Weather

Triangle's storms move out after bringing down trees

A large swath of central North Carolina is under a tornado watch as a line of storms approach the region, which is under a Level 3 risk for severe weather.

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At a glance:
Overnight: As the storms exited the area, you can expect a cold next few days. Highs will be in the upper 50s to lower 60s with lows in the 30s in a lot of places. We could very well have a frost warning Friday night, meteorologist Mike Maze said.
7-Day Forecast
11 p.m.: The tornado watch has ended for the entire WRAL viewing area. A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect for the coastal counties until 2 a.m. Friday.
10:42 p.m.: After the storms moved through the mountains, reports are coming in of snow falling in some spots. Appalachian State has a football game and snow is falling pretty consistently there.
10:30 p.m.: Duke Energy reports about 25,000 across the state are without power as of 10:30 p.m. Thursday. There were around 2,000 without power in the WRAL viewing area.
10:21 p.m.: Offcials in Moore County now tell WRAL there are reports of seven to eight places where trees are down there.
10:06 p.m.: Roxboro Police Chief David Hess reports there are five reports of trees down in Person County. There were no reports of trees down in Roxboro. There are also no reports of injuries.
10 p.m.: Go to WRAL.com now to watch our FOX50 News at 10 for the latest on the storms that have gone through Central NC and the Triangle area.
9:49 p.m.: A tree split in half and fell on a home in Durham, when two of the four people who live there were inside.

The other two residents were in a car in the driveway because rain was too heavy to go inside.

No one was injured.

9:43 p.m.: The severe thunderstorm warning has been cancelled for Warren County.
9:41 p.m.: The event is winding down. The line of storms is weakening as it heads east.
9:34 p.m.: Severe thunderstorm warnings have been cancelled for Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Moore and Sampson counties.
9:34 p.m.: The tornado warning has been cancelled for Alamanace, Durham, Granville and Lee counties.
9:29 p.m.: Tornado warning for Wake and Franklin counties has been cancelled. Meteorologist Mike Maze says that means the system may be weakening and we may be looking at improving conditions.
9:23 p.m.: Officials in Moore County report a tree down across the 900 block of Brinkley Road in Carthage. The tree was down from thunderstorm and wind damage that took place around 8 p.m. Thursday.
9:19 p.m.: A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for Franklin and Vance counties until 10 p.m.
9:11 p.m.: The National Weather Service is reporting some storm damage in parts of Orange County, in the area of NC 157, Mincey Road/NC 57, Halls Mill Road and Mary Hall Road/Ramsey Road.
9:09 p.m.: Heavy rain is falling at the WRAL-TV studios at 2619 Western Blvd. You can hear the thunder and rain falling inside the building.
9:06 p.m. A tornado warning has been issued for Wake County and part of Franklin County that goes until 9:45 p.m.
9:01 p.m. A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for Cumberland, Hoke, Harnett, Moore, Sampson, Franklin, Granville, Johnston and Wake counties until 9:45 p.m.
8:56 p.m.: Person County officials report one small tree has fallen but has been cleared. No other damage has been reported.
8:54 p.m.: A tornado warning has been issued for parts of Virginia in southeastern Mecklenburg County, Va., Greensville County, Va., and Brunswick County, Va., until 9:30 p.m.
8:52 p.m.: Chatham County 911 says there are some reports of little trees/branches in the roadways, but there have been no significant damage in the county. Officials report the same situation in Chapel Hill.
8:51 p.m.: A severe thunderstorm warning is in effect for Franklin, Granville, Vance and Warren counties until 9:15 p.m.
8:49 p.m.: Severe thunderstorm warnings have been canceled for Person and Durham counties.
8:43 p.m.: Meteorologist Mike Maze said there are fewer lightning strikes being reported on radar as the storm system moves into Wake County.
8:41 p.m.: Orange County 911 dispatchers say there are lots of reports of trees down north of I-85.
8:32 p.m.: The tornado warning for Granville County has expired. There are currently no tornado warnings in the WRAL viewing area.
8:30 p.m.: Orange County has been dropped from the severe thunderstorm warning that was issued earlier Thursday.
8:26 p.m.: Tornado warnings in Durham, Orange and Person counties have been dropped, but Granville County remains under a tornado warning.
8:23 p.m.: Some 1,045 customers are without power in Orange County, according to Duke Energy.
8:21 p.m.: The Storm Tracker is on U.S. Highway 1 and there is heavy rain falling in the area for motorists headed towards Apex.

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Orange County was included in the tornado warning that was in effect until 8:30 p.m. That area has since been dropped from the warning.

There were two earlier tornado warnings for parts of Person County and Caswell County. Both of those warnings have since expired.

Another tornado warning was issued just before 7:30 p.m. for Halifax County, Va., and Charlotte County, Va. Those areas are on the edge of the WRAL viewing area. A tornado warning was issued for Mecklenburg County, Va., until 8:30 p.m.

Severe thunderstorm warnings were also in effect for Alamance, Chatham and Randolph counties until 8 p.m. A new severe thunderstorm warning was issued until 9 p.m. for Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke and Moore counties along with Chatham, Durham, Orange and Wake counties.

WRAL meteorologist Mike Maze said the storms would move into the western areas of our viewing area around 7 p.m. with storms over the Triangle around 9 p.m.

Severe weather threat on Halloween

Storms are expected to start clearing from the area by 11 p.m.

Fayetteville Public Works reported a power outage to some areas just before 5 p.m. Thursday that, according to officials, was due to Duke Energy lines that feed power into the PWC system. Crews were working to restore power by rerouting it from other Duke sources.

Officials said around 40,000 lost power. It was restored an hour later.

There was some reported storm damage in the Greensboro area from these lines of storms. NBC affiliate WXII reported a tree fell on a house.

Trick-or-treating early in the evening is a good plan, WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said, but it's important to keep an eye on the weather regardless.

"Even if smaller storms pop-up, it really won't be safe for kids to be out trick-or-treating," Gardner said. “It’s one of those nights you’re going to really have to pay attention."

Gardner said anyone heading out for Halloween festivities should check the weather before they leave home and download the WRAL Weather app to get severe weather alerts. Get mobile alerts with the WRAL Weather app

During the patch of severe weather, winds could gust up to 70 mph, knocking down trees. Isolated tornadoes are possible.

Risks of Halloween storms

“You want to make sure your trick-or-treaters are finished with all their routes by 8 o’clock,” Gardner said.

The Town of Chapel Hill announced Thursday afternoon that its annual Franklin Street closure for Halloween festivities might not occur if the weather becomes too severe.

"Depending on crowd size and the potential for hazardous weather conditions, the downtown street closure may not take place," officials said in a press release while urging people to stay indoors if weather becomes inclement.

The storms will continue moving east and should be out of central North Carolina by midnight.

A cold front is pushing the storms through the area. Thursday’s high is 80 degrees, but temperatures Friday will reach only 60 degrees.

Overnight lows on Friday will dip into the high 30s.

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