Heavy rain, intense wind gusts and lightning moved through central North Carolina again on Tuesday, causing an explosion at a once again flooding roads and knocking down trees.
In northern Wake County, lightning struck a propane line at a home on Southampton Drive, igniting the propane and causing an explosion. Firefighters say two people in the home during the lightning strike and explosion made it out safely. One firefighter was checked out for minor injuries.
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The first round of storms rolled through Wake County around 3 p.m., bringing much-needed rain to the county. Around 6 p.m., another round slowly made its way through the viewing area. The line of storms produced severe thunderstorm warnings and flash flood warnings for several counties.
The second round of storms brought most of the flooding, with Chapel Hill leaders say three roads were completely impassable:
- Shepherd Lane.
- Cleland Drive.
- South Estes Drive Extension.
In Raleigh, police said they closed Glenwood Avenue in both directions between Pinecrest Drive and Ebenezer Church Road due to flooding. In Durham, the storms flooded the parking lot of an apartment complex on Ida Drive.
One woman in Durham, who declined to share her name, said the water in her apartment was inches deep at the peak of the storms.
"Had I known this back [then], I wouldn't have picked it," the woman said.
Heavy rain knocked down trees a night earlier
Central North Carolina saw a strong line of storms the night before, with the most damage being in Franklin and Sampson counties.
A strong line of storms began moving through the area around 7 p.m. Monday, bringing flash flood and severe thunderstorm warnings with it, as well as wind gusts up to 60 mph in some places.
The storms were strong enough to knock down trees into several homes on Monday. In Franklin County, three adults and a child were displaced after a tree fell on a home on Carlyle Road. A tree also fell onto a home in Salemburg in Sampson County.
By Tuesday morning, there were over 2,000 people in Durham County without power, according to Duke Energy.
In Zebulon, North Arendell Avenue was closed after storm knocked power lines and a tree into the road.