Brief but strong storm blows through Raleigh, leaving downed trees, power outages behind

The intense but brief storm popped up during the afternoon and was blamed for knocking down a pine tree in the front yard of a home off of Creedmoor Road.

A homeowner's surveillance camera recorded a lightning strike that zapped a pine tree in the home's front yard.

Near the intersection of Forestville and Old Milburnie roads, a falling tree toppled over onto a power line, resulting in a power outage that caused dozens of homes and businesses in the area to go dark.

As of 6 p.m. Saturday, there were about 500 customers without power, according to Duke Energy.

A Raleigh resident who lives in the 7600 block of Birchmoor Way sent WRAL-TV video of gusty winds that were strong enough to blow a trampoline over the man's backyard.

And fire crews were called to a home early Saturday after a lightning strike hit the back side of the house's chimney, sparking a blaze in the attic.

Raleigh Fire Department Division Chief Kevin Coppage urged homeowners to be aware of isolated storms and what they can do.

He said the sudden storm caught the homeowners by surprise.

They were in their attic at the time.

"If the fire is above your attic, your smoke detectors are not going to be successful unless you have them in the attic," he said. "This fire was in the attic and smoke detectors proved not to be effective."

WRAL meteorologist Mike Maze said the Saturday storms dropped an inch-and-a-half of precipitation that prompted the National Weather Service to issue a flood advisory.

He said the chance for pop-up storms continues into Sunday, when the temperature is expected to top out in the mid-90s.

A back-door cold front is moving down from the East Coast, and Maze said the front will arrive in Raleigh on Sunday and could bring more stormy weather to the Triangle.

"There's the possibility some of these storms will be strong and maybe even severe," Mazem said.