Storm Winds Damage CMS Schools, Children Sent Home

Dozen of schools in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools lost power and more than 1,000 students were sent home because of damage from Tuesday morning's storm. WSOC-TV School Damage

Evidence of the high winds was all around late Tuesday. Trees were down; pieces of metal roofs were strewn around; and windows were boarded up at Cochrane Middle School.

Pieces of metal buildings swung high up in trees while other pieces skittered noisily across the ground. And just a few feet away, Cochrane Middle School has boarded up windows shattered by a spring storm.

Angelic Coleman's daughters were heading to class when the storm hit.

"When I was in the house, the only thing I heard was a big loud thunderstorm. Lighting strikes my house and it shook my house. It moved my furniture on my porch to the other side," she said.

The same storm that left a tree on Coleman's house cut off power at Cochrane and nearly a dozen other Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools.

The back part of Cochrane Middle School has been sealed off while damage from the storm is repaired. That section of Cochrane Middle School affects kids in four classrooms. VIDEO: School Damage From Severe Storms

At University Park Elementary, teachers and volunteers did their best to keep classes going without power.

By mid-morning, schools like West Charlotte High had power restored. But across town, Charlotte Catholic had already sent its 1,100 students home. The same winds buckled its corrugated metal structure on top of the school.

Charlotte Catholic Principal Jerry Healy was afraid it would come crashing down.

"It was a dangerous situation with the weight of that. It's a steel and concrete wall that potentially could fall through the roof and cause significant damage," he said.

All schools are expected to be open on Wednesday. Though, the scars and the clean up from this storm may be visible for much longer.