Triangle Comes Through Storms Wet, but Mostly Unscathed

A tornado watch issued Tuesday afternoon expired at midnight for central North Carolina, though forecasters said it would stay in effect until 2 a.m. in a few eastern counties as the storms moved through.

At 12:48 a.m., the National Weather Service's Doppler radar indicated a tornado near Jamesville in Martin County, or about 11 miles southwest of Plymouth.

There were widespread reports of downed trees throughout the Triangle and surrounding counties. Some struck houses as they came down, but authorities reported no injuries. A tree struck a house on Vickie Drive in Cary, and another hit a house on West Stallings Street in Clayton.

Several stations reported that winds were near 60 mph when the strongest storm cells went through.

The storms brought drenching rains to many locations, including RDU International Airport, which was good news for the state's drought.The weather caused five to 10 flight delays at the airport, officials said, but operations were expected to catch up after the storms abated.

In counties to the west, where the storms passed through earlier, numerous reports of wind damage were starting to come in, WRAL Meteorologist Mike Maze said. A tree was reported downed on a house at Richardson Avenue near Rembrandt Road in Cumberland County.

The storms were kicked up by a cold front that was expected to drop temperatures into the upper 40s overnight.

Midday temperatures will climb into the mid 60s Wednesday and Thursday before another chance of rain comes on Friday.