Clean-up continues from Thursday storms that hit Triangle, other areas

Friday was the first official day of summer and while it was a beautiful day, many people in the Triangle area were busy cleaning up after strong storms rolled through the area.

Posted 5:55 p.m. Jun 21, 2019 — Updated 11:06 p.m. Jun 21, 2019

Sarah Krueger, WRAL reporter

and

Jason O. Boyd, WRAL.com editor

Friday was the first official day of summer, and while it was a beautiful day, many people in the Triangle area were still busy cleaning up after strong storms rolled through the area on Thursday.

Downed trees and power outages impacted a large part of the state, from as far west as the Triad to Rocky Mount and other parts of eastern North Carolina. In the Triangle, the impact of those storms was felt in many areas.

But Friday brought promise as much progress was being made. Chainsaws were out to cut up the trees that had fallen. Power crews which had been working around the clock continued to restore power to many areas still without it. As of 12:30 p.m. Friday, Duke Energy reported on its website there were still around 1,000 homes without power in places like the Chapel Hill and Durham, Rocky Mount and locations in Halifax, Warren and Person counties.

In Person County, at least six homes were damaged. In Roxboro, along Wesleyan Heights Road, a large tree branch snapped and fell into the yard of one home.

In Durham, a couple of homeowners were wondering when they'll be able to get out of their front door again after trees fell onto their homes. On Thursday, Donald Bradsher was nearly hit when a tree fell on his house, punching a hole in the roof. Bradsher, who said he's lived on Hugo Street for 25 years, said he had just started to go into the kitchen when the tree fell.

On Friday, work was being completed on his home, and a tarp was going to be placed on it. Still, Bradsher said he was worried the problems with the tree falling may persist, even after the tree is gone.

"It depends on how much structural damage they find," Bradsher said. "Already, I can tell things have shifted. The doors ain't right, stuff like that."

Friday afternoon, crews were still busy clearing trees. Cothran Road, between Bill Poole Road and McBroom Road was closed in Durham because two large trees fell into the roadway. Crews were on the scene working to clear it.

Storm damage from Thursday resulted in this tree falling on a home on Cheryl Avenue in Durham.

In Chapel Hill, power crews were hard at work after a tree fell on Plant Road and brought down power lines on nearby East Franklin Street.

In Granville County, crews shut down a stretch of U.S. Highway 15 near Stovall because of downed trees and power lines. Drivers had to sit in their vehicles and wait for them to remove trees and a power line. A tree that fell on a power line also shut down Matt Curin Road and Chewning Road, which intersects with U.S. 15.

“It is one of those things we have to go through sometimes like in the military,” said Corwin Burton, who was stuck in the traffic. “I learned you have to hurry up and wait sometimes.”

A similar situation happened Thursday during the storm in Halifax County, as a stretch of Interstate 95 was closed due to debris and trees on the road. It was opened a short time later.

Luckily, the storms are well behind us but more rain is in the forecast. It was cooler and there was less humidity on Friday. Temps were forecast in the low to mid 80s before it heats up again in a big way on Monday, with temperatures hitting at least 95 through Tuesday before thunderstorms return to the area.

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