that yesterday crews responded to 15 calls for trees in the roadway, 11 calls for trees down on power lines.(Scott Pelkey / Acme News) 
A fallen tree on a home on Old Stagecoach Rd left the homeowner displaced until the American Red Cross could arrive to help (Scott Pelkey/Acme News) 
An area of trees were flattened from a likely either a micro-burst or strong downburst. (Scott Pelkey / Acme News) 
A fire fighter with the Franklinville Fire Department was on the scene on Old Stagecoach Rd until after 6 PM blocking off an area with a live line down. (Scott Pelkey / Acme News) 
Two large tree trunks are all that was left after straight line winds tore off the tops of the tree and throwing them in the roadway. (Scott Pelkey / Acme News) 
A power pole sits several feet from the roadway after a fallen tree tore down the pole and lines on Foxfire Rd. (Scott Pelkey / Acme News) 
“That was my grandbabies new trampoline!! Now it’s in the neighbors yard!!” said a reader on Facebook after recognized the trampoline in the photo. (Scott Pelkey / Acme News) 
Drivers found it difficult to get around with trees and lines down all over Iron Mountain and adjacent roads (Scott Pelkey / Acme News) 
Downed trees and power lines littered both Iron Mountain Rd and Foxfire Rd area following a severe Thunderstorm Sunday afternoon. (Scott Pelkey / Acme News) 
A fallen tree that just barley grazed a home managed to fall across both cars in the driveway. (Scott Pelkey / Acme News) 
A worker with the American Red Cross works to help a man who was displaced after a tree fell on his home. (Scott Pelkey / Acme News) 
Photo Contributed by Lori-Brim 
Photo Contributed by Allyson Roth
ASHEBORO NC (ACME NEWS) – A severe thunderstorm tore through Randolph County Sunday afternoon with damaging hail and straight line winds. In its path it left downed trees and power lines and rumors of a possible tornado.
What Happened?
Just after 2PM on Sunday afternoon a strong thunderstorm entered Randolph County. By 2:20PM the storm was intensifying over Asheboro. At around 2:30 PM the was storm passing east of Asheboro. By this time the storm had rapidly gained significant strength and was dumping heavy rain with golf-ball sized hail. Strong straight line winds and localized micro-burst ripped down tress blocking roadways and causing power-outages. At 2:42 PM the National Weather Service in Raleigh issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for eastern Randolph County.
Aftermath
The first 911 calls about storm damage in Randolph County came in at 2:30 PM. In total emergency crews responded to two residential structure fires, 5 calls for trees on a house, 15 calls for trees in the roadway, 11 calls for trees down on power lines, and 3 other service calls related to storm damage.
Most of those calls about damage were located off two roads, Iron Mountain Rd and Foxfire Rd. On Old Stagecoach Rd two tress fell one on a home and the other on two cars in the front drive way of the home beside it. Emergency crews worked to clear roadways where they could and block off other parts of the roadways where trees were down with power lines until the power company could arrive. One power company employee said he had 52 calls pending for lines down. On Foxfire Rd trees and telephone poles were torn in half with power lines laying across a quarter-mile stretch of roadway.
Tornado?
“I thought for sure it was a tornado, I mean it sounded like a train outside my house. One home owner told our photojournalist “the hail sounded like bricks were falling on the house”. Another home owner said he just barley made it inside and had to fight to get the door closed because it felt like it was being sucked back open. While there were reports of a funnel cloud the National Weather Service in Raleigh says there was no tornado.
Speaking by phone a meteorologist with National Weather Service told Acme News that “there was nothing in the radar field to indicate a tornado, what we did see were straight line winds with a quick collapse of the core causing localized down burst” The damage was consistent with straight line winds and down-burst with the majority of trees that fell and debris that was blown all going in the same direction, east, the same direction as the storms direction of travel.
Cleanup
Emergency crews worked into the evening keeping roads blocked where lines were down and as of today reports all but 3 customers power has been restored. We are sure insurance adjusters have their hands full today residents begin to file claims and continue to clean up.