Summer storm strikes in Fayetteville

Lightning struck a tree at about 2:40 p.m. near the corner of Ramsey and Quincy streets, near the Ramsey Street Alternative School, police said. The tree fell, taking some power lines down with it and snarling traffic in the area.

Police rerouted traffic from inbound Ramsey Street onto Martin Luther King Highway. An outbound detour was established on Rosehill Road.

About 1,500 customers were without power for about an hour, a spokeswoman for Progress Energy said.

Thunderstorms are possible across the central part of the state this evening, WRAL meteorologist Mike Maze said. Any storms that do form will be spotty and not widespread. Skies will clear overnight and temperatures drop only to about 75 degrees.

Wednesday and Thursday will see mostly sunny skies and highs pushing 100 degrees, significantly above normal for this time of year.

A large high pressure ridge is building over the Plains and moving eastward so as the week goes on, the heat should increase.

The heat and humidity prompted the National Weather Service to issue a "Code Orange" air quality alert for Tuesday, meaning adults and children, especially those with respiratory diseases, should limit prolonged outdoor activity.

That alert was in effect for much of central North Carolina, including Chatham, Durham, Franklin, Granville, Johnston, Orange, Person, Vance and Wake counties.