Apart from mild flooding, Triangle escapes worst of last night's storms

Thousands of power outages and downed trees are causing problems for residents in central North Carolina Monday morning after last night's severe storms.

Posted 8:41 a.m. Apr 16, 2018 — Updated 3:12 p.m. Jul 13, 2018

Jessica Patrick

and

Janine Bowen, WRAL.com editors

RALEIGH, N.C. — Thousands of power outages and downed trees are causing road closures and other problems for residents in central North Carolina Monday morning after last night's severe storms.

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At least one person stranded in water has been rescued from their car in southwestern Wake County, and a flood advisory was in effect for the area until 8:45 a.m.

Damage in Ruffin. Photo from Charles Croson.

There is flooding in the area of Holly Springs New Hill Road between Cateswood Court and Ancient Oaks Drive, where a woman was pulled from her car by rescuers after water swept her off the road. Another road closure has been reported near Richardson Road in Apex near Kinship Lane.

Triangle roads are in good condition, but the flood advisory cautions motorists to drive carefully and be on the lookout for mildly flooded areas, which could cause crashes and endanger lives.

Tornado watches and severe thunderstorm warnings expired for a majority of the state overnight as a line of storms moved east, causing death and destruction.

One of the areas most impacted by the storm is Guilford County, where more than 20,000 are without power this morning. More than 40,000 people are without power in North Carolina.

Hampton Elementary School in Guilford County was virtually destroyed when a line of storms moved through Sunday night.

Local storm damage reports map

A state of emergency was declared in Guilford County after a tornado touched down and at least one person died as a result of the weather. Authorities said the deceased person died when a tree fell onto a car.

Damages and power outages were so severe in Guilford County that public schools are closed on Monday.

"The recent severe weather in North Carolina has affected families and schools. This evening, I talked to Superintendent Contreras is Guilford County and assured her that we at the Department of Public Instruction will help in any way we can. We will be reaching out to other affected school districts Monday as well," State Superintendent Mark Johnson said in a statement.

Crews in Greensboro will begin a full damage assessment Monday morning. Johnston County was also heavily impacted by the storm, where a pine tree fell on top of the home of a family of seven, startling the children and their parents. More than 1,000 customers in Johnston, Wake and Durham counties are currently without power.

A tornado watch issued by the National Weather Service expired for most counties at 11 p.m. but remained in effect for some eastern counties, including Edgecombe and Nash, until 3 a.m. A tornado warning was issued for Vance and Warren counties Sunday night, but quickly expired.

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More than 3,000 power outages were reported in Cary and more than 2,000 were without power in Durham during the peak of the storm in the Triangle.

Many throughout the Triangle reported downed trees and flooding on area roadways. Multiple trees and power lines were downed near the intersection of Edgemont Road and Sadie Drive in Wendell, affecting at least 300 power customers in the area.

Photos from the scene showed trees in the middle of the road, roofs that had been ripped off houses and a mobile home had been lifted across the ground and blown across the street.

Monday will be calmer, but cooler, with a high around 60 degrees. Wednesday and Thursday will be the warmest days of the week, with highs in the upper 70s.

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