A severe thunderstorm which rushed through Alexander County on Tuesday afternoon, July 28, 2026, damaged at least two homes in Bethlehem and caused power outages. • Shortly after, a tree fell at 5988 NC Hwy. • At 314 Brook Hollow Lane, a tree fell on power lines. • At 196 Unnamed Lane, a tree fell on a home. Also, electric customers of EnergyUnited reported 33 outages about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Bethlehem and Duke Energy customers reported 10 outages across Alexander.