Raleigh, N.C. — Triangle residents woke up Thursday to calm skies and cooler temperatures, a welcome break from strong thunderstorms that rumbled through the area the night before.

"You can definitely feel the change," WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said. "We're having a pretty morning out there."

The temperature in Raleigh at dawn was a pleasant 68 degrees with considerably less humidity than earlier in the week. The high is expected to reach 92 degrees.

"Today we should have a little bit of a break," Gardner said. But that doesn't mean there won't be a chance of thunderstorms like those that swept across the region Wednesday evening, knocking out power and downing trees.

A disturbance in the upper atmosphere caused the band of storms that descended on the Triangle around 7:30 p.m.  Slideshow     Watercolor skies follow Wednesday's storms

In Sanford, police received numerous reports of downed tree limbs and power lines. More than 3,000 people were without power there at 6:30 p.m., according to Progress Energy.

A toppled tree fell on to a house on McNeil Road near Hopkins Avenue, police said. No one was injured.

While Friday should be relatively calm, the threat of ugly weather returns on Saturday.

"We're getting ready to move back into an unstable period," Gardner said. "Saturday is going to be one of those days where you might want to stay inside and maybe take a nap."